Amber on Stage

[Kendahl897]

Sorry, don't flame me, but I really think ya'll are making a little too much of this..There's nothing that says that Amber cannot do both. Other actors on the show do other projects while they are working on Buffy (James, Aly, Sarah, etc) so I see no reason why Amber can't either. Remember, next season will probably be the last for Buffy, so I imagine all of the actors are trying to look to the future..For someone who knew she was going to be killed off at the end of the year, she doesn't seem to be out there looking really hard. And while I heard this play was great and I really wish I had been there to see it, I hardly think a 3-day run is enough to pay the bills, especially if one just bought a house in LA....And Xita made an excellent point in one of her earlier posts.If Amber is through with the show, then why doesn't she just say that? That's what other actors do when they have left a show....

Sorry, but between Wanda and Jane Espenson and their cryptic little spoilers, I can't help but feeling that ME has something up their sleeve....at this point in the game, with the chemistry Aly and Amber have together and the fact that they were also voted favorite couple, to try and pair Willow with someone else is just about one of the stupidest things ME could try.You're just going to piss even more people off.....

[AutumnT]

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I hardly think a 3-day run is enough to pay the bills

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I'd be really surprised if she was paid at all. Seems like it might have been a freebie thing given what the point of the plays was.

Autumn

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Well, the reindeer part was nice...

[BBOvenGuy]

I think it should be blazingly obvious by now that Mutant Enemy doesn't have the slightest care whether or not they piss people off. Sometimes I think they enjoy doing it, actually.



Sorry, but I'm tired of grasping for little tiny shreds of hope. Either Tara comes back or she doesn't. I just called 'em as I saw 'em Saturday night.

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"We don't want to feel less when we have finished a book; we want to feel that new possibilities of being have been opened to us. We don't want to close a book with a sense that life is totally unfair and that there is no light in the darkness; we want to feel that we have been given illumination." - Madeleine L'Engle

[helpful information perha]

um isn't 'stupid R us' "MEs" logo ?



remember Buffy and Angel, after selling them as soulmates and hitting their ratings peak with that storyline ME sent Angel off and paired buffy with Riley

and hey then they had her shagging her mortal enemy/stalker/murderer/rapist spike



willow wasn't left uncoupled post oz all that long before her "prayers for the heart she desired" were answered.



and even xander wasn't left in the lerch over cordi dumping him. how many episodes was it before anya was jumping him?



ME has a track record for pairing off the scoobies quickly post break ups



I give willow Nov sweeps to "get better"

and predict she's coupled off by Feb sweeps



If last year is the end, then I expect everyone but anya and dawn to die in the last battle to save the world



and whedon to try and pitch anya and dawn in a spin off

[BBOvenGuy]

HIP, seeing as how we're straying from the subject of Amber on the stage, I moved over to the I want Tara back thread.

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"We don't want to feel less when we have finished a book; we want to feel that new possibilities of being have been opened to us. We don't want to close a book with a sense that life is totally unfair and that there is no light in the darkness; we want to feel that we have been given illumination." - Madeleine L'Engle

Edited by: BBOvenGuy  at: 6/10/02 4:06:27 pm

[Blue77]

Wow, I would so LOVE to see Amber on stage ... congrats to all those who made it, it must have been truly awesome!!! And thank you for all your stories, they have been most entertaining!!



hip - that's my biggest fear really, that they will pair off Willow to someone else faster than we can see "what happened to Tara's funeral?" I think it will be a case of shallow much? I'm pretty sure that AH won't be too happy with the whole way the relationship has ended, she must feel like the fans will really hate her for being bad and then meeting someone else (if this is indeed the case) ... but Aly don't worry, we'll always love Willow, we just hate Joss ... it's his bad.



Blue

"She should have died hereafter: There would have been a time for such a word ...

...it is a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

Shakespeare/Macbeth

[mariacomet]

I wasn't there - unfortunately - to see Amber being asked about Buffy so I don't know as much as Bob or Xita or the others.



But what I feel right now is that ME and Amber may not know what exactly is up with Tara. We have heard conflicting reports on how much of season 7 is planned. We heard all this year that Joss had it all planned out. Recently the wording of certain interviews suggests the arch plannning may not be quite so detailed. Plus the writers have stated in interviews things like, 'if we wanted to change the direction the show is going, we can't do it mid season, we have to wait till the season ends.'



Well the season HAS ended. The ratings which were already sliding on WB have slide even more and every critical review that I had read states that despite the finale (which criticially seemed to be a moderate sucess) this season of Buffy has been lackluster and unimpressive.



Every interview I have read recently suggests that the writers want to make Buffy 'fun' again and go back to the roots and blah blah....which sounds to me like the wording of people that realize that their ship is sinking and are about to try and bail water.



Amber's contract has always been ironed out in the summer. Amber's 'sadness' might be that she honestly doesn't know. She has taken some roles, yes...but no big ones. and certainly no long term ones. I don't believe that Amber CAN NOT find a long term gig if she wants one. The young woman that played 'Belle' in Beauty and the Beast made a descent stage career for awhile just on that one preformance and Amber has a much more extensive resume.



