Mask and Wig brings digital media into its fall show

Taking an SNL-inspired route, the Mask and Wig Club’s fall show “An Eye for an Island” will feature more digital media.

Using a projection screen on the stage alongside the performers, Mask and Wig will display digital sketches and a picture slideshow to compliment their traditional act.

“A lot of comedy content has shifted to YouTube, so we want to be able to approach that medium more successfully,” said Wharton senior and the undergraduate chairman of Mask and Wig Rishi Simha on their new endeavor. “I don’t think our YouTube channel reflects the comedic talent of the group.”

Mask and Wig has tried to experiment with digital content before, but has only presented a digital sketch once, at last year’s fall show. The difficulty comes in predicting how funny their final product will turn out, members said.

“We tried writing more visual bits,” said Mask and Wig cast director and College senior Joe Miciak. “When we pitch them, it’s hard because it’s hard to imagine what a video is going to look like.”

Unlike their musicals produced in the spring, Mask and Wig’s fall shows are comprised of different sketches, similar to Saturday Night Live. “All of our bits can be ridiculous, out there,” Miciak said, describing the fall show’s theme. “There’s a reoccurring theme of people crashing onto an island, of being judged for past wrongdoings and atoning for those past wrongdoings.”

Another feature of the fall show that breaks from tradition is the music played in between sketches by the Mask and Wig Band. “Our song selection has veered away as much from the pop-y kind of stuff, and more into some metal and ska,” band director and Engineering senior Wyatt Shapiro said.

The Mask and Wig Club’s “An Eye for an Island” will be performed at the Iron Gate Theatre on 37th and Chestnut on Wednesday at 8 PM, Thursday at 7 PM and 9:30 PM, Friday at 7 and 9:30 PM and Saturday at 7 and 9:30 PM.

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