Prior to filming, Rachel Bloom told Gabrielle Ruiz about a scene in Making 'The Shining' (1980) in which Jack Nicholson prepared for his scenes by shouting, "Kill! Kill! Kill!" It became an inside-joke on location as the actresses jumped up and down shouting "Kill! Kill! Kill!" to amp themselves up before each take.
This is the first full show of the season with Gabrielle Ruiz, who was unable to appear earlier because she was honeymooning. However, she prepared for her big ballet dance during her honeymoon, and there are several scenic photos of her rehearsing on the balcony of her hotel room.
Rachel Bloom had a bad mushroom trip when she was in college which served as the inspiration for the dream ballet sequence. She pitched the idea to the writers countless times before they finally incorporated it into the show.
The Electric Mesa scenes were shot in 112° weather. Rachel Bloom tweeted, "We filmed this episode while Burning Man was going on, so I basically went to Burning Man!"
To cool off between takes at Electric Mesa, Gabrielle Ruiz shrouded herself in a scarf that was drenched in ice water.