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love-takes-work · 1 month ago

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Streamily.com Presents: The Steven Universe Cast Reunion Q&A Part 2

Here’s a complete overview of the Q&A that was put on by Streamily, hosted by Elijah (“Not-So-Average Fangirl”), featuring Rebecca Sugar as the showrunner/creator, Sarah Stiles as Spinel, Deedee Magno Hall as Pearl, AJ Michalka as Stevonnie, Shelby Rabara as Peridot, Grace Rolek as Connie, Jennifer Paz as Lapis Lazuli, Kimberly Brooks as Jasper, and Erica Luttrell as Sapphire/Padparadscha. Read below to see various insights and opinions, and lots of hilarious commentary from the cast about the experience of voicing characters on Steven Universe.

Everyone opened with intros. Elijah ("Not-So-Average Fangirl") is the mod.

Rebecca said they created and ran the show for 8 years.

Sarah Stiles says she played Spinel!

Deedee Magno Hall says she played Pearl.

AJ Michalka says she played Stevonnie.

Shelby Rabara says she played Peridot.

Grace Rolek says she played Connie.

Jennifer Paz says she played Lapis Lazuli, Malachite, and Bob.

Kimberly Brooks says she played Jasper.

Erica Luttrell says she played Sapphire and Padparadscha.

Elijah says the questions are largely taken from the audience.

Q (for Rebecca Sugar): If you could be a Gem that WASN'T in the show, what Gem would you be and what abilities would you have?

A (Rebecca): Says they put so many Gems in the show. They used to go to gemhut.com to pick new ones. There were so many Gems inserted that were an aspect of Rebecca. They like Titanium--you get to be all the colors! And they always liked writing for the Quartzes--the soldiers who had epiphanies to not fight and settle down. They think they'd be a Titanium Quartz.

Q (for Shelby Rabara from Greenie_507): How was voicing Peridot different from any other character she ever played?

A (Shelby): Peridot is her favorite, hands down. She had a lot of emotional range--it was interesting to start her off as stoic and militant and then go through the transformation of losing her limb enhancers and becoming cute. Playing Peridot was such a great opportunity to embody an awesome character who evolves, and says what she's thinking without worrying about repercussions. Such a huge arc for this character!

Q (for Jennifer Paz from BrookesNook087): Which parts of Lapis did she find easy to connect with and which, if any, did she find difficut when voicing her?

A (Jennifer): She's so happy to be here and reconnect. Lapis has range too--when you meet Lapis it's intense, and she came in with such back story--Jennifer wasn't sure if she was even a good guy or a bad guy. She related to her so many ways--she was going through her "second puberty" (aka perimenopause) so she represents rediscovering yourself after dealing with trauma--she didn't even realize until after watching it that this character was reentering the world. She was a new mom and trying for her next kid and immediately going through perimenopause--it all led to this brain fog that she didn't even realize how much story was packed into Lapis's character.

Q (for Kimberly Brooks from Marco_Syrup): What was her favorite moment/part of voice acting for Jasper?

A (Kimberly): There are a lot of favorite moments. The surprise where Rebecca was going with the character; at first Jasper was a straight-up bully, but then she got an arc. Kimberly loves working with everybody and loves being part of the show. When she mentions Steven Universe, that's the show she's worked on that gets the most response. For her, the favorite aspect is the impact the show had on young people--gender identity, things in the ether. She loved being part of a timely, cool movement that a lot of people were affected by. She felt special being a part of it. Jasper is just a fun character to voice and she had fun.

Q (for Grace Rolek from Sammie47): What was it like growing up with her character? Were there ever any similiarities betweeen her real life and Connie's?

A (Grace): Yes! She loves this question and she REALLY feels like she grew up with the character. She started working on the show at 15 and now she's 27. She was in high school, really figuring out who she was, and in a lot of ways the character growth of Connie did mirror hers. She wasn't a shy kid but she was a bookworm and was homeschooled. Connie's journey of finding herself, her voice, her confidence, mirrored her own. This was very special for Grace to see her become a badass sword-fighting character. It was amazing to have that outlet and this space to explore growing up in her acting. She can look back as a full-blown adult and see how it mirrored her journey. She did once try fencing at the Renaissance Faire but decided that's more Connie's thing.

Q (for Sarah Stiles from somestarlight22): What part of the movie was the most challenging to record?

A (Sarah): She couldn't go for more than 45 minutes because she'd lose her voice. It was also the most thrilling voice work by FAR that she's ever done. Emotionally it was one of the great gifts of her life. She jumped into the world that had already existed and she'd had no idea her character was so important to the movie when she first got the role. She thought it was such a beautiful world. Spinel is very close to home sometimes, unfortunately. Her niece has a Spinel costume.

