Sunday, June 3, 2007
By EVELYN SHIH
STAFF WRITER
With a smorgasbord of events going on in New York, where will you find new kicks this summer? Instead of a Broadway show, this may be the year some tap into one of the city's behind-the-scenes resources: the studio television taping.
Live audience shows that tape in New York include evergreen staples such as "Late Show With David Letterman" and "Late Night With Conan O'Brien," popular fake news programs "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report," food-friendly fare such as "Emeril Live" and Food Network alum Rachael Ray's new day-time talk show, the daytime fireworks session that is "The View" and, of course, "Saturday Night Live."
In total, more than a dozen televised shows tape in the Big Apple. Unlike many Manhattan tourist destinations, these shows are free. There is one catch: You will pay with your time – time spent doing some research, and, later, waiting in line.
Conan is worried, but you shouldn't be. Courtesy of centerclick.org.Most of these shows have dedicated ticket Web sites or telephone numbers where you can request seats in advance. And while some of the more popular shows may have months-long waiting lists, unlike many out-of-town tourists, North Jersey residents have the home-field advantage.
Small tweaks and uncertainties in the actual show date aren't as big an issue when plane or train tickets aren't at stake. And being local also gives you more of an opportunity to scratch a last-minute talk show itch, making staking out early spots for standby tickets only a moderate inconvenience.
Going Undercover
To test drive the process, I decided to attend a taping of "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" as a member of the studio audience.
The NBC peacock, courtesy of...well, NBC, I guess. First things first: I called NBC and requested a ticket by phone, leaving my name and e-mail. Within a day, I received an e-mail with instructions to arrive "no later than 4:15 p.m." for a 5:30 p.m. taping a month from that date. Because programs often overbook, spaces were "not guaranteed" and were allotted on a first-come, first-serve basis.
To try to "guarantee" myself a spot, I arrived nearly an hour early at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, where "Conan" is taped. Seeing no signs, I asked a security guard, who promptly directed me to the second floor. Within minutes, two official-looking men with clipboards had checked me off their list, and I had the keys to the kingdom: a green "Conan O'Brien" paper wristband and a purple voucher that guaranteed my place ... in line.
Now I had to fill the time before the audience was to meet up at a nearby stairway at 4:15 p.m. At 30 Rock, you can browse the oh-so-conveniently located NBC gift shop or downstairs in the basement retail concourse.
Waiting game
30 Rock: Not as cool as the show. Courtesy of Nbc.comThe last 20 minutes were a delicate dance: I needed to stay close enough to pounce when the actual queueing up began, but far enough to not be noticed by Katie P., the curt NBC employee who kept shooing us away from the stairwell for "fire safety" reasons.
"You cannot wait here," she trumpeted at the shaggy teens slouched against the wall and the middle-aged couple sporting NBC merchandise bags. "Take a walk around the building. Please come back at 4:15."
At 4:16, I suddenly noticed that a four-person-wide line of my wrist-banded compatriots was swarming up the stairs. I squeezed into line in a hurry.
But I rapidly realized that it made no difference whether I was the first one up the stairs or the last. My voucher, labeled with the letter "N," was my place holder ... in the holding area. There we waited some more as Katie P. and her colleagues warned us not to harbor metal -- we would be passed in line if we didn't pass the detector. Finally, we coursed back down some stairs, through the safety check, and into an elevator.
We were ushered into a small studio, with just a few hundred seats, which the crowd filled in orderly fashion. Conan's desk and the stage area where he delivers his monologue seemed tiny, crammed in shoulder to shoulder. A bandstand for the Max Weinberg 7, Conan's musical foil, crouched against the audience on stage right.
Warm-ups, then showtime
Conan! Courtesy of pleasantmorningbuzz.comA few minutes before showtime, a comedian comes out to warm up the audience. At the comedian's mention of New Jersey, a large whoop takes over the upper middle section of the audience.
But nothing compares with the excitement of the crowd at 5:20, when Conan himself springs into the room with his long, thin frame to grace us with his own warm-up. He leaps right into the front row and perches there, mantis-like without his suit jacket, adding a few hip thrusts in time with the band's music.
Conan looks even thinner than on television, and more earnest. He riffs off the audience around him for about five minutes before the band sends him back out the door for his jacket with a jazzy number. The audience buzzes with energy. After a few camera position adjustments, Max Weinberg whips into the familiar Conan theme. And now, for the first time, the "APPLAUSE" sign shows off its high wattage, but we hardly notice: We're genuinely excited.
Let the show begin.
E-mail: shih@northjersey.com
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Advice for attending
• Plan ahead. We're talking months in advance if you want to snag tickets for popular shows. Comedy Central representatives recommend booking three months in advance for "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" and five or six months ahead for "The Colbert Report." Why the discrepancy? Audience size and taping schedules vary. The "Colbert" studio seats 110, while Stewart's digs seat 216. Both tape four times weekly. By contrast, "Letterman" seats a whopping 461 and tapes five days a week.
• Do your research. TV shows operate on different schedules – so aspiring audience members should consult a show's Web site for specifics. Shows like "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" and "Emeril Live" tape a set number of episodes throughout the year, depending on the length and cycle of their seasons. "Rachael Ray" is currently booking audience members for its second season, which starts taping in November. August is a big request month for shows like "Martha Stewart" and "Saturday Night Live."
Dave Letterman. Courtesy of cbs.com. • If you decide to go last minute, check out the show's standby policy. In many cases, this involves lining up once in the morning for a standby spot, and then again before the actual showtime. Keep in mind that there are no guarantees for standby.
• Go prepared to wait. Getting a ticket is half the battle. Next comes the wait to see the taping. And it is a wait – anywhere from an hour to two. Bring snacks and water, and dress appropriately, keeping the weather in mind.
• Follow the rules. Do not bring still or video cameras, and do not carry anything sinister that will set off a metal detector, which many shows employ. They mean it when they say the line will move on without you!
• Be ready to pounce. Many shows take e-mail requests and do not inform you whether you have seats for the requested date until a few weeks before the show date. Try to leave your schedule open during a general time period -- and don't set your heart on a date.
• Play along. Not only should you follow the instructions on your e-ticket to a T, you should also do what hosts ask of you. During a recent "Conan" taping, an audience member received a pair of Max Weinberg's drumsticks after stepping up to hug Conan during the warm-up.
Shows that tape in New York City
"The Daily Show"
"The Colbert Report"
"Late Night With Conan O'Brien"
"Saturday Night Live"
"Late Show With David Letterman"
"The View"
"Who Wants to Be a Millionaire"
"Montel Williams"
"Martha Stewart"
"Rachael Ray"
"The Maury Povich Show"
"Emeril Live" (lottery system)
"Judge Hatchett"
"CenterStage" (tapes sporadically)
Copyright © 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.
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