Interview with the cast of The Tribe from DragonCon 2003

Participating are:
A / K / T	Andrea / Kelly / Tina
BA	Beth Allen
TH	Tom Hern
MC	Meryl Cassie
CR	Caleb Ross

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A: I realize you have to do a little of it but you know, we're all grown-ups here um, so you know feel free to be honest. And we'll start off with the first question which is - what question are you most tired of answering?
BA: The whole Bray bit...I'm not too fond of that either.

K: So, um it's your first time here in the US, for many of you or all of you, what would you say would be the first thing you noticed being different in a good or bad way when you got here?
BA: People have guns (group laughter) at home cops don't have guns.. that was the first thing I noticed.

K: So what did you all think when you first read the script for The Tribe? What did you think of the show?
BA: I don't know (something we can't figure out).But it was um, it was nothing like I'd ever read before. I didn't really have any idea but it was cool. I really loved it.

K:  What would you like to tell your character?
BA: Chill out! Sometimes I get a bit tired of Amber's preachy stuff.

A: What has been, in your opinion, the most compelling storyline in the series?
BA: For me, personally I find the fans are really into the Bray/Amber thing. Definitely that's what the seem to ask about the most in relation to my character. I don't know about the whole series, I haven't really been there for the whole series.

A: Is it weird though I mean like the whole shippy vibe where everyone wants Bray and Amber to be together, it almost seems like Amber can't really be self-actualized unless it's through this man.
BA: (slaps table) Caught in a trap
CR: It's been three series people, get over it!
BA: I know! (others groan in agreement) I guess I mean, I was talking to a couple of fans last night and they were like "oh but you know you've got a baby" and blahblahblah so - I don't know, I think it's one of those things like Ross and Rachel or whatever or Aidan and Carrie, one of those things.
TH: Who's that?
MC: Sex and the City!

K: Well, since The Tribe and Cloud 9 seem to be very heavily influenced by the vision of Raymond Thompson, how do you think that makes the show different from other acting jobs?
BA: I think for me, Ray's really focused on making sure the kids who perhaps wouldn't have the opportunity on a really mainstream show get opportunities. So, right I think we've said it perhaps, we get girls who aren't really skinny who come on the show and we're never pressured to look a certain way and certain actors who perhaps wouldn't get a job elsewhere because they've got a really different look or a different style can really a get a cool shot at it. So I guess, that's the thing I've found - that he's really into the underdogs and the people who perhaps wouldn't get a chance.

A: Since it is a younger kids show in general, like you were mentioning at your Q&A, it's not as violent as it could be and you have to kind of hold back, and I know as an older viewer that can be kind of frustrating, you know? And so, although we do notice that the guys seem to take of their shirts to put out fires randomly...
BA: We had a couple times when I was doing scenes with Dwayne, when we were doing bed scenes, and I'd hear a couple of whispers from the director like "do you think we should put a shirt on - he kind of looks like a dirty old man"

A: So like how much nudity would you all be willing to do for any acting job? What are your personal boundaries?
MC: Beth how far would you go?
BA: I'd probably go topless eh? I mean, I'm just still thinking there are some movies that actually... like you almost don't notice like in Titanic it kind of worked.
TH: I definitely noticed Halle Berry in Swordfish.
BA: Yeah, Halle yeah. Yeah, I think like Tom I probably wouldn't want to get my gears off right now. But give me six months - then I'd get my shirt off and be like YEAH!

K: Well since the women on the show are often portrayed as being extremely strong and competent and smart, um do you feel that there's pressure on you to be role models? Or do feel that because of that there's something you've brought to your character or maybe you've learned from your character?
BA: Um, when I started I actually, well I was really young and I wasn't really aware of the fact that outside of The Tribe there is actually a really different lack of good strong female characters. So, having got a little bit older and starting to look around a bit more I'm kind of going wow, this is quite unique that I get, I mean that Meryl and I get to play parts that aren't "the girl" or "the love interest."
I guess in terms of role model things we just... I know I find myself just sort of watching what I'm doing and saying in front of little kids and stuff. (Meryl's agreeing) But the nice thing about coming here is we get to talk to some of the older fans (everyone's agreeing) and you can sort of be a bit more upfront and frank about things.

