As a few months have passed since Happy Bats presented our first-ever Buffy Sing-A-Long, it’s time to get off my considerable ass and write a recap of the day. To say I was pleased with how everything turned out that day would be an understatement. From an organizer’s point of view, it was a fun event to put together, only edged slightly with some nervousness that things seemed to be going almost too easy. On the day of the show, my slight case of nerves was quickly put to rest by the good people at the Pacific Cinematheque. These folks, both staff and the volunteers, are such amazing knowledgeable hosts. Any questions I had going in (of which I had had many) were answered before I could ask them. They put me at ease immediately, and let me slip slightly more comfortably into my next roll: host (AKA dancing monkey).
With all the other details (concession, ticket sales, projection, etc.) taken care of, I was able to greet and take tickets from the people who had bought tickets in advance, along with my friend and boss Erica. My amazing friend Lisa gave out those adorable little ‘Grrr…Arrg’ monsters as everyone filed into the theatre. We sold some more tickets at the door, and before I knew it…showtime.
After a few awkward words from me, the first episode of the afternoon was timely for late October, “Hallowe’en”, from season two. As I said at the time, I had forgotten how funny that episode is. Great stuff. This was followed by possibly the creepiest episode ever, “Hush”. I thought it would be fun to have everyone scream along with Buffy at the appropriate moment, and we raised the roof with it. (A side note: Doug Jones, who played the main “Gentleman” in “Hush”, and also the star of Guillermo Del Toro’s brilliant new film “Pan's Labyrinth ” (go go go see it…now!) came into The Bat a few weeks before Christmas. Doug was one of the most genuinely nicest and accommodating ‘stars’ we have ever met. Not that this takes anything away from how creepy he can be in character!) .
And so finally we come to the main event, the Once More With Feeling Sing-A-Long. Having already sung its’ praises some time ago here , there is no need to recap all the hows and whys this is one of the most brilliant moments ever on television. If we raised the roof screaming at The Gentlemen in “Hush”, we blew it off the place singing along to the musical episode. Even though the theatre was not quite at full capacity, we sang like a group three times our number, maybe more. We were mighty. I can’t say much more, as it’s something to experience, words do not do it justice.
One of the best parts of the entire day was the large number of people who showed up in costume. Hallowe’en was still a few days away, but the fans really took the to the suggestion to come dressed for the event. Judging a costume contest after the show was probably the hardest part of the whole day, as everyone really outdid themselves (well except me, who made a funny hat). I will say, that Erica, as Doppelganger Willow, had she not been a part of the event (and therefore disqualified for prizes), she would have won best costume. The effort put into the outfit, hair, makeup were outstanding. And no, I’m not just sucking up…see for yourself. The winners were a Spike, A Halfrek, A Miss Kitty Fantastico, and our littlest Slayer.
In the end, I couldn’t be more happy with how the whole thing went off, and the feedback given to me is that everyone had a great time, in particular as it was a much more relaxed atmosphere than a similar previous event. I can’t thank these folks enough: the Cinematheque staff and volunteers, The Happy Bats crew (Guy, who gave up his Saturday afternoon to allow Erica to attend, and Cory for the same as well as being our biggest cheerleader), The Browncoats , whose organizational skills and promotional efforts kept us flying, and of course, all those who attended. It was great to be able to sit amongst you (in fanboy mode) and be part of the day with you. Thanks for making the show a success, and look here for announcements for the next event…coming sooner than you might think.
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