Gabrielle Dennis – Rosewood

By: Jamie Steinberg

Q) What are the recent projects that you are working on?

A) It’s really just been “Rosewood.” The blessing of this show is that I work a lot. You have a twenty-two episode series that takes up about nine or ten months of the year. I’m getting back into doing standup comedy, which I was doing years ago before people knew me on television. I’ve been helping out with some charities. “Rosewood” keeps me pretty busy, but hopefully I’ll be doing something through the next break (probably until next Spring).

Q) How was Pippy originally described to you?

A) She hasn’t changed much from the original pilot. She has always been in her brother’s corner. She is very supportive. She was described as a very smart woman who has her family’s back and is very opinionated. She can be a little stubborn, but at the end of the day she does things for her family and (at one point) her significant other. She’s just a very loving, caring person. You are going to hear her opinion, but she gets that from her mom. It runs in the family.

Q) Was there anything you added to her that wasn’t originally scripted for you?

A) The singing element of my character…I think they must have heard me playing around when we filmed the pilot in Miami. Also, they knew I was a standup comedian. One day, Todd [Harthan] came up to me and said, “How would you feel if we introduced and incorporated either your singing or your standup comedy in the show?” I was like, “Um…What am I going to say no?! I wouldn’t mind either!” So, they chose the singing. That was not an original element of Pippy so that is kind of fun that you are on a show where people kind of pay attention to other elements that you can bring to the table because they did that with my character and Jaina Lee Ortiz. She was a professional salsa dancer and now you see her dance on the show sometimes. It is kind of cool to add those extra layers or fun things to our characters. Last season I got to sing two songs and I think they said at one point she was accepted to Julliard, but turned that down to follow in the footsteps of the family business. Now that she is broken hearted and alone, she is kind of dealing with and healing the pain of her breakup through music. So, that’s going to be a very, very fun element for Pippy this season. Fans will get to see Pippy recording music and pursuing another dream and the types of songs…The writers on our show did such an amazing job with the original music and even the covers. They are just really powerful songs that fit the mood that Pippy is in. I’m really excited for people to hear the music and see Pippy outside of the lab.

Q) Was there an instant chemistry when you and Anna Konkle began working together?

A) Anna is so funny! I am such an Anna Konkle fan. She makes me laugh so much off camera. She has such a unique sense of humor. She comes from an improv and a writing background and she and I are kind of similar in that vain. We both come from sketch comedy and standup. So, when we first met it was before the chemistry read. There was a coffee shop on the lot and we met because I was already cast so I had to do a test with two girls. I met with both of them before the audition and Anna and I hit it off immediately. We had a blast! I think in our test we ended up improvising some scenes where we ended up singing Beyoncé or something! It was just so much fun that it was one of those things that just happened. The spark was alive and the chemistry was apparent that people can see it on camera. Anna is great and the chemistry was there in the room. We also stay in touch outside of set. We were filming on location so we traveled together. We have done New Orleans and Miami together as a cast. So, we’ve spent quality time together and there is that girl power there. It almost seems to tie in and help mirror the TMI/Pippy relationship.

Q) What has it meant to you that fans have embraced this LGBT relationship?

A) I would say that I could count on one hand the comments that I can remember being not in favor. Even those were more questions about how I feel about playing a lesbian. For the most part, it is very rewarding and it is very satisfying feeling that the majority of the fans have been welcoming with open arms and are excited about our characters and storylines. Because, at the end of the day, a relationship is just a relationship. Gay or straight you can relate to two people who are in love and care about each other and the trials and tribulations that come if you work with them or if that person’s family doesn’t accept you or if there is tension about your living arrangements about living with the person or not. I think all those aspects every couple can relate to in one way or another. I love that the writers kind of write our characters in a way that even with them being lesbian they still deal with real relationship problems and it is not just that they are same sex. It’s that they are people who love each other and we all do crazy things when we’re in love. We make weird decisions and go through ups and downs like TMI and Pippy. I love the fans root for them and hope they continue to root for them as well.

