Posts tagged Jane Espenson

A thank you letter to Joss

Upon reading the exquisitely talented Jane Espenson’s tweet this morning about it being the 15 year anniversary of the premiere of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, my breath caught in my chest. Has it really been 15 years since I first dipped my toe into the world of Sunnydale? Suddenly the me of then, plopped in front of the TV every Tuesday night, and the me of now came colliding together.  Jane’s sentiment of how much Joss Whedon and Buffy had changed her life hit me like a ton of bricks: ME TOO. 100%.  I sat here and realized that I can honestly say that I am who I am today because of the show. It unearthed my deep love of scifi/ fantasy, it prompted me to take my first martial arts class (this site should give you a hint that I’m still going strong), and most importantly, it made me feel that I could over come any obstacle, that my dreams were possible. It was a show that could make my heart race, my gut laugh, and my eyes cry in a simple moment. It gave me my first on screen love story (and then my second) that I felt almost a little too attached to.  It brought the battle between good and evil to a new playing field, and then colored it with grey; we all have both within us. In three words, IT WAS EPIC. And then Joss moved on.

Fast forward to it being announced that Joss was writing Wonder Woman and he changed my life AGAIN. I would write and shoot something original, with me as the Amazon princess, THAT would be my audition tape. But before I knew it, the project was dead. But its influence didn’t end there. I was asked be a friend, WHY I thought it was dead - my answer was that the mythology couldn’t stand in current times. So she asked me: what did I think could work today? My answer put me on the path I find myself on today.  I researched and created an entirely new Amazon myth - my first attempt ever to ‘write’. Fast forward five years, I am a full blown storyteller, both an actress AND a writer (with a little Wonder Woman photoshoot to boot).  Everyday, I aim to create story worlds and characters that are larger than life, metaphoric to the issues that challenge our existence, yet rooted in the simple wonder of being human, and humbled by our communal need for love and acceptance. I discovered my true connection to scifi and the communities that embrace it and I believe that girls KICK ASS.  It may have taken a while to get here, but I am in the driver’s seat of a creative, ass kicking life (though I will oft give a nod to The Powers That Be).  And this is all pretty much because of Joss and Buffy.  From the bottom of my crazy creative heart, I thank you Joss. I’m gonna make you proud.