‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ gets audio reboot treatment
The iconic 1997 horror show enters a new dimension in this audio drama reboot co-directed by Chapman professor Kc Wayland (far right). The series will be released on Audible on Oct. 12 and will have several original cast members returning. Photos courtesy of Kc Wayland
Lights, camera, action. But what’s left out? Sound, and adjunct professor Kc Wayland wants to change that.
“I’ve been doing audio programming for a long time,” Wayland told The Panther. “I started back in 2009, and it sort of evolved from doing my own projects.”
Wayland got his start writing feature films as a writing and directing major at Chapman back in 2008. He crafted an animated project as his senior thesis but, in his own words, “it was not good.” What he noticed, however, was that it sounded amazing. Thus, his love of sound was born.
After graduating, Wayland found a way to combine longform storytelling with an emphasis on sound, which turned into his audio drama series “We’re Alive,” which revolves around three soldiers struggling to survive in a zombie apocalypse. He started the project back in 2009, and it has had several sequels since then. He garnered the attention of Audible, who brought him onto an exciting, upcoming auditory adventure.
The reboot uses a full surround sound environment from Dolby Atmos to help immerse listeners into the story.
“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” is a staple of ‘Spooky Season’ and has been since its debut in 1997. The original show followed Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar), a teenage girl by day and monster hunter by night. It ran for seven seasons from 1997 to 2003, and launched a spin off– “Angel”– that ran for five seasons from 1999 to 2004.
On Sept. 13, the fans’ prayers were answered after Audible announced “Slayers: A Buffyverse Story,” set to release this October. The Panther spoke with Wayland, who is both co-directing and producing the reboot, to get the inside scoop on what fans can expect.
“(Listeners) can expect a lot of little easter eggs that are throwbacks to the original series,” Wayland said. “There’s a lot of little references.”
The one element that will probably please Buffy superfans the most is the return of several original cast members, including James Marsters (Spike), Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase), Anthony Head (Giles), Amber Benson (Tara Maclay) — who co-wrote and co-directed the project with Christopher Goldman and Wayland — and Danny Strong (Jonathan Levinson). Wayland shared another feature of the project that he is particularly excited about, which will surely excite his fellow sound aficionados.
“(The project) is in (Dolby) Atmos, so we do a full surround sound environment to make you feel like you’re actually part of the story and inside of it,” Wayland said. “So when the characters get in the car, you get in the car with them. When they are in the middle of a fight, you’re in the fight with them. You’ll hear things flying over your head, like a demon getting thrown around.”
“(The project) is in (Dolby) Atmos, so we do a full surround sound environment to make you feel like you’re actually part of the story and inside of it. So when the characters get in the car, you get in the car with them. When they are in the middle of a fight, you’re in the fight with them. You’ll hear things flying over your head, like a demon getting thrown around.”
Wayland made sure to note that Audible’s Atmos system is so advanced that when the listener turns their head, the audio will follow them.
The processes of directing a visual drama and an auditory one aren’t as dissimilar as one might think. Wayland’s role entailed everything one would expect from someone directing a television show, plus coordinating schedules of the cast and handling contracts. He was also in charge of the entire post-production process, and he put the show together at his studio, which is located just down the street from Chapman.
Wayland regularly hires Chapman graduates to get real on-set experience. Nikki Spina, a creative producing alumna who graduated in May 2023, was one of the lucky few that got the chance to work with him on this specific production.
As the production coordinator, Spina had the chance to fill several roles on set. She worked closely with the cast, making sure they were taken care of, as well as handling logistics to help take some of the load off Wayland.
“You kind of just mold to fit whatever’s not happening,” Spina told The Panther.
Spina had taken one of Wayland’s courses when the university held classes remotely due to the pandemic and was really engaged by his course, even in the virtual setting. Spina was glad that Wayland’s teaching style carried over into his role as a boss.
“I would say he’s very thoughtful, very friendly (and) very approachable,” Spina said. “I never felt like there was anything I couldn’t ask.”
Wayland really likes getting as involved in his projects as much as possible, and he is always willing to step out of the director’s chair. Spina shared a fun memory from her time on set, recounting a time the professor put his voice-acting experience to good use.
“(Wayland) played a monkey. That was pretty cool,” Spina said. “He’s a professional guy, he dresses to look nice when he’s getting ready to direct and do all that stuff. It was (Wayland) in a button-down screeching like a monkey next to Charisma Carpenter, who is a very professional lady, so it’s just kinda funny.”
As a pioneer in his field, Wayland hopes the reception of this project will prompt other franchises and intellectual properties to take a similar route in terms of creative storytelling maneuvers. In fact, he seems to have some exciting things coming a little further down the pipeline that he can’t talk about yet. Wayland encourages everyone interested in the world of storytelling to be willing to experiment with this format.
“I’m very big to tell students it’s a really great muscle to exercise, to do storytelling in audio,” Wayland told the Panther. “You focus on the things that you need to focus on a little bit better for the other mediums.”
Students can listen to the “Slayers: A Buffyverse Story” on Audible starting Oct. 12.
“I’m very big to tell students it’s a really great muscle to exercise, to do storytelling in audio. You focus on the things that you need to focus on a little bit better for the other mediums.”