Ticket Week!

Let me just say that last week was awesome. Quite surprisingly, I somehow acquired free tickets to a variety of exciting and entertaining events. Some were simply handed to me, while others I had to do a bit of work for. Read on...

Let’s take Wednesday, for example. The writers periodically attend advanced screenings for upcoming films. I’ve always sat at my desk, quietly seething with jealousy as they headed off to their private showings. However, my luck changed last week as I got invited by the head writers to attend a screening of a highly anticipated summer film. I had a great time watching the film which was further enhanced by the writers' comical commentary after the movie was over.

After sitting through the enjoyable movie I got home to find an email in my inbox from the FOX hit show “Glee” telling me I had won two tickets to the taping of the show’s season finale. Unfortunately the taping was the next day in Los Angeles which meant I would be unable to go. A few days earlier I had responded to a Tweet on Twitter about getting tickets to the finale. However, when I submitted my name I didn’t realize the taping would be so soon. I wish they would have given me a bit more advanced warning so I could have gone. Nevertheless, I was just surprised I had actually won the tickets.

On Thursday, my ticket streak continued as someone at work gave one of my fellow interns free tickets to a Mets game that night. Fortunately, I was released earlier than normal for a Thursday night so I was able to accompany my friend to the game. I had actually been wanting to go to a ball game for several weeks, and finally the opportunity had arisen. We had a good time watching the Mets beat the Cubs 5-2. The game really got me excited for summertime: baseball, hotdogs, warm weather, and the good company of friends.

Friday night was the night I had to do some work for my tickets. When I got to New York at the beginning of the year, I said my one major goal (outside of doing a good job at work) was to attend a live taping of Saturday Night Live. The challenging part is, all the tickets for the entire season of SNL are distributed by means of a lottery system back in August. The only way to get into a taping if you did not get tickets during the August lottery is to stand outside in a standby ticket line ALL NIGHT LONG. I had considered making the significant time sacrifice several times earlier this semester, but the timing/weather was never right. One week it would be freezing cold, the next it would be raining, the next there would be 100 people already in line. However, my time to accomplish my goal was certainly dwindling. I decided that if I didn't do it last weekend I probably wouldn't ever be able to do. The reason being, I will be gone for the show's final taping on May 8, because I will be returning home for Carly's college graduation.

Soooo...it was now or never time. I packed up some blankets, warm clothes, and snacks and got in line on 49th street on the south side of Rockefeller Center. When I arrived I was the 22nd person in line. I figured if I was in the top 30 I would have a pretty good chance of getting in. Oh yeah, by the way, just having a standby ticket does not guarantee admission. So I could wait in line all night for a standby ticket, then show up the next evening for the taping and be turned away. It all depends on the popularity of the guest and how many family members/friends they invite. Nevertheless, I figured it was a risk I was willing to take. I even convinced three of my fellow interns: Nate, Nathan, and Kevin to join me in line. So we made a sleepover out of the experience. We got in line around 7 pm on Friday and finally received our standby tickets at 7 am on Saturday...after twelve, long hours on the sidewalk. We managed to pass the time by playing cards, eating junk food, and making conversation with those around us in line. In the end, our commitment paid off though as we were given tickets numbered 6-9. With such good numbers we were likely to get into the show, but nothing was for sure.

After getting our tickets Saturday morning I had just enough time to race home, take a shower, and then head to Brooklyn for a service project as part of Hands on New York Day. After putting in several hours of manual labor the guys and I left exhausted and sunburnt. But we managed to still muster up excitement for the taping of SNL.

When we showed up Saturday night they initially let numbers 1-30 pass through security. They then had us wait in a small cluster for more directions as to how many of the 30 would actually get into the studio. After a few minutes they gave the word that the first ten had been granted permission to go upstairs to the studio. It was such a relief! Once getting into the famous Studio 8H we quickly found our seats. We were placed in one of the side rows of the studio which weren't exactly the best seats, but we were just happy to be in the door. The show itself was a great time. Gabourey Sidibe from the movie "Precious" was the host and MGMT was the musical guest. It was fun to see how the entire show is actually put together and how little room they actually have to work with. It was also exciting to see all the SNL cast members including my favorites like Andy Samberg, Kristem Wiig, and Bill Hader. The show also contained some memorable sketches like the Digital Short: Cherry Battle. All in all, it was a very cool experience and so worth the wait.

After the show, I was so exhausted I fell asleep on my train ride home and missed my stop completely; riding the train all the way to the end of the line, finally awakening after the train came to a complete stop. When I opened my eyes I found an empty train car except for one MTA employee who was mopping the floor around my feet. I gave her a sheepish look as I tried to regain my bearings. Frankly, I was lucky I woke up with both my kidneys! Oh well, I eventually did get home. And you know what, even if I would've had a kidney stolen I think the whole experience would have still been worth it. Because I have now accomplished my semester-long goal: I've finally attended a taping of Saturday Night Live.