Free and Awesome

It was early in the semester, and I was feeling blasé about my participation in the city. I knew there was so much to take in and see and do, but I felt as if my life were only about school—in the often gloomy Manhattan, nonetheless. That’s when my roommate told me that TV shows like Late Night with Conan O Brien and The Colbert Report were filmed here and that it was free for audience members.

Free? Tell me more…

 

Back story: one of my favorite shows is The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. I adore his political slander and the commentary on his show. Immediately after my roommate said the audiences got in for free I went to his web site in search of some tickets. There were only a few days left that had some space in the audience, so I reserved two for a couple weeks later. Five minutes after I got my confirmation email from the Daily Show team, all those days were blacked out—the seats go fast! I reserved two tickets; the only restrictions for snagging tickets are that you have to be at least 18 and in a group smaller than 4 people.

 

The fine print of the show reveals, to insure the show’s audience is full every night, they intentionally overbook and give out too many tickets. That means having a ticket still doesn’t guarantee you get to see the show. But I was determined, and knew that if I wanted a seat, I would have to get there extremely early.

 

The shows are filmed mid-afternoon, edited after that and go on air later in the night. My friend and I decided to get in line about three hours before the taping, at 3. When I arrived at the studio the line was already winding around the corner; it was a tedious wait, standing for hours, but the other hopeful audience members in line—mostly locals, a few European tourists—were very friendly. Then, finally, some crew members came out with clipboards and we had to sign our name signifying our place in line and show our official ticket receipt from their email confirmation and ID. The line began slowly shuffling into the studio (cue: me, ridiculously giddy with excitement) and only the front half of the crowd was allowed into the studio. What happens one you’re in the studio: bags are checked for weapons, there are no food or drinks allowed; it’s a little like airport security for a while (but a lot nicer). After you pass that, crew members work diligently to sort through the groups of people and sort of “art direct” the way the audience should look. When we made it to the set, my friend and I were sorted and sent to the front row center—even though we were only in the middle of the line! It was complete luck.

 

I was star struck by the set; it feels so strange sitting in a place you’ve seen on TV so many times. There was a bit of a wait before taping began, while the camera crew shuffled about getting things ready. An intern came out and talked to us for a while, then announced the entry of none other than Jon Stewart himself—everyone applauded wildly as he came out on set in all his Comedy Central glory. They didn’t start taping until a while after that, because Stewart actually just sits at the onstage desk and talks to the audience, answering questions (so, yes, he really is that nice and funny in real life. I’m in love.) He coaches us to laugh at all the appropriate moments, not to yell anything because it would be edited out anyway, et cetera. The taping went about the same way you would see the show on TV except with pauses between segments; only once did the guest fumble his words and they had to re-tape a segment (to which Stewart instructed us “laugh like this is the first time you’ve heard it!”) At the end, Stewart thanked us for coming to see the show and crew members escorted us out of the building accordingly. It ended all too quickly.

 

Seeing a taping of a show is one of the coolest things to do in New York, and being in the audience of the Daily Show remains one of the most fulfilling moments of my life (hm… Maybe I need more fulfilling life moments…) Snag this opportunity while you can. Quickly, before all the dates get grayed out!