Erin Miller

When I catch part of the occasional show on television — The Daily Show, David Letterman, a random comedy special, I see the audience in their dark-colored New York City clothing and I think how glamorous it must be to go out to a fancy dinner with drinks (costing at least 200 per couple), perhaps also to a terrific play, and then watch the late taping of one of these shows — what a beautifully quaint evening in the city! But that’s not actually how it goes. Most live shows require the audience to arrive at the studio at least 2 hours before the taping. The studios overbook the spots in the audience to guarantee a full show, so even if you have tickets, you have to get in line at least 2 hours early to ensure you actually get a spot. Dan and I went to the Daily Show last spring, where the waiting was annoying but generally tolerable. Last week, my friend Becca scored tickets to watch a taping of Demetri Martin’s new TV special (Important Things with Demetri Martin). We watched the filming of the premier, which is set to air February 18. The problem with the line waiting this time was that it was winter. Becca and I had to completely rearrange our overly full work schedules to get off work in time to be at the taping at 4:15 (for what was suppose to be a 6 o’clock show.) So, while we had on our warmest jackets, we had overlooked being appropriately layered (appropriate would be double layers of long underwear, tall wool socks, snow boots, furry jackets with hoods tied up, the kind of outfits you might expect to see those scientists wearing who stay at the antarctic station all winter). We stood there shivering, our toes aching in the dark. First we tried drinking hot chocolate from the bodega, and despite Becca, an adorable gringa, ordering in Spanish, the hot chocolate was really watered down, to the point of being rancid warm water. So then we tried rapidly drinking some beer, which was more fun, but not warming. We were finally allowed into the studio at 6:45, nearly an hour behind schedule (which I think is also a fairly common problem with these types of tapings). So when you see the audience guffawing on the next show you watch, remember that they are probably still cold and have been coached to laugh hard. Really, I had a blast seeing Demetri Martin live (he was so close I could almost touch him), he was personable and friendly, and funny. The show will be hilarious, so definitely check it out this February. I still hope to see a few more shows before I finish up my time in NYC, but next time I will not overlook the long underwear.