I'm not gonna play the waiting game. or be on pins and needles. But like Kath, I will say the Amber question has become much more interesting as of late.



Still....holding my breath? Not so much.

[Kendahl897]

..I'm sorry if I made anyone angry. That was not my intent...I just find it very odd and frustrating that no one will come out and say that Amber has left the show. Instead, we just get cryptic little hints from Wanda and Jane...And while I agree that at times it seems ME doesn't give a fuck who they piss off, those situations someone mentioned earlier can hardly be compared to this one...You knew Angel/ Buffy were doomed from the start b'c of the curse and Angel/ Cordy left to do their own show. As for Xander and Cordy, I would have hardly called them soulmates. ME had to scramble with the whole OZ thing b/c Seth Green left in the middle of the season and remember that aside for the kittens, MOST fans did not begin to accept Amber/Tara until last season..Finally, aside from Angel and Buffy, both of whom are still alive, no other couple have been portrayed as the soulmates that W/T were with lines like 'I will always find you' and 'you're my always'....

Anyway, I'm desperately trying to keep a little hope but not too much less I have my heart ripped out again. I just find the whole thing FRUSTRATING..I'm sorry if I made anyone angry

[xita]

ariadneia, thank you for the nice words, it helps in tough times and I am so glad you got to see the show, next time, say hi. I don't bite much





Oh and about Amber. I think it is speaking with bias suggesting theater work would indicate that Amber is not going to do Buffy just as it would be me saying it means she will be. It doesn't mean anything, the woman made a movie while working on Buffy.



I didn't take anything away from the experience than what I took from Santa Barbara.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Willow and Tara Love

Truly and Forever

Edited by: xita  at: 6/10/02 4:51:04 pm

[Puff]

You go away for a few days and when you get back you hear that the fabulous Miss Benson has been in a play. Sounded good as well. Thanks for all the reports and pictures

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You know, it's a real deal relationship and that's why people can relate to it
Amber Benson

[TrueXena]

Thanks to everyone who gave reports on the play and of course how well Amber did in it. And thanks for the wonderful pictures. I SOOOO wish I would have been able to have gone, but alas I'm like 3,000 miles away. (i'd of drove a good 12-15 hours, but I'm thinking a 2 day drive is a bit much)



As for Amber being or not being on the show next season....I'm waiting to see the whites of her eyes. If she shows up on the show, I'll be happy. If she doesnt, I wont be surprised.

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Tara: "C-can you just be kissing me now?" - in 'Entropy'

Tara: "Its good to be a chicken casserole." -in 'Answering Darkness' By: Sassette

Tara: "Evil's....good." - in 'Seeing Red' (shooting script)

[tommo]

Well, I think we've all seen how great Amber is at "multitasking" and juggling about three different jobs at once. The more the uh...more...you know? I'm all for it.

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Squish. Squish. Squish.

[pikescoob]

A picture a few pages back shows Amber with a FSU shirt on....I am such a huge fan of their football team (they're my fav for college). I wish I could've seen the play but I won't be moving to LA until later this year. Oh well....thanks to everyone who wrote a review of their experience there.



--Michelle

[relativegirl]

This is pretty OT, but it's a bit of fresh air after the crap the Buffy writers have been spewing lately . . . .



The play Amber was in was part of a young playwrights festival in which playwrights under the age of 19 submit their work and the winning playwrights are paired with a professional playwright/dramaturg/screenwriter to mentor them and help them polish their play until it's ready to be performed by professional actors. The mentor screenwriter for the first play of the evening (not the one AB was in, so yeah, this is OT) was interviewed by the Writers Guild of America regarding the craft of writing and he had a rather refreshing perspective on political correctness, TV's influence on young viewers and how those two things affect choices he makes as a writer:

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Q: How has today's climate of political correctness affected what you write and what we see on TV? Do you have less creative freedom because of it?

A: Sometimes what people call "political correctness" is really just a matter of exercising good taste and judgment and being sensitive to the huge impact television has on viewers, especially young viewers who, for better or worse, take their cues from what they see on TV. It may be "politically correct" to depict gays and lesbians as healthy, normal citizens, for example, but it's also true and sends a positive message that is not lost on the audience.

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Thank god this was the screenwriter mentoring the young playwright and not someone from the ME writing staff.



Oh, and as a side side note, I noticed that of all the writers who have been interviewed by the WGA regarding the craft of writing, not a single one of them is named Whedon or DeKnight or Fury or Noxon or Espenson . . . in fact none of the ME writers have even made so much as a blip on the WGA "craft of writing" page. Hmmmmmm. Now do you think there's some connection between . . . . nah.



www.wga.org/craft/intervi...edman.html

[TrueXena]

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Hmmmmmm. Now do you think there's some connection between . . . . nah.

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Yes, but what kind of connection?

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Tara: "C-can you just be kissing me now?" - in 'Entropy'

Tara: "Its good to be a chicken casserole." -in 'Answering Darkness' By: Sassette

Tara: "Evil's....good." - in 'Seeing Red' (shooting script)

[helpful information perha]

nice to see a writer acknowledge that tv does indeed have great sway over those watching especially younger viewers.

