An Interview with True Defective’s Luke Bruneaux
We chatted with the Director of Boston’s True Defective improv show, Luke Bruneaux
Over the past few years, True Detective fans have found creative ways to honor True Detective. For a relatively niche show when it comes to content, True Detective has found itself a creative and loving fanbase. That is especially true for ImprovBoston, the group behind True Defective: Season Three.
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While chatting with Bruneaux, it’s apparent that a serious love for the series is what originally sparked the idea:
"“I was a big fan of the first season. After the first season was done, I had some conversations with some people I do improve with…The Improv community here is pretty strong and there’s tons of opportunities to create new shows. I felt there was something in-particular about True Detective that lends itself to improv…I love the drawn out pace of True Detective and the universe and time as well as the sort of emotional depth. I felt like there would be a really neat tension if we put that on stage.”"
True Defective takes place over the course of an hour and very much harkens back to the first season. A couple of detectives are given prompts by the audience and have to create a past for their characters. Bruneaux says that “there’s a villain — he’s doing very bad things,” but that just like the series, that isn’t the focus.
True Defective: Season Three doesn’t take all that much from season two. In fact, the only thing that carries over from that season is the idea of Lera Lynn:
"“The only thing I took from the second season..I have a colleague who is a song writer and singer.. as soon as I saw the first episode with season two, I thought this could be Kristina Stapelfeld” (check out her awesome work here)"
When pushed as to how he actually felt about season two, Bruneaux is honest but measured:
"“I’m not a hater. There was a magic about the first season that was missing in the second season. I think part of that is…someone gets too controlling over their art or their work. I liked…parts of it. I stuck through it.”“If you treat it too seriously it’s obvious how ridiculous it is.”"
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Most people would likely agree with him, though now we at least know what went wrong. True Defective has proven popular with the Boston crowd so far, and could keep coming back regardless of how long True Detective stays off the air:
"“I’m assuming it will keep doing well. There’s a lot of buzz. My cast is really great, they bring out so many ideas…We pitch our show and I feel like it’s had enough success. Maybe take the show on the road. At this point I feel like we’ve diverged from the show and I don’t necessarily want to wait two years. Maybe.”"
That’s certainly good news for improv fans. True Defective: Season Three is at Studio Theater tomorrow night (January 16th,) and involves just six players plus Kristina Stapelfeld for the music.
At the end of the day, Bruneaux doesn’t want True Defective to be known as just a parody, he wants it to be seen for what it is: a tribute. “We’re not making fun of the show, we’re celebrating it”
Well said.
Next: Colin Farrell wants to teach you about Easter Rising.
True Defective features Kaitlin Buckley, Sumeet Sarin, Taylor Cotter, Rachel Jane Andelman, Kristina Stapelfeld, Ryan Dalley & Francesca Villa.