By Zach Shen, Band ’16
Super Bowl Weekend: For the average college student, this weekend is full of booze, wings, and giant dudes hitting other giant dudes. But if you know anything about Mask and Wig, you’ll know that we’re not your typical college students. In addition to the aforementioned festivities, we also get to record the musical numbers of our show, from start to finish, so that we may have an everlasting memento of this unique production.
The Band woke up in the early morning hours on January 31 to transport all the musical equipment and instruments to Third Story Recording (located at 52nd and Walnut). After setting up and warming up, the Cast joined us and we were off. With the chipper owner of the studio, Scott, overseeing the technical aspects of the recording and our dedicated composer, Neil Radisch, conducting us, we set off on the monumental task of performing each and every song from A Comedy of Terrors.
While there was no dancing involved, the three takes that were required for each song left everyone exhausted. Nonetheless, we pushed through – resolving to improve our sound and intonation with each take. After two days and 10+ hours of recording, the undergrads’ responsibilities were fulfilled, but it didn’t end there for the pros. While we carried on with our normal days of attending class and raging, Scott and Neil sat in the studio for up to 12 hours a day for three days to mix and master the recordings. They painstakingly went through every second, every instrument and every voice in order to make the necessary adjustments and to ensure a perfect product.
Every year, we dread the long hours spent in the studio, but once the mastered recordings are released, hearing the crisp, clean and professional sound makes it all worthwhile. After the run ends and A Comedy of Terrors is closed for good, this recording will serve as a fond memory of the blood, sweat, tears and laughs that we put in and will remind us of this incredible experience for years to come. Be sure to check us out on iTunes and Spotify!
