Wizard World Philadelphia 2011 has finally come to a close. Over the next three days, I’ll be bringing you write-ups of some of the weekend’s hottest panels. This article is going to focus on the Sunday Q & A panel that featured Clare Kramer and Mercedes McNab, two lovely actresses best known from their work in the Buffy-verse. Before we dive into the questions, I’d just like to give a quick bio on each actress.
Clare Kramer is known to Buffy: The Vampire Slayer fans as “Glorificus,” the main villain (Big Bad) from Season 5. Glorificus, “Glory,” was a deity trapped in our reality and was also integral in incorporating Buffy’s younger sister into the show. She is constantly named as a favorite villain by fans of the show. Clare also starred in Bring it On opposite fellow Buffy alumna Eliza Dushku (Faith Lehane). More recently, Clare began a foray into writing and directing, including a film called Hard Love, which stars fellow Buffy alumnus Nicholas Brendan (Xander Harris).
Mercedes McNab played “Harmony Kendall,” a character who started out on Buffy and successfully transitioned to Angel, joining the main cast for the final season. Harmony started off as a high school friend of Cordelia Chase’s, but was turned into a vampire during the series, which afforded her the opportunity to develop a relationship with fan favorite character Spike. Mercedes also has an impressive television guest starring list, appearing in shows like Boston Public and Crossing Jordan.
The panel began at 11 AM and, due to the early start time, was a bit under-attended. Clare and Mercedes came in together with Starbucks in hand. They talked a bit about a karaoke session with fellow Buffy veteran Julie Benz and immediately began fielding question.
Question: Was it fun to play such a vapid character? What was your role in the cast?
Mercedes McNab: “[Harmony] couldn’t be intelligent.” Mercedes saw Harmony as the comic relief, always able to lighten a mood with her vapidness. She said it was definitely fun to be that person the writers could rely on to brighten up situations or break the tension.
Q: How was the transition from vampire to high school student?
MM: Mercedes actually commented on the surprise her return gave her. In the Season 3 finale, “Graduation Day,” Harmony is bitten by a vampire and her ultimate fate is a bit ambiguous. She returns in Season 4 as Spike’s arm candy. Mercedes remarked that everything definitely turned out for the better with Harmony’s transformation.
Clare Kramer: Clare chimed in here to offer the idea that you never really knew where your character would end up. She said she the cast were always racing through scripts, desperate for news that they would survive each episode. She also said she felt that the audience’s reaction to the characters was important in the decision to retain characters.
Q: [Obligatory "What was it like to work with Joss Whedon?" question]
CK: “He’s a true artist…you don’t meet a lot of people like that.” She commented on how he affects the whole show – writing, directing, casting, scoring, and acting.
MM: Mercedes talked about how impressed she was by his imagination. “He always had so many different ideas of which direction he could take the story and characters.”
Q: For Clare, how has your transition from actor to writer/director been?
CK: Clare said she’s been itching to become more wholly involved in the creative process. Her model for success in the industry seems to be very much based on people like Joss and Quentin Tarantino – directors/writers who have a core group of actors and technical people. Clare said she’s moving towards turning her group of friends into an entertainment team. She also talked about the importance of the Internet in independent projects, focusing on the success of The Guild as being a ground-breaking moment in online entertainment.
Q: At this point, I asked Clare, who definitely was my favorite of all the Buffy “Big Bads,” what it was like to play a dynamic character like Glory.
CK: She stressed the idea that kicking ass, reaching her goals, and being on the front edge of fashion were all equally important and came very naturally to Glory. In her mind, there was no one driving force – it was equally crucial that she kick Buffy’s ass and look good while doing it.
Q: A fan asked Clare about the Olaf’s Hammer prop, a giant weapon that was ultimately used in defeating Glory. The fan actually claimed to be the possessor of the prop, having won it in an online auction.
CK: Clare said the prop, though incredibly menacing-looking, was light foam. She talked about the challenge of pretending that a two-pound prop was actually a weapon capable of defeating a god.
Q: At this point, there was a lull in the questions, so the moderator stepped in, asking Clare to talk about her recent foray into directing, the aforementioned Hard Love.
CK: Clare stressed how great it was to be able to work with friends and start to build her entourage; additionally, she mentioned that she felt it was a very positive learning experience. The film is not meant to be released en masse; Clare intends to only show the film at conventions. “It’s personal – for the fans.”
Q: Buffy had a very large, online following – did either of you read into the fan reactions to your characters on the forums?
MM: “I’m not technically inclined.” Mercedes mentioned that she didn’t want to let any possible negativity affect her in any way.