Q (for AJ Michalka): If you could fuse with any character you've ever played or voiced, who would you pick and why?

A (AJ): Steven Universe was the first cartoon she'd ever worked on, and then not long after it was She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. She LOVES playing Stevonnie and Catra. Something about merging Stevonnie and Catra would be some badass complication would be amazing. There should be fanart. The name would be what? Stevonatra? Catronnie? Deedee thinks then that character would have to sing Cookie Cat.

Q (for Erica Luttrell from FluffyBee_93): Would you want Sapphire's future vision abilities? Why or why not?

A (Erica): No, no, nope. We don't know much about the mysteries of existence, and she doesn't even like to go to a psychic because the answers would worm their way into her psyche and she'd always think it would be bad. She would want to intervene. It's funny because Estelle was on the previous day and she very much DID want all the answers.

A (Rebecca): In the writers' room this was discussed a lot because they'd determined Sapphire's future vision was entirely passive and fixed on one future where she does not act. Ruby's so impulsive that she fractures potential futures. When they combine in Garnet, they see multiple futures, so these answers make sense to them. At the bachelorx party before Rebecca married Ian, they had a psychic, and their brother Steven said "this is bad."

Q (for Deedee Magno Hall from ennedept): "Volleyball" is one of the questioner's favorite episodes. How did Deedee like voicing four characters in one episode?

A (Deedee): She can't remember doing all four in one episode. (Elijah suggests there's a Fusion of four Pearls. Rebecca corrects saying the Fusion in that episode is Crystal Gem Pearl and Volleyball.) Deedee says it's difficult to do multiple Pearls--she'll need a previous recording played to voice match, and she prefers to do one character at a time all the way through. She considers it a good fun challenge. She relies on Rebecca.

A (Rebecca): They gave the direction that Blue Pearl is mousy and Yellow Pearl is more like an old-timey secretary.

A (Deedee): Deedee remembers being told that the sound to shoot for is more like Betty Boop or Marilyn Monroe. It was very helpful to have that direction when creating the voices.

Q (for all): Which scene had them the most emotional while voicing or writing it?

A (Rebecca): The song "Change Your Mind" was a personal song that wasn't supposed to be for the show. It was written at a difficult time when Rebecca was facing pushback on the show and trying to stand their ground. It was an emotional choice to include it in the show.

A (Sarah): Her audition for the movie involved singing "Drift Away." She remembers being on her bed in her apartment singing it into her phone and couldn't stop crying. Recording the song live was also really emotional. It's burned in her mind. In a good way.

A (Deedee): When she recorded "It's Over, Isn't It" because she was also doing Tommy the musical, and her voice was raw after doing that musical. She had to reschedule the recording to sing the song properly. When she did manage to go to the studio to record it, she was still doing the show, but she wasn't on during the week. She was so worried about the vocal performance that she wasn't as invested as much as she wanted to be. All the times she was able to sing that song again, it was far more emotional afterwards. She loved that it spoke to so many fans. There were so many other songs that she doesn't sing in the show that take her to an emotional place too. She loves "Love Like You." It's her all-time favorite. She loves the way Rebecca sang it.

[Pausing the question to ask Rebecca a question before they have to go]

Q (for Rebecca from DominoMuffin): What happened to Cactus Steven after running off?

A (Rebecca): The Crew talked about this. In a way, it foreshadows the end of Future, which is a character who's been through a lot and then has to go live their life and be free. Their goal was to call forward to the adventure Steven would be having. Cactus Steven is living life and figuring it out.

Anything to say from Rebecca before leaving?

A (Rebecca): They're so excited to see everyone, they miss everyone, and they're on TikTok @rebeccasugar. Just playing little covers of the songs and they have the EP Spiral Bound out. They can't thank the other participants enough for helping to encourage them to record personal music.

[Back to the "All" question about the most emotional recording moments.]

A (AJ): The introduction of Stevonnie in "Alone Together" and realizing they were a Fusion and an experience, and not really knowing what it would be like. That part really got her--she likes to tell people they're an experience now, that they're a moment in time. It made her tear up when she recorded it. And then recording "Here Comes a Thought" with Estelle was super special. The lyrics are deep and touched many people. She loved singing with Estelle after only really having duet experiences with her sister.

A (Shelby): Many emotional moments happened in the recording booth--crying and laughing, all of it. Her most emotional moment was in the "In Dreams" recording with Zach Callison. It felt a bit like a goodbye message to the Crew, too--that they want to be connected even if they have to leave and live far away. Zach is so talented and gave so much--they even held hands during the recording. She really felt like she was on the edge with Zach, that she could feel everything that happened. Such a cool moment as an artist. She feels fortunate to be connected to all the other actors through this beautiful piece of art.

