First things first, you have to get tickets.  If you think Hamilton is a hard ticket to come by, it’s got nothing on Saturday Night Live.  Tickets can’t be purchased, and there are only three ways to get them.  The first is by knowing the host, musical act, or someone else with amazing celebrity connections.  Assuming that leaves most of us out, you’re left with the lottery or camping out in the standby line.  Depending on the host, people will camp out for DAYS (even in the freezing New York weather) just for a shot at a ticket.

Winning the lottery

Luckily, we got our tickets through the lottery, so that’s the process I can explain.  I say luckily, but in reality, I entered the lottery every year for seven years before I finally got tickets.  Every year, during the month of August, you can send one email per household requesting entry into the lottery.  You can’t request dates, hosts or whether you get tickets to the dress rehearsal or the broadcast show.  In the past it’s been a strict lottery, but in 2017 they requested a short essay saying why they should pick you.  After six years of missing out, you better believe I put a crazy amount of time into my essay!  I spent days writing and editing that thing, and finally pressed send and left it up to fate.

In my literary work of art, I described how when my husband and I started dating, we would spend every Saturday night watching SNL.  Now that we have children, our SNL dates are some of our only “couple” times.  Plus, my husband’s 40th birthday was in December, so I threw that in as well.

SNL will only notify you if you have won.  Even then, the notification often doesn’t come until a few weeks before the show.  After six years of entries, I pretty much wrote off the idea that I would get tickets and tried not to think about it.  

When I heard the new-email ding on my phone and saw that the sender was ‘Confirmation, SNL’, the the adrenaline started pumping immediately.  That email just wouldn’t open fast enough, but when it finally did, the first thing I saw was a big Saturday Night Live ticket with my name on it. It was for the live broadcast on November 18, which was about three weeks away.  I was so thrilled that they could have given me a day’s notice, and I would have made it happen.  Within 30 minutes, I had confirmed my tickets, called my parents to secure a sitter for the weekend, and booked flights.

After spending close to an hour trying to figure out who the host was, I finally discovered that it hadn’t been announced yet.  From what I can figure out, hosts are not planned before the season, and are announced as SNL secures them.  About two weeks before the show, we found out Chance the Rapper would be the host, with Eminem as the musical guest.  Awesome!

The big day

Fast forward to November in NYC.  We are, apparently, getting old, so we took a midday nap to be sure we could stay awake past Weekend Update.  Our instructions said to arrive at the 50 West 50th Street entrance at NBC Studios (the famous entrance that has the overhang with the Rainbow Room sign) no later than 10:15pm, go up the Grand Staircase, and ask for “Jen’s Line”.  We arrived at 9:30pm, based on advice I had read online, and there were already a handful of people in the lounge.  In hindsight, we probably could have pushed it a bit later without a problem.   

And that’s when all of the mind games begin.  I would love to have someone who has worked for SNL explain their process, because Andrew and I finally decided that they were just messing with our heads.  We checked in to “Jen’s Line” – from what I think I’ve figured out, that’s just the name for the lottery winners’ line.  I thought maybe they would size us up on arrival, but we were given tickets with the number 5 pre-written on the back.  After getting our tickets we were escorted to one of three waiting lounges, each separated by mesh curtains.  NO PICTURES allowed from the time you enter the peacock lounge until you leave the studio, and they are STRICT.  That said, I did sneak a quick pic of our tickets since I knew I was going to have to give them up. (They take your tickets upon entry to the studio, so sadly you don’t get a cool souvenir.)

After watching people and trying to figure out what each lounge was for, I think I decided that the lounge on the left was for the VIPs.  It was pretty empty until later, and many of the people arriving seemed to know the staff, so I got the impression they may be friends of the cast and attend regularly. We were seated in the middle section, which stayed somewhat empty compared to the section on the right.  That one was standing room only by the time we all left for the studio.  My first guess was that this was the standby line.  But when they started loading the studio most of that group went first, so I really have no clue.

We were all given green wristbands in our section.  About midway through the wait, a woman with a clipboard came over the couple sitting across from us and took their green wristbands, replacing them with purple ones and escorting them away.  I’m almost positive that the purple bands are for the floor seats – you know, the few rows of seats you see directly in front of the stage. These are usually reserved for VIPs, but occasionally they will need people to fill those seats.  Jealous!

