From “Saturday Night Live” to “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”, 30 Rockefeller contains some of the most prestigious stages in comedy. Every night, people come from all around the world for the chance to be in the audience during one of the tapings or live shows. One day in Mid-September, I was lucky enough to receive tickets to see “Late Night with Seth Meyers” on Thursday, October 1. Although it was on a school night, and midterms were right around the corner, I knew there was no way I could miss out on this opportunity.
Many comedy lovers remember Seth Meyers from his role as the Weekend Update host on “Saturday Night Live”, where he presented a satirical take on the weekly news. Meyers was the anchor from 2006-2014, but he had been a cast member and writer since 2001. Due to his long standing career in comedy, Meyers had proven himself before his talk show to be a witty and relatable host.
“Late Night with Seth Meyers” is prerecorded from 6:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m., and then aired at 12:30 a.m. We had to arrive at 30 Rockefeller at 4:30 p.m. in order to wait in line and garuntee our tickets. My friend and I skipped our last classes, drove out of Philly and arrived at 30 Rock just in time. Having never been in the building before, I was very surprised to see what was inside. The lower levels are almost like a mall, with shopping and dining. Once we were allowed upstairs, it became clear that there were many floors of studios, lounges and offices.
After going through security upstairs, we were led into a lounge where we waited to be let in the studio. It was very modern, and had moving still shots of all the guests who had appeared on Seth Meyers. We talked to some of the NBC interns who had extensive knowledge on the show and building. When it was time to move into the studio, we took the elevator up to the eighth floor. “Late Night” films in studio 8G, which is right next to “Saturday Night Live” in studio 8H. All along the walls in the hallway were images of SNL sketches from the 70’s until present day.
Finally, we arrived at the door for 8G, and we were led into the third row up from the stage. It was a very small studio, and the stage was ground level. There were many people running around and setting up the technical side of the show. The desk Seth sits at seemed small, and far away from the audience. Although on television it looks like the desk would be the center focus, it’s really pushed back because there is so much equipment. Not too long after we were seated, Seth came out and said a brief hello to the audience and gave us some more history on the studio and the show. When he went back behind stage, we were then instructed to clap and cheer when he came back out.
The show itself was interesting to watch, because it felt more like we were watching the production of the show instead of Seth Meyers and his guests. Since the desk was not centered on stage, we mainly watched the cue cards man, the cameramen, and technical director all perform their jobs and keep the show running. The main guest of the night was Ellen Page; she was barely audible in the studio, but sounded great on television because of her microphone.
Although it was an exhausting evening, getting to see “Late Night” was one of the most exciting experiences in my life. It was a great chance to see one of my favorite comedians, and he seemed just as down to earth in person as on television. Seeing how much production goes into each episode was eye opening, and much different than I expected. Going to a late night show is definitely a fun activity, even if you are not a television or comedy expert.