A (Jennifer): She agrees with Shelby. Jennifer didn't feel like she got to record that much. She remembers being emotional during Lapis's opening scene of saying to the Crystal Gems, "You three knew I was in there and you didn't do anything." She remembers she was shaking when she recorded the scene. It was so heavy for a cartoon, and she hadn't known it would be like that since she hadn't really done too many cartoons. Rebecca told her she's playing someone who was trapped and she didn't know much else--she was alone in the booth and didn't know what was going on. Later when she saw the episode she was blown away. She also remembers an emotional recording when Lapis stands up to Jasper in "Alone at Sea." What she was tackling, with Lapis taking her agency, her power back, from being in this toxic situation--this is a lot for an eleven-minute piece of art. That in particular, she was emotional in the booth. It was a powerful message to those getting out of a horrible situation. She would meet fans from cons and they would share personal stories of getting out of their own horrible situations and reference that episode. Jennifer feels fortunate to have been part of a show that gives such great life lessons.

A (Erica): Erica can't find the episode name (it was "The Question"), but her emotional moment was when Ruby and Sapphire were separated and Ruby came back from being a cowboy. She knows how it is to be separated from a person who feels like a part of you. She connects easily with others and she hates when someone ends a connection.

A (Kimberly): She wishes she had a better memory. She has the same issue as Erica. She remembers also feeling like she's stepping into an existing world that she hadn't heard of when her character arrived. Her character was the abuser and the bully, and she didn't realize what the impact was. All of her scenes were emotional--with anger--but pain is always underneath it. She felt like EVERY scene she recorded was emotional--what is making Jasper so angry? what is missing from her life? Such a heavy character to represent. Once she had to record as a public service announcement about bullying and she thought it was so relevant.

A (Grace): Grace also tried to Google an episode name and it might have crashed her Wi-Fi. The episode was "Full Disclosure," where Steven is pushing Connie away. (Though she recognizes Connie also pushes Steven away elsewhere in the show.) She got choked up recording the episode--she knows the feeling of trying to be there for someone and they're pushing you away is familiar to her. At that age your friendships and relationships are so dramatic. There's also when Connie confronts her mom in "Nightmare Hospital" when she tells her mother she hadn't even noticed that her glasses don't have lenses. She kenw that feeling of growing up and not being a little girl anymore. She thought something similar to the others about how her concept of working on a cartoon was more like "We're going to go on adventures and fight bad guys!" and then before you know it you're crying in the recording booth and exploring your past.

Elijah the host says other messages from children's media (Rainbow Fish, The Giving Tree) taught people to give all of themselves away and encourage toxic relationships, but this show stood against that.

Q (for Shelby Rabara from Mylesjude2): In Little Homeschool, Peridot teaches gardening to students. What are her favorite plants to grow and why?

A (Shelby): Peridot loves growing pumpkins and she doesn't have to build anything for gourds to grow. She's a big bean fan and she likes to pick the pods off. How can there even be food scarcity? It's just logical!

Q (for Jennifer Paz from Kai): What element other than water would she like Lapis to manipulate and why?

A (Jennifer): She thinks she would love to be able to read minds. That's not really an element but wouldn't that be cool? She can tell sometimes when people aren't saying everything they mean and she'd like to be able to root it out. Maybe Lapis could be a therapist, taking what she learned evolving through trauma.

Q (for Kimberly Brooks from TheMaskedTaco): What does she think Jasper is doing now? Does she do anything in Little Homeworld?

A (Kimberly): She needs help with that answer. Did she learn any lessons? Did she move forward? Kimberly isn't sure. She needs some serious therapy. Let's just say she's getting some self help and is doing better, taking responsibility for her actions. That's what Kimberly wants to believe.

Elijah says they should take Jasper to a rage room and can break something every time she reveals something about herself. What if Lapis and Jasper went into business together to run a rage room? Maybe have a crying room? Include Peridot and make morps in the barn? Someone should draw that too. Deedee wants to know if someone can come to the rage room to clean and organize things too. Perhaps do laundry. It could be very therapeutic.

Q (for Grace Rolek from WhatIsJuan): What does she think Steven and Connie are up to now that the show is ended?

A (Grace): Connie's off to college and Steven visits. She remembers she went off to college at 18 and Zach visited her. It'd be similar adventures. And they'd probably get up to adventures as Stevonnie.

Q (for Sarah Stiles from Flowerz4Daises): What is Spinel up to since the movie?

A (Sarah): She's learned Cirque du Soleil tricks. Trapeze, skateboarding, hip-hop classes, cooking, baking; she's got endless energy and ideas, so she's doing a LOT of stuff. She'd have such chaotic colors and flavors! Maybe combine baking AND a circus! And hole up in the barn.

