One year ago today was our very first show, and I’d like to start a bi-weekly series of recapping the improvised episodes we’ve done so far.
S. 1 Ep. 1 - Pilot - 3/7/18 The Peoples Improv Theater
A big brother big sister program comes to Sunnydale High. While the gang gears up to become mentors, Drusilla begs Spike for children of their own. Willow creates a strong connection with her mentee, but Giles suspects that a demon called “Kyren The Terrible” has infiltrated the school’s program using child vamps. Angel shows up with Kyren’s oldest text, Buffy fights off the child vamps, and Willow uses an illumination spell on the book forcing Kyren to relive his oldest memories. Kyren becomes mortal, Angel snaps his neck, and Spike returns home to Drusilla with one of the child vamps.
I(Matthew Woods) have been producing shows at The PIT for quite a while. About two years ago, I was doing a plug in between sets when I mentioned Buffy The Vampire and before I had the chance to finish my plug the the whole crowd starting shouting out things like “You’re doing a Buffy show! You’re Angel aren’t you!? Look It’s David Boreanaz!” When laughing about it at L’Express over drinks afterwards, I thought “Is there a NYC improv show about Buffy? If not there needs to be.”
After tabling the idea till Feb 2018, I was being offered a lot more slots for shows at The PIT. With nothing more than the concept that had rolled into my at L’Express, I decided to throw Improvised Buffy out there. Suddenly, my half was coming alive. When the tickets went up for sale on The PIT website I had less than two and a half weeks to cast, create, and rehearse the show.
I had no idea what it was even going to be like yet! But rather than panic I was confident that a Buffy crowd would certainly come out and be supportive. So I turned to my friend Justin who I had worked with on The Adventures of Hot Head. I knew I needed help, I knew he was a Buffy fan, and I suspected he’d be a great Giles(I was right).
My girlfriend Emily and I had recently produced a successful short play festival for her company (High Stakes). Buffy was one of the first things we bonded over, but I didn’t want to dump another project on her. I wanted her to be able to just come enjoy the show. To this she responded with something to the effect of “Crazy much?!” If I was doing a show about Buffy The Vampire Slayer, there was no way she wasn’t going to be involved.
The three of us sat down at that long table in a swampy room with no windows at Champions studio 39th street, and the playful banter induced productivity that would ensue over the next several days quickly ensured that the three of us would work well together as the production team for this project. Emily as the HR dept, Tech Queen, and head of Social Media. Justin our Giles, Graphic Designer, and Fight Captain. Myself as Angel and The Director.
“I wasn’t sure what to expect. The first round was a solo audition and it felt like a first date; one where you had to play a character from a tv show. I’ve never had more fun at an audition.” -Christopher Stewart/Xander
-Original Cast on day of the show-
I’m walking off stage from our bows(Buffy theme song blaring & people cheering), and I remember Justin and I grabbing each other, “Oh shit! We did it!!” I couldn’t believe it. It happened. No one died(except for Kyren), and everyone was so excited! I think everyone could agree that there was something special about that crazy fast audition/rehearsal period, and especially with the first performance going as well as it did there was a unanimous desire to do it again. So we did.
Hi there, we’re Improvised Buffy, a monthly live show in New York City where we make up an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on the spot! Think of it like live fan fiction. We’re new to Tumblr but we’ve been performing together at Under St. Marks for almost a year. Nice to meet you!