Q) Pippy was motional about her parents’ divorce and now she is going through a breakup. Will we see her going through similar emotions this season for her own relationship?

A) We’re only on episode seven so there has been a little introduction as to how Pippy is dealing with her breakup. I wouldn’t say she is as emotional as she was with her parents because it is a different type of thing. Her parents’ marriage was thirty plus years and they helped raise. I think the Pippy/TMI situation where she was kind of blindsided by the situation, Pippy wasn’t too surprised because there were signs that she wasn’t happy or lost TMI identity. I think we will get to see a different side of Pippy where she is maybe not as emotional but a little more hardened by the situation. It will be interesting as we get more scripts to see where it goes. Possibly they can be friends. Possibly she can’t get past this. I know the fans, for sure, want them to get to a point where if they are not ever going to get together that they are able to be friends (because they were friends at one point. Right now we’re not that far in so we are just scratching the surface of where she is hurt and exploring music.

Q) What else is in store this season for Pippy Rosewood?

A) The family dynamic dealing with her mother and her visiting this convicted murderer in prison. That element weighs heavily on the family and were are very protective of our mother. I think Pippy gets to this point where she has to decide and see where that storyline goes because she is in the middle of her mother and brother on this topic. I think that is going to be a very heavily in-depth family tie in because not only is he not our father, but he’s a murder. He is locked up so there is so much that goes with that. With Rosie (Morris Chestnut), his health issues haven’t gone anywhere so I’m pretty sure we will see us this season dealing with some of those elements. I think there will be some storylines this season dealing with Beaumont’s current health situation and with our mother’s potential love interest being a convicted murderer.

Q) What are some of your favorite behind the scenes moments?

A) I’m usually the ring leader for all of the chaos that goes on behind the scenes. We post pictures and videos. One of my favorite moments was when I got all of the girls to basically dance to Rihanna’s song “Work” and watch Lorraine Toussaint twerk was the highlight of my year. Watching Anna twerk was funny because she put a hilarious twist to it. Moments like that I would say. Also, seeing the pandemonium of women that Morris Chestnut creates when he enters a room. That is always hilarious. They go completely crazy! I would have to say that any time we all get to smile, be happy and stay connected with the fans is great. Morris does not like being left out of photos. If we’re trying to take a girl picture or a selfie there goes Morris trying to hop in! He is that guy, but is funny with that. I love that he is still and enthralled with his character that he still has time to play around with us and be light.

Q) What do you think it is about “Rosewood” that has made it such a fast fan favorite show?

A) I think the genre of the show that is already its own niche. People love those procedural shows where you can jump in and catch just a variety of elements. You have action with the cases. You have the science behind the pathology and for me I like learning. With this show, you are learning things that you didn’t know about how unique the human body is and how unique pathology is. I think at the heart of the show is just the characters are really relatable. My favorite is the family dynamic on the show. You don’t see a lot of sibling interactions on television. People eat that up. If we have a good or not so good relationship with our siblings, people want to see Pippy and Rosewood so tight knit. That whole sibling code thing that they do – there is that dynamic that people love to watch. Every character has had their family dynamic. You’ve seen Hornstock (Domenick Lombardozzi) with his daughter and his family. You see TMI and her parents where they do not support her. I think at the core of the show it is the family dynamic and the reality that our characters are so relatable. Most of us have never been to a crime scene and hopefully, none of us will have to be at a pathology lab. At the end of the day, we may not relate to that directly, but we can relate to the family element and I think that is my favorite part of the show.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

A) A huge, huge, huge, huge thanks! At the end of the day, we wouldn’t be on the air without the support of the fans of the show and the people who have followed all of our careers – the people who get excited about watching us win. That is such a special feeling and I want to thank everyone for that and please continue to support us. If this is a show you like, the more you get on social media and tell your friends and family to watch the more we can get shows like this to continue. This is a show that could last ten years. I love it is a family show that people can sit down and watch together. It’s safe enough to watch because it is nothing too dark. I do just want to say thank you a thousand times for their continued support.