Witness… The Pirate’s Life for Me
Finally. FINALLY. FUCKING FINALLY!!!!!
Now that that’s out of the way, I suppose I should start off with an apology of sorts. I’ve already explained the reasons for such a long hiatus between seasons in previous blog posts and/or bonus episodes (check those out here and here if you desire edification), but if you, as a listener, are still feeling sore about having to wait so long, then, yeah, I’m really sorry. But at long last, the moment has finally arrived. The fourth season of Witness if You Will… begins today, January 29, 2024 (how is almost February already??). Well, Part 1 of the fourth season begins today. When will Part 2 drop? That’s future Andy’s problem.
The face I imagine future Andy will make in the future.
So! Assuming you’ve given a listen to “The Map Makers” and whetted your thirst for bickering pirates with varying accents, I assume further that you’ve come over to the blog to gain some insight into the creation of the episode. That’s how this usually works, right? A blog accompanies every episode? Well, that’s what this is, of course. But full disclosure, I forgot to write this ahead of time, so I am currently typing away furiously with 23 minutes until midnight when the episode drops in the hopes that this blog will be finished before then, too. Not that it matters. And not that you needed to know that. But fuck it, I like to be honest. And apparently I also like to stall and/or waste your time GET ON WITH IT.
“The Map Makers” came from a desire to really dismantle a genre, or tropes from a genre. That’s always been a pseudo-goal of this series, but if I recall correctly, one day I just started to wonder, Why the hell do pirates bury their treasure? And without the ambition to look up the history of such an act or even try to learn of pirates of lore even did that in real life and not just the movies, I decided it was a fairly stupid plan on their end and decided to mock them via my artistic outlet. That’ll show those pesky pirates!
I believe it was also inspired after seeing Erik Voss, who plays Monroe, in an improv show. Erik moved to San Francisco some time post-quarantine and I met him at a Jam held by Endgames Improv, my home away from home. Erik, a natural and astonishingly talented improviser, quickly ingrained himself in the community with his kindness, charm and, like I said, talent. The fact that he’s also a well-known YouTuber is just a fun, little tidbit!
In any case, when Endgames stalwart show, Your Fucked Up Relationship, decided to add a Saturday show along with its regular Friday slot, Erik was cast on one of the rotating teams. And during the inaugural Saturday performance, one of the very first scenes featured Erik adopting a British accent. Something about hearing that accent connected some dots in my head. Even though “Map” hadn’t been written yet and was just a kernel of an idea, the posh English emanating from the mouth of my friend seemed to shape what I hoped the story would be: three pirates, all vastly different in personality, bickering incessantly. And Erik had to be in it. I’m very thankful he said yes, because I know he’s a busy man (even busier now that he’s a papa— CONGRATULATIONS!).
When writing the episodes, there are two ways things can go. Either I know what the theme will be ahead of time, or the theme reveals itself through the patterns I find as the story progresses. For “Map,” I knew ahead of writing that I wanted it to be about trends or the habits to which we might find ourselves becoming a bit beholden. As I barreled through the script, though, I began to notice some, well, politics in the subtext, especially when you consider that I wrote this as more and more anti-Trans legislation was being passed in this country. I don’t want to say that this episode is an allegory for anything, but my frustration and outright anger towards the fuckers who put their time, energy and money into basically making it illegal for other human beings to exist definitely fueled me. The idea that some people are so set in their ways, so stubborn, so unwilling to see things any other way or even just begin to LISTEN, whether in the political sense or even the personal, and all because change scares the living shit out of them… Art can be good therapy, I guess is what I’m trying to say. Okay, semi-political rant over (until next week… TEASE!)
One thing I knew I wanted for Season 4 was to record in person. It seemed safe to do such a thing, what with vaccines and boosters coursing through our veins. The only issue was that I didn’t have any audio equipment. With the Zoom recording sessions, I relied on the performers to record themselves locally and prayed for the best audio quality-wise. To record everyone with professional mics and have them all be in the same room together… ah, now that’s the dream.
(Time update: three minutes till midnight. So much for that dream.)
But where could I record? I didn’t know. But one day, I heard tale that some people were going over my friend Dylan Garcia’s house to do some kind of livestream, something involving hot sauces and taste-testing while not quite being a Hot Ones parody. I caught some of it when it aired, and lo and behold, Dylan had microphones and generally all the equipment I desired. I asked him soon after if he’d be willing to help record episodes for the upcoming season, and yet again, a yes was given. (Technically this yes came before the one Erik gave me, so I don’t know if “yet again” is the correct way to phrase things, but whatever, why do I feel the need to correct myself?)
Casting the other two pirates was a cinch. On many an occasion, I saw Jonathan MacDonald, a former improv student of mine and clown-extraordinaire, play a pirate character in some shows, so he was essentially born to play Blisters. And for Neff, Jason Mann was someone I could tell had the range to pull off a seemingly weak-willed wannabe with a bubbling rage inside of him just waiting to erupt. Oh, and he’s so professional that he’ll actually mime digging a hole for a coffer in order to get accurate grunts and groans.
If you ever need help shoveling, hire Jason.
Recording took place, believe it or not, in the spring of last year. Yeah, that’s how long I’ve been sitting on this episode! Sorry again. Everyone met up at Dylan’s apartment on a Saturday afternoon. I arrived early to help figure out what the set up would be and what the best way to record everything was, like, where would everyone sit and to where would the audio be sent— directly to my computer or an SD card? After a little bit of trial and error, we landed on a good configuration. (And we went with an SD card, if you were dying to know.)
I am very proud of the first three seasons of this show, but will admit setbacks when it comes to the way some of them sound. There can be a lack of consistency due to the differing places people record themselves, and even a little bit of disconnect when it comes to the interplay between actors, especially with the threat of even just a one second delay while on Zoom. That last part is easy to mask, thanks to editing, multiple takes, and the fact that the performers are so goddamn good! But recording in person? The difference is instantly noticeable, both in the moment and in post production. Sure, there’s the possibility of some cross-audio (not the technical term, clearly), with someone’s vocals bleeding into another’s, like when there’s an interruption, for example. But I ain’t going back to Zoom seshies every again, no sirree bob. (Although, come next week, you’ll learn how sometimes that’s out of our control… DOUBLE TEASE!)
That’s about it, I think. I’m really happy with this episode and hope you enjoyed it to. It’s 12:27 AM as I finish this, so hopefully no one was expecting a blog to drop right at midnight. Okay, one, the episode is nearly 45 minutes long, so I think I’m safe there, and two, is it ego that makes me believe people are clawing at their computers, unable to stand a longer wait to read my rambling any longer? Don’t answer that.
—Andy
Clockwise from left: Erik Voss (Monroe), Jason Mann (Neff), Jonathan MacDonald (Blisters).