Gabrielle Dennis stole our hearts as Pippy on Rosewood. Now the series is back and Pippy’s got a new career, so we had to chat about it all!
It’s pretty clear when looking at your Twitter that people love your character Pippy on Rosewood. What do you think it is about her that is so likable?
“Pippy is just cool! She’s that super fun, super smart, super stylish, super supportive sister/girlfriend type that people love because of the way she may remind them of either themselves or a best friend.”
Season two shows Pippy leaving the Rosewood Pathology team to focus on becoming a recording artist. Fans have some mixed feelings. Will she still be heavily featured on the show since she’s not part of the team?
“It’s funny. I was uber excited to explore Pippy outside of the lab with her music storyline and so were the fans until they realized “oh wait something’s different, Pippy isn’t in the lab” lol so fans are definitely torn because they absolutely LOVE the music but are also used to seeing Pippy in the lab because that was the norm in season one. In season 2 the new normal is Pippy being out of the lab. Her heart was broken by TMI and music is what is helping her deal with the pain so the absence of Pippy is like that period in real life when things are awkward adjusting to something new but she is still on the show regularly and we will get to see the way she balances all her loves in life…family, music, toxicology, and her love life ;)”
“Does She Love” is such a beautiful song. What do you want Pippy’s musical career to be like?
“Thank you. The songwriters did a bang up job with that song and all the original songs we’ve recorded on the show. There are so many directions that Pippy could go in the wonderful world of music but I don’t think Pippy will be the next Beyonce anytime soon lol but I would love to see her living the life of an indie artist recording powerful songs, doing local shows, struggling financially, struggling to make the right contacts, meeting a new circle of friends, finding and creating her fan base and all the many issues related to trying to make a living as a musician. It’s not an easy industry and Pippy is new to it.”
Would you be up to releasing an album or EP with original work not for the series?
“At first I was just enjoying the ability to sing on the show since I was able to incorporate two talents in one job lol but the response to the music has been overwhelmingly supportive and positive and many people have been asking when will my music drop…which honestly made my jaw drop lol it’s very flattering. So I am actually in the process of figuring that out, finding the right producers and sound before just jumping out there but yes I am totally up to it :)”
Who are your musical inspirations?
“That’s a long list lol. My first inspirations, like most, is what my parents listened to when I was very little so a lot of R&B and funk music. My mothers favorites included Sade, Anita Baker, Tina Marie. My dad was into bands like Parliament-Funkadelic, and Earth, Wind, & Fire. Growing up as a dancer my favorites where Janet Jackson, Usher, and Aaliyah and my favorite classics are Prince, Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder, and James Brown. I told you a long list so I will stop here lol but will say I love harmonies so girl groups have always been my favorites to sing along with.”
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-cW3issZmdQ
Season 1 ended with Pippy and TMI calling off their engagement. Is there a chance with this new career, Pippy could also get a new girlfriend?
“Anything is possible. I don’t think right away because I don’t think that’s the type of girl Pippy is, I think she will try her hardest to be engrossed in other distractions like her music.”
What is a typical day on set like for you?
“We film typically 12-14 hours and the first order of business is to go through “the works” also known as hair and makeup…and with calls as early as 5am at times I absolutely need the works lol. I love this part of the day because it is the calm before the storm. There is always music playing in the hair and makeup trailer and it’s the time the actors get to grab breakfast and catch up with each other. After that it’s down to business, we rehearse the first scene of the day with the director, and on our show we get a new director each episode. After the director is satisfied we rehearse again for the crew so they can see where the actors will be standing and moving so that cameras, light, and sound can be arranged for that scene. After the rehearsal actors go change into wardrobe while the set gets lit and set up which takes about 15-20 minutes then we shoot the scene. And we rehearse and shoot the rest of the day. In between scenes and on breaks we may take some behind the scene pics and videos, interact with fans on social media, or eat…which according to Morris I do a lot lol he is always catching me with a plate in my hand. There are times we have a specialist on set to walk us through the technical lab stuff and autopsies and it’s always weird when the “dead” body moves because sometimes the actors are so good at staying still we forget they are alive lol and some days I get to go record music for the show so all in all a pretty bad ass job!”
Make sure you watch Rosewood, Thursdays at 8pm and tweet us @CelebMix!
(Photo credit to wonderful: Russell Baer)