Q (for AJ Michalka from G70_Heart): What was the process like when voicing the conversations between Steven and Connie while they were Stevonnie?

A (AJ): It was tricky. There are things Grace does that AJ would pick up on, and then with Zach she'd think of the Steven laugh and mannerisms. Stevonnie is a whole person and she wanted to subtly reference aspects of how their components talked without it seeming like she's playing two people.

Q (for Erica Luttrell from Nachet): Was it fun playing two different kinds of Sapphire and was it hard to go from Sapphire to Padparadscha? (Everyone jokes about not being able to pronounce Padparadscha.)

A (Erica): It was not difficult at all because the two characters were in completely separate episodes. It was fun, especially since Padparadscha is SO different and cute. Sapphire is regal. She relates to the deep thinking Sapphire does and sometimes her wife doesn't want to listen to it.

Q (for Deedee Magno Hall from Bella): If Pearl could say one thing to Rose about how Steven turned out, what does she think she'd say?

A (Deedee): Rose would be so proud of him. That would be it. And he is loved.

Elijah's mom calls in from off camera to say they're all having too much fun. It's funny since they're just talking about moms. Erica says her nine-month-old just took a couple steps for the first time during the recording.

Q (for all from pulpypal953): Which Gem character's power would you want in real life?

A (Sarah): She would want to be big and strong. Like Jasper.

A (Deedee): As a mom, she would want the healing power.

A (AJ): She'd want to manipulate water like Lapis. She'd love to be able to save people from tsunamis.

A (Shelby): She wants future vision so she could prepare.

A (Jennifer): She remembers Steven healing Lapis with his spit. She wants to heal with spit.

A (Erica): She's giving it serious thought. She'd want to be strong like Jasper but also impervious, and she wants to be able to jump back a second or two in time to fix misses. She wants to shield those she loves and those who need it.

A (Kimberly): Invisibility. She's kind of a voyeur. Elijah thinks she could have Amethyst's shapeshifting power and become a small animal.

A (Grace): Shapeshifting. She'd love to be able to cause chaos.

Q (for all from HaoTamaLove): What animal does your character remind you of and why?

A (Sarah--Spinel): Maybe a little puppylike or bunnylike.

A (Deedee--Pearl): Bird. She adopted the loving term "Bird Mom." Maybe like a flamingo, but a flamingo beak isn't pointy. Kimberly thinks like a crane? A fusion of a flamingo and a crane. A cramingo! (Artists? A new prompt.)

A (AJ--Stevonnie): A Lion because of their mane. They're sturdy and reliable.

A (Shelby--Peridot): A squirrel. She'll do anything to get what she wants. (Artists??)

A (Jennifer--Lapis): Maybe Lapis's alter ego, Bob--Bob would be a regal cat. The cat would cause trouble. Lapis had dry one-liners.

A (Erica--Sapphire&Padparadscha): Padparadscha would be a "slemur." A sloth lemur. A hyper-aware but slow creature. Sapphire would be an antelope, but in the arctic.

A (Kimberly--Jasper): The African Bush Elephant, which is the strongest animal in the world. Then also maybe the Muskox.

A (Grace--Connie): A companion animal that's really smart, like an Australian Shepherd.

Q (for all): Share socials, other projects, and outros!

A (Sarah): She's on Instagram and she's in the first season of Hazbin Hotel, plus some hush-hush stuff.

A (Deedee): She's on Instagram and is voicing occasionally on Kiff. Thank you to Streamily.

A (AJ): She's on Instagram and is releasing a new album with her sister (Aly & AJ).

A (Shelby): She's on Instagram, and she just released a kids' book with her husband called Martee Dares to Dance. She directed her first short for a film festival and directing a music video. Also "mommin' so hard."

A (Jennifer): She is working on some secret projects. She did some voiceover on a game. She's developing a musical with her husband called Proud Marys. She's writing and producing things she can't talk about, but hopefully soon!

A (Erica): She's on Instagram and the bird site that shall remain nameless. She can't talk about her current projects. Things she's apeared on before will be involved.

A (Kimberly): She's on Instagram and can't talk about upcoming stuff and doesn't quite know the process for some of them. She's in a new thing: she is in Arcane as Sky. And she's done some work on The Simpsons and South Park.

A (Grace): She's on Instagram and worked on Clone Drone in the Hyperdome as Kata, and she plays bass in a band called Starling.

That's it! You can get signed prints at Streamily!

#steven universe #rebecca sugar #sarah stiles #deedee magno hall #aj michalka #shelby rabara #grace rolek #jennifer paz #kimberly brooks #erica luttrell #streamily #long post #myblog

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