Calling group 5

Finally, it was time to load the studio, which seemed to be a process of calling random numbers and letters at various intervals.  It made no sense to us, so I can’t offer any insight into this.  I think it was part of the mind games.  When “group 5” was called, we loaded into the elevators.  As we walked down the hallway, we saw all the celebrity pictures lining the walls.  I nervously hoped that we wouldn’t get stuck on the right side of the studio.  I had read online that those were the “bad seats” where it is difficult to see many of the sets and the musical guest.  Luckily, we were seated just to the right of center in the back of the balcony, so we had a great view of everything.

The coolest thing about the whole night was getting a peek at all of the behind-the-scenes action.  It was a bit surreal listening to the house band, looking at the iconic clock hanging over the studio, and watching everyone rush to get everything in order.  In person, the studio feels tiny, with the main stage constantly being turned over for a new skit.  The other sets are at various places throughout the studio, with some not completely visible to the studio audience.  Some vignettes aren’t used, as a few skits are cut after dress rehearsal.  If you look to the left of the main stage during the wide shot of the studio as the host comes out for the monologue, you can see the stage for the musical act.  Here’s how the studio is set up.

Right before the show started, the VIPs started flowing out of the little room just behind the balcony.  We saw Chance’s family and the rapper Common head through and take their seats.  Michael Che warmed up the audience with a bit of comedy, then there was a little dance number by Kenan Thompson, Cecily Strong and Kate Mckinnon.  Kate looked a bit odd – her hairline was back and she didn’t appear to be wearing any makeup.  Later I found out that was because she was playing Julian Assange in the cold open just a few minutes later, so she was probably prepped with makeup and ready for her wig.  It’s amazing how quickly the cast manages costume, hair and makeup changes.

Showtime

Finally, it was showtime.  The cold open is filmed on the main stage, which is why the intro slowly lists each cast member.  That trick allows them time to tear down the set and get ready for the monologue.  Next, out came Chance for a little song-and-dance monologue about Thanksgiving.  It involved most of the cast at various intervals, so you could see them coming out and lining up alongside the stage before popping on for their line.

Watching the organized chaos of the quick change after the monologue really showed what a well-oiled machine they are.  Almost the whole cast held a pose until they cut to commercial.  As soon as they were out, everyone shot off at full speed in different directions.  The regular cast all seemed to know the drill and exactly where they were going.  Chance quickly ran off the stage, then froze questioning exactly which way he was supposed to go.  His hand was immediately snatched by a woman (I’d call her his minder), who dragged him to exactly where he needed to be for the next scene.  Throughout the evening, you could see her walking him around by the arm and placing him where he needed to be.

Next, Eminem came out to perform “Walk on Water”, with Skylar Grey taking on the women’s vocals.   Just as the song was ending, they jumped right in to “Stan”.  Instead of two separate songs, they finished up a three-song medley with “Love the Way you Lie”.  It was a phenomenal performance, from the surprise medley and killer vocals to Eminem’s signature hardcore rap. Amazing to hear some of my favorite old-school music.  

Weekend Update followed Eminem, with the set on the main stage.  All of the cast is amazingly at ease with the last-minute nature of everything on the show.  Coming back from commercial break, Colin Jost and Michael Che were standing on stage and talking to the crew while they were getting the set ready.  That made me incredibly nervous that they wouldn’t get to their places in time.  The Weekend Update opening was playing, but everyone seemed perfectly relaxed standing around, not in their places.  And then, the second the cameras cut to them, they grabbed their seats, still turning forward and adjusting while delivering the first line.  They were calm, cool, and collected like old pros (which of course they are).  

A couple more skits and it was all over.  The cast piled on to the main stage and hugged and chatted during the final credits.  While being escorted out, everyone in the balcony leaves together.  Because of the way the crowd funneled out, I ended up right behind Common and next to Gayle King.  Literally rubbing shoulders with a couple of celebrities added to the excitement of the night a bit. Down the elevator, out the door, a couple of blocks’ walk back to the hotel, and our whirlwind night at SNL was over just like that.  After years of waiting, it was everything I hoped it would be. If you can score the tickets, GO.  Get a sitter, pay whatever it costs for a flight, or drive cross-country, because you may never get the chance again.