Working on this passion project is not without its stumbling blocks. I often say it feels like I’m making it up as I go along. But it also has a serendipity to it, an energy it generates on its own.
I came to Cebu City to record a voiceover for the ebook version of “Kalipay and the Tiniest Tiktik,” the Cebuano story in this series. (For those who aren’t Filipino, a tiktik is a creature from Philippine folklore—a funky sort of vampire, though “viscera-sucker” is more accurate.) I found an actor within 24 hours of landing here (the expressive Yon Maningo), via a fellow Brooklynite (playwright Linda Faigao-Hall). After frustratedly searching the internet for a Cebu City recording studio, I walked around the corner from my hotel and stumbled upon 1032 Studios, a tiny-but-well-reputed recording studio, located next to a tattoo parlor. So at 9 pm I walked in, interrupted sound engineer Chase Bantug at work with a band, and quickly sorted out rates and a booking.
Here’s some photos from our recording today. It was strange and exciting to hear the story given voice in a proper recording studio. Yon read the Cebuano version, Chase worked it into shape with software and engineer pixie dust, and I read the English version.
Chase Bantug works the keypad.
Yon Maningo
