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The Tonight Show

I was in the audience of the Tonight Show Starring Jay Leno tonight.  The show airs at 10:30 or 11:30 depending on where you live.

I might be seen in the audience after the monologue when they’re coming back from the first commercial.  The camera on a boom was about 10-12 feet in front of me as it pans the audience before switching to Jay at the desk.  I’m wearing a peach polo shirt.

Here’s a clip from tonight’s show featuring Martha Stewart and Taylor Lautner.

The show tapes at 4 pm.  In order to be in the audience you must have a reservation, arrive at the NBC studios in Burbank before 2:30…. way before 2:30 in order to get somewhere in the middle of the crowd.  Studio 11 seats 370 some people.  There is a partially shaded waiting area where the crowd assembles before the show.  You’re told not to bring cameras but people do.  They’re told to put them away and you have to turn off your cell phones before you enter the studio.  About 2:45 pm they start taking people through the metal detectors and you’re given a line number badge.  I was #25 today.  You line up along the outside of the studio.  This is your chance to use the restroom if you need to.  You can only leave the studio during commercial breaks and only for emergencies.  Once inside the (very chilly) studio you’re seated wherever they want you.  There are no seat requests.  Many of the seats near the front are roped off (with masking tape) and saved for some reason.  They would occasionally bring someone in to those seats.

There are about a dozen large flatscreen monitors hanging from the ceilings so you can see what’s going on when a camera rolls right in front of you.   There are about 15-20 people behind the scenes that you don’t see.  Some are camera and sound people, production assistants, NBC pages and security.  These are just the people that you can see.  I don’t know how many others are really behind the scenes.  They have a warm up comedian that comes out to get the audience in a celebratory mood and tell them us what to do when.  About 15 minutes before the show starts, Jay Leno comes out in his traditional denim shirt and jeans and tells us that the show is “live on tape” meaning that it takes exactly one hour to tape and everything that happens is included in the show.  There are no do-overs.  Jay took a few questions, which were people asking if they could get their picture with him, and he obliged them.  He excused himself to go back and put his suit on.

From then on everything you see on TV is what happens.  During the commercials the band plays music while Jay (and his guests) get a quick hair or clothing adjustment if needed.  Jay also goes over the cue cards for the next segment.

When the show is over they make 3 or 4 quick promos for the show and Jay thanks the audience for coming.  We are then escorted out of the studio by the ever efficient and pleasant pages.