Ellen DeGeneres: the talk-show host, the comedian, the legend. The genius behind The Ellen Show has an unbelievable following, the love of basically the entirety of Hollywood, and I have the amazing opportunity to see how Ellen worked not only live, but behind the scenes.
I have been watching The Ellen DeGenerous for many years now -- my mom got me hooked in my preteen years and in a way Ellen grew up with me. I have always admired her generosity, her humor, and the ability for her to speak her mind. In the world of Hollywood, Ellen is someone I look up to because she has stayed unchanged in a world that constantly does the opposite. And in a world that lived in negativity, Ellen manages to shine a positive light with her kind-hearted personality.
After receiving the greatest surprise over spring break, I anticipated the days ahead. My mother and I flew out to Burbank, which has the coolest airport by the way, and spent the Tuesday before the show planning out our outfits and wondering who was going to be on the show tomorrow.
On Wednesday morning, my mom and I woke up early, and after changing our outfits three times, we made our way to Warner Bros. Studios. After arriving at the parking garage across the street from Gate 3, we signed in with security and found our seat among the growing crowd. It was absolutely surreal -- all the people excitedly discussing the upcoming events and seeing the happy smiles gracing people's faces. And it didn't hurt that the ham and swiss panini from the food cart was delicious.
After waiting thirty or so minutes with our tickets clutched in my hand, some of Ellen's crew began directing us across the street to the studio. Once we entered through the door and went through security successfully, we lined up against the wall before further instructions. There were a multitude of photos that lined the hallway, ranging from popular musical acts to esteemed actors. I just couldn't believe I was going to experience one of my favorite shows after years of watching it repeatedly.
Following the crowd in front of us, we entered the "riff raff" room and immediately took notice of our surroundings. There was a hilarious clock in the center of the room where the stairs to the studio are; Ellen's hand were the hour and minute hands. The Ellen Shop was also in the room, and after some discussion, decided to go ahead and purchase merchandise now instead of later. Luckily we did it then or we could have missed out on all the cool stuff in the room like the humongous Ellen sweatpants I impulsively grabbed. It took about fifteen minutes before the entire studio audience was in the room and could be dispersed among the seats.
Mom and I were placed in the center of the crowd in the second row. It was quite overwhelming to see the two white chairs in the middle of the room and anticipating Ellen walking through the giant, blue doors. Jeremy, a nice man who directed the audience through the dos and don'ts of the show, told the crowd what was about to go down. And before we knew it Ellen was in front of the crowd giving her monologue.
Ellen started the show talking about the approaching baseball season before directing the conversation to Kim Kardashian's most recent Instagram controversy, receiving a laugh from the crowd. Before cutting off for a commercial, Ellen gave the crowd her infamous dancing party, and with a pleasant surprise, she danced right through our aisle. Courtesy of yours truly, I panicked at the last second, and in true fashion, pulled out some awkward jazz hands. I briefly locked eyes with Ellen, which was crazy in itself, and prayed she didn't think I was a freak with terrible dancing skills. Although, my dance moves are not necessarily the best, especially compared to tWitch.
Once the cameras cut to a break, Ellen was immediately bombarded with questions from her crew. I was slightly disappointed she didn't interact with the crowd, but I reminded myself of the once-in-a-lifetime experience I was living; I mean, I was breathing the same air as Ellen Degeneres. How cool is that?
After Aaron Gordon, a NBA player for Orlando Magic, spoke with Ellen about his crazy dunk over Stuff the Magic Dragon and unfortunate loss in the 2016 NBA Dunk Contest, the audience had the chance to see Gordon dunk over Andy Lassner, Ellen's executive producer and regular unwilling participant; it was insane to say the least. Next, Olivia Wilde spoke about her new show Vinyl, an inside look into the music industry during the 70s. She went on to talk about her husband, Jason Sudeikis (Rock Chalk!), and her adorable son's obsession with Beyoncé. Ellen went on to surprise Wilde with a Beyoncé themed birthday for her son, Odis. The last guests were Super Bowl 50 MVP Von Miller and his Dancing with the Stars partner, Witney Carson. Before the end of the show, Ellen surprised her Trunk of Treasures participants with new cars. Afterwards, she took the time to thank the crowd for our love and participation in the show.
The show passed by so quickly that it didn't even feel like an hour had gone by. It was such an amazing experience and I still cannot believe I got the opportunity to see Ellen's work firsthand. If given the chance, make sure to laugh, dance, and avoid using jazz hands.
