Another Season 2 Update: A Little Bit of Self-Indulgence
Well, it’s been a while. So sorry, dear reader. That is, of course, presuming anyone is reading this; I could just be talking to myself (which wouldn’t be anything new). I’ve never been too concerned with numbers when it comes to readers or listeners, but I’d be lying if I said it was never on my mind. After all, the whole point of putting your art out there is for it to be consumed. Well, that might not be the whole point, and that’s kind of what I wanted to talk about today, as well as give you, dear reader (again, could just be me), an update on Season 2.
I don’t think I’ve ever been too skimpy when it comes to allowing others to engage in my work. If someone has ever asked to read something of mine, I’ve always obliged. There have been times where I basically thrust my work onto people to read (usually girls I had crushes on, and I of course never sent something without their consent). I’m not one of those writers who keeps their work hidden at all times. It’s just that I haven’t always had many opportunities to present my work to the public. Or, that could be because I haven’t necessarily always actively sought out those opportunities, which in all honesty, isn’t that different from keeping my shit under lock and key, for my eyes only.
I think I fear both coming off as self-indulgent and admitting to myself that I am or at least can be self-indulgent. Obviously, there’s a difference between that and doing something for yourself, something that happens to give you some sort of ego boost, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that— it’s a form of self-case— but the idea that something is “all about me” makes me anxious. There have been times during an improv class I’m teaching or that class’s grad show where the students made an effort to thank me or express some sort of admiration, and my reaction has always been, “No, it’s not about me, it’s about you, stop!” That discomfort is real, but it does feel good to be, I guess, honored in that way. It’s nice to know I made some kind of difference, even if that difference involves teaching people how to pretend to order coffee as an anthropomorphic crab who talks like Slim Pickens, all for other people’s amusement.
There’s a part of me that fears that this podcast is, in the end, just a vanity project. I mean, I’m basically showing off my writing in the hopes that it gets discovered by somebody and that somebody goes, “Hey, this guy’s not bad, maybe he can write a movie” (which I can, by the way), and before you know it I’m being whisked off to Hollywood (not that I want to live in L.A., ever, but you never know). Even so, I think I need to maintain some kind of humility or express a certain level of self deprecation (that’s essentially what this whole blog entry is, isn’t it?) to either prevent myself from getting a big head, or preventing someone from thinking I’m having a big head. Maybe that’s an artist thing? And yes, I realize saying “it’s an artist thing” is a very big-head-artist thing to say, but fuck it, I know I’m an artist, because I’ve made art, so 😝. Anyway, what I mean by “maybe it’s an artist thing” is that the sort of anxiety one gets about their work will inevitably lead to doubting said work in some way. That could manifest as hating your own portfolio, but for me, it usually manifests as wondering if others will hate my portfolio, not because of the quality of the content, but because it reveals me to be an egotistical douchebag who’s only it for himself.
And maybe I am! I don’t know! I certainly don’t set out to make it all about me, and I certainly don’t go out of my way to put myself first above all others. The main purpose of this series was and always has been to have fun with my friends and hopefully showcase their talents beyond the comedy stage. Yes, showing off my writing is flocked in with that as well; it isn’t just a beneficial side effect like how Red Bull gives you wings to go along with its great flavor (bad example; Red Bull tastes like kombucha drank guava juice, pissed into a can and asked if you were thirsty). But it can be both things at the same time, right?
I think the positive side of this insecurity is that it means all my work is intensely personal, and this podcast has been no exception. I see my writing as a way to not only hopefully entertain, but as a way as showing myself to the world, telling the world who I am and what makes me tick. Trying to express some feeling— usually some kind of pain, to be honest— that I might have trouble expressing in other ways. I think about Bo Burnham: even before Inside, it was easy to see that he put everything into his stage performance. It wasn’t just purposefully dumb puns, fun with sound effects and silly songs; he bled on that stage and hope you would notice, not to garner sympathy for himself, but just to let it out, because there is comfort in knowing somebody might know you, even if it’s just a little. Look at the final parts of what. and Make Happy; Inside is a 90 minute version of those. That’s what I try to do with every episode of Witness: take a little piece of my heart, drop it in, and hope you hear it beating. If you do, then great, and if you don’t, then that’s fine, too. The point is, I did it. I expressed it the best way I know. And I (again, hopefully) provided some laughs in the process.
So. Anyway. HOW’S SEASON 2 GOING, YOU’RE WONDERING???
It’s going well.
In fact, I think it’s almost done. Two episodes are definitely in the can and one is close. All the vocals for the episodes have been completed, save for a few retakes I’m still waiting on. Posters have been assigned to some friends who knows how to draw goodly, and for the most part, even though improv is back and I have been able to perform on stage again (oh MAN I missed it), my days for the last three months have been spent ruining my posture while hunched over my desk and staring too closely at Garageband. Well, actually, a lot of the work happens in the form of me listening to an episode for anything that needs tweaking while simultaneously playing solitaire or a game on my PS4. Nothing like keeping my ears open for subtle breath sounds while attempting to land a backside crooked grind in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater.
If all things act accordingly, it’s looking like S2 will drop sometime in October, ideally before Halloween. And I can’t wait. I really like this crop of episodes. They’re bigger, more bombastic, and contain some excellent performances. I’m particularly proud of the sound work I’ve done this season, especially for one ten minute sequence in E3. But enough of the vague shit… YOU PROBABLY WANT A TEASE! Well, I’ll give you a real one this time, no bullshit. I’m going to tell you how long each episode is, basically to prove (because it needs to be proved?) how big and bombastic this season really is. Ready?
57 min
1 hr 10 min
45 min
50 min
44 min
1 hr 16 min
Sit back and get comfortable for this one, folks, because it’s loooooong.
Yup, nearly 6 hours of content for your listening pleasure, including some mini-movies there. Those long runtimes surpass the likes of some classic Disney movies like Bambi, Dumbo, Cinderella and The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. I don’t know if that last one’s on par with the first three, but what a title! In any case, if there’s any need for worry when it comes to being too self-indulgent, I guess I can find it in the runtimes for S2. But that’s what happens when you spill yourself onto the page sometimes: a lot needs to be emptied. Can’t wait for you to listen to my guts.
—Andy