Requiem for a Scream: Writing A Comedy of Terrors

Requiem for a Scream: Writing A Comedy of Terrors
February 2, 2015 Nate Stauffer

By Danny Rodriguez, Head Writer for A Comedy of Terrors, Cast ’15

About ten months ago, I embarked on a journey with seven young, goofy dudes.  And boy, were they goofy.  Our mission was to write the 127th Annual Production for the Mask and Wig Club before the new year rolled around.  It sounded easy enough.  Our only parameter: make it different than the previous three years.  So nothing that travels back in time… or forwards. And nothing involving a ship.

Then for seven days and seven nights in May, we laughed, we cried, we drank, we slept in, we cried some more, and eventually we all agreed on one thing:  Horror.  This year, we did something unique by ultimately falling in love with a genre rather than a story.  The plot didn’t matter so much, but the idea of pulling off a live comedy in the frame of a horror was an enticing challenge that all the writers seemed eager to tackle.

Requiem for a Scream?  Anything Ghosts?  How about A Comedy of Terrors?

“That’s a Shakespeare reference, so we should go with that so people know how well read we are.”  Nice.  As August rolled around, so did my favorite time of the year: Writers’ Retreat.  I can’t speak for the writers of yesteryear, but for me, the retreat will always be associated with the sweet, crisp breeze of the Annapolis shore.  And vomit.  So much vomit.

But no matter!  The show is up and all is well.  There are talking busts, dancing paintings, and knights named Shyamalan.  Charlie Chaplin once said, “A day without [A Comedy of Terrors] is a day wasted.”  Don’t let Charlie down! Come see what eight goofy dudes have been doing over the last ten months, and get your tickets now!

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