SwagHer Magazine attends the special advanced virtual screening of P- Valley with an exclusive Q&A moderated by Angela Yee.
Let’s take a trip down to the hottest strip club deep in the Mississippi Delta where the food is impeccable, the girls are more than athletic, and the atmosphere is lit. We would like to officially welcome you to the PYNK. On Thursday, July 9, 2020, attendees were able to get a first hand “theatrical experience” through the female gaze as Katori Hall explains. As well as an exclusive Q&A session highlighting creator/showrunner Katori Hall and stars Brandee Evans, Nicco Annan, and Shannon Thornton about their new series “P-Valley,” which The Hollywood Reporter has called “One of the Year’s Best,”.
This hour-long screening of the first episode dived into this world that some are not too familiar with or have even stigmatized. As Katori Hall states, how it was very important for her to have women directing and working behind the scenes. “My goal was to aim for authenticity, lovable and relatable characters but to also humanize these women.”
From the opening scene, viewers were able to have empathy and meet some of these characters whose lives are about to unfold on the screen, right before our eyes, over the next few months. Meet Mercedes, the OG and ultimate hustler who Brandee Evans refers to as “an emotional gangsta”. Miss Mississippi, the stage goddess who is also a mother of 2 battling an abusive relationship and Uncle Clifford, the HBIC of the PYNK. Nicco Annan, who plays Uncle Clifford, says,” The stage is your stepping stone, not a tombstone, so celebrate yourself while you are up there”.
During the interview, attendees got to know a little more about how P-Valley was birthed, what each actor’s first strip experience was like, the training that went into this project, the confidence needed, and why the showrunner/creator Katori Hall selected Mississippi as the Mecca for PValley. Hall explains how the south, especially Mississippi, is misunderstood but has deep roots in family, culture, etc. In her own words, PValley is a “love letter to that special place.” Shannon Thornton, who plays miss Mississippi, also opens up on how she was terrified until episode 6, where Director Tasha Smith gave her a pep talk the way a football coach would to an athlete. This gave her an extra confidence boost to own that stage.
With this being a ten-year mark for some of the cast as well as the creator, it was time to take this coming of age experience from the stage to the screens. So sit back, relax and get your chicken wings ready for the official premiere of P-Valley, which airs this Sunday, July 12, 2020, at 9 pm/EST on STARZ. See you at the PYNK!!!
-Brittany Passion, Media Correspondent for SwagHer Magazine, @brittany_passion