A: So is New Zealand like this paradise on earth? No racism apparently, no sexism, I'm actually like thinking about moving or something.
BA: We were doing that panel actually the other day and everyone's sort of like but what about all the racism - I was just like well we hadn't really thought about that at all. I mean, it exists but I think not to the degree that it does here.
And it sounds silly, but because it's so small you do actually know someone who knows someone who knows someone and like if you offend someone or you're rude to someone or you say something horrible it kind of does come back and haunt you.

K: One of the things I was curious about, we've been reading your tour diary and who writes it and why are they so obsessed with everything you eat?
BA: We all really like food, eh?

K: Well, one of the things that one of the people in my discussion group made me promise to ask is that, well, I had traded tapes with her so she sent me Season One which I'd never seen, so we did a marathon. And throughout the whole weekend we were watching and everybody every so often would say "where's Paul?" Was it ever explained to you where Paul went?
BA: Well, the guy who played Paul was deaf - like profoundly deaf and he hadn't really done acting before. And just found it really hard to be on set because of the communication thing and he had a tutor and everything looking after for him, but I think he was just homesick and just wanted to go home.
He was only nine. And when he found out he was really keen for it and really up for it and he just got homesick.

A: Do you guys all have stalkers now? I know it's a very common thing for celebrities and so the fact that you're all so down to earth and everything is kind of weird.
TH: We're like the stalker's nightmare because like if they're gonna stalk us they have to come right across the other side of the world.
A: No, I mean like when you travel here do people come up to you and like...
BA: Yeah
K: Like in Europe and England...
BA: We get a little bit of it. I've got a girl who's turned up looking like me and screams and yells and stuff. Which is quite unusual. But Tom is right we're so removed from it that we come over here and it's almost like a novelty.
In March there was a story going around when Tom Cruise came down to film The Last Samurai. He turned up and no one was waiting for him at the airport - he was really surprised. Everyone was like "oh well, I've got things to do." So the next day he had to have a big press conference to kind of prove that "I'm Tom Cruise and I'm here."

A: How does that affect dating life then?
BA: It's really hard to explain but we do have incredibly normal lives. I know we go home and go back to our waitressing and back to university. Yeah, in fact I'd probably kick my boyfriend's ass if that was why he was going out with me.

K: So I was just curious, was it always um, the intention to have the cast do music for the show? Have original music with the cast?

MC: Well, I know that Ray always had in the back of his mind he did want to establish it in the end. But we only kind of got to the point of doing it during Series 2 when an English producer came to Wellington and that's when he wrote all the songs and just thought "oh well, let's get this going we need a soundtrack for the album as well as a couple of singles and a theme song" so it just kind of happened. And it's moving along really.
BA: And I know Ray's really musical, he's sort of constantly writing. I mean, he wrote a symphony.
TH: Yeah, he just released a symphony with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra which is pretty huge. So he had a big sort of epic night in Wellington for the launch of it and everybody got to go along which was fun. So, that was really awesome. Because like I've never gotten into classical music and stuff but, have you ever been live to the symphony?
A: Yes, my husband's a musician so...
MC: You're married? I'm sorry, you just look really young.
A: I am young, I'm only 24.
MC: Ah, lovely. Is he American as well? Is he Latino?
A: No, actually I get a lot of grief for it I've actually had other Latinos come up to me and be like "you're ruined for forever" because I married a white boy.
MC: (and everyone else) Really!?
BA: Because in New Zealand, I don't know about other people but I've been kind of aiming to marry someone who's racially different because then I'll have really good-looking children.

A: Meryl you're performing today and I know Caleb you're talking about putting together an album. What about Beth and Michael, are you guys musically inclined?
BA: I have no musical bones whatsoever. I was in grade 1 piano for about 7 years.
A: Oh wow.
BA: Yeah, big tear. Nah, I'm just not very musical. I'm like you, I go to school.

A: All right, well thank you very very much for getting up early and all that.

All: (murmurs of thanks)