CK: “Eliza [Dushku] told me to get online.” Clare talked about the initial resistance to Glory, commenting that she thought it was natural for fans of an established franchise to be a bit resistant to a new character. She said that, after some time, the fans warmed up to Glory, but she stopped reading fan commentary on her performance shortly thereafter, stressing that she didn’t want to be performing just to please the fans – she was focused on giving a performance that was true to the character. Ultimately, she said she never let the fan commentary, be it good or bad, stick with her during shooting – “It’s all subjective, really.”
Q: For Mercedes, have you kept up on the development of Harmony in the Buffy Season 8 comics?
[For reference, in Season 8, Harmony has become a bit of a celebrity. She's the star of Harmony Bites, a reality show that seeks to introduce vampires into mainstream culture and turn public opinion against Buffy's army of Slayers.]
MM: “It’s so great.” Mercedes remarked that she was incredibly impressed by the writers’ faithfulness to the characters and their vision in naturally progressing the characters forward. She also mentioned that Harmony’s pet puppy is based on her real life teacup Pomeranian, Hercules.
Q: For Mercedes, what was it like filming Hatchet?
[Hatchet (2006) is a horror film starring Mercedes McNab as one girl in a group of teenagers who get lost in a New Orleans swamp. It also starred horror film sensation Danielle Harris (Halloween 4, Halloween 5, & Rob Zombie’s Halloween)
MM: “We filmed in the meth capitol of California.” Mercedes said that filming conditions were a bit rough (long shoots spent drenched entirely in water) and living conditions were tight; however, despite all of this, she said it was an overall fun experience because the actors really were able to bond during filming.
Q: For Mercedes, what’s your favorite episode from Buffy and Angel?
MM: From Buffy, Mercedes said her favorite episode was “The Harsh Light of Day,” Harmony’s premiere as a vampire. Mercedes said it was a great experience to have the vampire make-up applied for the first time; additionally, she also expressed her delight at being incorporated into the action sequences for the first time. From Angel, Mercedes immediately went to “Harm’s Way,” a Season 5 episode that focused entirely upon Harmony and her troubles at adjusting to her job at Wolfram & Hart.
Q: Do each of you have favorite characters in the Buffy-verse.
CK: Clare said she found it impossible to pick any character but her own.
MM: “We’re all so biased. It’s like choosing which kid you like better.”
Q: For Mercedes, was there a big difference between the atmospheres in filming Buffy and Angel?
MM: Mercedes said she felt that atmosphere at Angel was more mature, citing the opportunity for everyone to grow not only as actors but also as a crew and a team. She said the early days of Buffy were packed with drama – something that most definitely did not occur on the set of Angel.
Q: For Clare, what was it like breaking into an already established crew?
CK: “It was like transferring high schools in junior or senior year.” She said she really spent most of her time hanging out with the actors who played her minions. Clare said she really felt like the new kid on the block while she was on set, only ever getting to spend a lot of time with Sarah Michelle Gellar.
Q: Were stunts new to the both of you when you joined Buffy?
MM: “I’m used to beating people up.”
CK: Clare said she loved doing the stunt work, insisting that she jumped at the opportunity to do her own stunts – something she enjoyed doing because of her dance background, noting a connection between learning choreography and fight scenes. She said the crew was very protective over actors and stunt doubles.
MM: “It was an emotional outlet.” Mercedes said one of her fondest memories from shooting Buffy was her slap fight with Nicholas Brendan; insisting that no stunt doubles were used.
Q: For Mercedes, what’s on the horizon for you?
MM: Mercedes mentioned that she has a pilot with Ron Pearlman, one in which HBO has expressed interest. She only talked about it vaguely, expressing a desire to not reveal too many spoilers. From what she told us, it’s a sci-fi series that toys with the idea of humans and animals living as equals; additionally, Mercedes said the program is incredibly adult-oriented, saying that it only really has a home on a cable network like Starz or HBO. We’ll keep you updated on any further developments with this pilot.
The panel came to a close here and the ladies departed for their booths on the show floor. As a tremendous fan of all things Whedon, it was great to see some of Buffy‘s best supporting characters come out and talk about the show and their futures. Clare and Mercedes led a great panel and seemed incredibly happy to interact with fans. I caught up with Clare for a photo-op later on and she thanked me for coming to the panel and asking a question. Hearing both of these awesome actresses talk about something as special as Buffy was definitely one of the highlights of my convention experience this year.
Tomorrow, I’ll be bringing you coverage of the excellent Billy Dee Williams panel. Then, on Tuesday, I’ll present a write-up of my favorite 2011 convention experience: the Adam Baldwin Q & A. In the meantime, check out more Wizard World articles from Nick Cavicchio (who also gets a shout-out for taking the photos), Jordamus Prime, and CGC Lee. Thanks for reading and stay tuned to Comic Booked!
Tags: Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Clare Kramer, Comic Con, Glorificus, Glory, Harmony Kendall, Joss Whedon, Kyle Black, Mercedes McNab, Philadelphia, Wizard World
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Written by Kyle Black
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