[hellcat]

I love what this person said although it doesn't suprise me coming from someone involved with that festival. All three plays were very unique and quite impressive. I find it very sad that Joss could not see the bigger story he had created with Willow and Tara and instead went too far the opposite way by killing off one of the lesbians. He made the statement that not killing off one of the gay characters just because they are gay was offensive to him. That's fine from a creative standpoint except that we had no other representation in the media other than Willow and Tara. Because of that, he should have been more concerned with the effect it would have on younger viewers.



I am very happy to see that at least our future playwrights are concerned with being politically correct and realizing that the media does have a big impact on our younger viewers. ME could take some lessons from them.

[BBOvenGuy]

What a great answer. I might end up using it as a signature somewhere.



Many times, what other people call "political correctness" is what I call "responsible writing." I think it's selfish and immature for writers to think they can do whatever they want without ever thinking of the responsibility they have for the messages they send out.



Hmmm... am I suggesting that there's a connection between Mutant Enemy and selfish, immature behavior?



And I really loved the first play, by the way. From a pure writing perspective, that was probably my favorite one of the evening. Then again, that third play did have that monologue by the girl who likes underwear...

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"We don't want to feel less when we have finished a book; we want to feel that new possibilities of being have been opened to us. We don't want to close a book with a sense that life is totally unfair and that there is no light in the darkness; we want to feel that we have been given illumination." - Madeleine L'Engle

[AutumnT]

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Hmmm... am I suggesting that there's a connection between Mutant Enemy and selfish, immature behavior?

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LOL, now even Bob is doing it. Yes, Bob, but what kind?

Autumn

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Well, the reindeer part was nice...

[Kendahl897]

I agree...they had done so much by the way they portrayed Willow and Tara..I have read interviews with Amber, Aly and Joss where they have talked about all the letters they have receievd from young people talking about how much this relationship has helped them to deal with their real life coming out situations...

I wonder if for a second Joss ever stopped to think about what killing Tara would do to those people who looked to them as role models or for inspiration, or how betrayed people would feel after all of the reassurances we were given that they had NO plans to send Tara anywhere (that still burns me worse than anything, I wish someone had brought that up when he was posting at the Bronze)...I doubt it. But I think he will. I think alot of people have made their feelings known now and I think next year, if they don't bring Tara back and the ratings keep sinking, we will have given him what he needed. Not what he wanted, but what he needed. Kind of poetic, huh?





I wonder how many letters ME gets from young demons saying how much Anya's and Xanders' realtionship has helped them to cope--that's the difference for all those morons out there who just still don't get it.....

[AutumnT]

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I wonder if for a second Joss ever stopped to think about what killing Tara would do to those people who looked to them as role models or for inspiration, or how betrayed people would feel after all of the reassurances we were given that they had NO plans to send Tara anywhere

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This for me is the crux of the issue. The taking of all the praise, the crowing in the gay press about the relationship and the lies. Frankly it still stuns me. Because I really did think he understood. I'll give Joss this, he talked a good game, but in the end that is what it turned out to be. A game.

Autumn

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Well, the reindeer part was nice...

[helpful information perha]

well if you compare the comment from the writer who "gets it"



to Mr Whedons: "I knew some people would be angry with me for destroying the only gay couple on the show, but the idea that I COULDN'T kill Tara because she was gay is as offensive to me as the idea that I DID kill her because she was gay."



I would suggest that from his statement above, that he (much like a petulant, white, privilaged, protestant boy ) see's these characters as his his his and no one is going to tell him what he can or cannot do with them.



Logical conclusion drawn from his statements, the implications of what he was doing were evident to him but he killed tara anyway - to prove his dominance/control of the females he puts on screen. These are not independent female sheros of the buffyverse, but rather his "pawns" that must bend to his will/his dominance over the characters. His will must be demonstrated at all costs.



He apparently could handle the female hero issues when he was the "paternal" figure guiding his charges through their highschool years.



However, he stumbles badly with the "grown up" versions of his females stories. The paternal mentor now reverts to (as a friend of mine put it) a "socially alinenated and dysfuntional

nerdy adolescent kind of storyteller."



Whedons "adult" take on the female lends to a nihilistic tale where women are defined by the men they sleep with, are moody, depressed, don't know what they want out of life and revel in sex and violence (buffy); are prone to addictive and derranged behavior (willow); are money grubbing bitches (anya) or are madonna figures (tara) and by Deknights admission all exist in a nihilistic world dictated by Whedons desire to see Tara snuffed and willow splattered in tara's blood. Quit the statement on Whedons sense of whats needed in a show peddled to a teen male target audience

[emma peel]

Wow,helpful information please. Very insightful points you've made there. Thank you.

Janice

[Ghostwriter]

Thanks to everyone who went and your reports. You all are soo lucky. Thanks Bob for the pictures, as always you are the best. And HIP once more you made me stop and say "whoa". I think I am going to start following you around the board so I can read more pearls of wisdom.

[rhiannongayle]

Thanks everybody for your great reports!

I'm glad you had a great time!

[helpful information perha]

um, stalked by a ghost? yippes!