We pay Ellen a Visit
At about 2:30 everyone was given number and led through security. We waited another hour. They have TV monitors and play reruns of the show. The time seems to fly by. Once you?re inside, security guards take you in groups of 10 to the bathroom. You won?t be able to go once the show starts taping, so be sure to use this opportunity if you need to. There?s a cart set up that you can buy snacks from while you wait.
Our friend who was picked for the focus group reported back that it really was a focus group. She said they wanted to know what people thought of Ellen?s participation in the American Express commercial and if it would affect their using and Amex card.
Even though it may get hot in Los Angeles, they keep the studios at the Ellen DeGeneres Show pretty cool so the audience remains perky. Once the show and the dancing start, things do warm up.
A couple of staff come around and give you basic information about the show and how the day will run. They ask you to throw out any gum and not to dance on the chairs. You have the potential to be on camera at any point you walk through the gate.
First the VIPS are taken in and told to sit in the Riff Raff room. Those with numbers are brought in next. More waiting.
Inside the Studios of The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Finally we were brought into the studio. They don?t guarantee that you?ll be able to sit with your group, but ours was seated together. After everyone was seated, they changed a few people who were sitting on the ends of rows.
We weren?t sure why, but thought it had to do with what they were wearing.
I thought that Tony would be spinning tunes to warm the crowd up, but he doesn?t come out until right before the show starts. There?s another guy named Tom who gets everyone up and dancing and gives t-shirts away. They say everyone dances at the Ellen DeGeneres show and mostly it?s true. Even the people in wheelchairs and with canes were grooving along to the music. Only a couple of sulky teenage boys right behind us didn?t get up on their feet.
Ellen?s mom, Betty DeGeneres and Ellen?s girlfriend Portia de Rossi were seated together on the far right side.
Finally, the show began. First Tony ran out and jumped into the DJ booth. (We were warned not to jump around or stomp our feet because we would skip the records.) We sat and watched the intro on the monitors with Ashton Kutcher visiting Ellen?s dressing room. Then Ellen came out to begin her monologue. We were signaled to get on our feet and cheer, but it seems everyone would have done that anyway. Ellen looked radiant in an orange top and orange sneakers. I was psyched. Orange is my favorite color.
Ellen's Monologue
The stage looks much smaller in person than it does on TV. Her jokes were about Ashton Kutcher and her fear of getting punked by him. When she finished and began dancing and came through the row right in front of us.
The show goes by quickly. From home it looks like Ellen is talking to the audience, but once you?re there, you see she?s talking directly into the camera. We witnessed a couple of mishaps. Ellen was supposed to call a woman who wrote in and said she thinks she set a record by sleeping on the same mattress for 66 years. Ellen went to call her and the phone number would not accept calls from an unidentified number. Ellen and the crew seemed a little baffled about what to do. Ellen suggested *87, but someone brought her a cell phone. She nixed that idea because she would be the only one to hear it. Finally the stage manager decided that Ellen should just announce that they?re going to call her tomorrow. Although the show is not live, they don?t do any retakes. I heard someone say it had to be on the satellite by 11pm.
Our friend who was picked for the focus group reported back that it really was a focus group. She said they wanted to know what people thought of Ellen?s participation in the American Express commercial and if it would affect their using and Amex card.
Even though it may get hot in Los Angeles, they keep the studios at the Ellen DeGeneres Show pretty cool so the audience remains perky. Once the show and the dancing start, things do warm up.
A couple of staff come around and give you basic information about the show and how the day will run. They ask you to throw out any gum and not to dance on the chairs. You have the potential to be on camera at any point you walk through the gate.
First the VIPS are taken in and told to sit in the Riff Raff room. Those with numbers are brought in next. More waiting.
Inside the Studios of The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Finally we were brought into the studio. They don?t guarantee that you?ll be able to sit with your group, but ours was seated together. After everyone was seated, they changed a few people who were sitting on the ends of rows.
We weren?t sure why, but thought it had to do with what they were wearing.
I thought that Tony would be spinning tunes to warm the crowd up, but he doesn?t come out until right before the show starts. There?s another guy named Tom who gets everyone up and dancing and gives t-shirts away. They say everyone dances at the Ellen DeGeneres show and mostly it?s true. Even the people in wheelchairs and with canes were grooving along to the music. Only a couple of sulky teenage boys right behind us didn?t get up on their feet.
Ellen?s mom, Betty DeGeneres and Ellen?s girlfriend Portia de Rossi were seated together on the far right side.
Finally, the show began. First Tony ran out and jumped into the DJ booth. (We were warned not to jump around or stomp our feet because we would skip the records.) We sat and watched the intro on the monitors with Ashton Kutcher visiting Ellen?s dressing room. Then Ellen came out to begin her monologue. We were signaled to get on our feet and cheer, but it seems everyone would have done that anyway. Ellen looked radiant in an orange top and orange sneakers. I was psyched. Orange is my favorite color.
Ellen's Monologue
The stage looks much smaller in person than it does on TV. Her jokes were about Ashton Kutcher and her fear of getting punked by him. When she finished and began dancing and came through the row right in front of us.
The show goes by quickly. From home it looks like Ellen is talking to the audience, but once you?re there, you see she?s talking directly into the camera. We witnessed a couple of mishaps. Ellen was supposed to call a woman who wrote in and said she thinks she set a record by sleeping on the same mattress for 66 years. Ellen went to call her and the phone number would not accept calls from an unidentified number. Ellen and the crew seemed a little baffled about what to do. Ellen suggested *87, but someone brought her a cell phone. She nixed that idea because she would be the only one to hear it. Finally the stage manager decided that Ellen should just announce that they?re going to call her tomorrow. Although the show is not live, they don?t do any retakes. I heard someone say it had to be on the satellite by 11pm.
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