If you have ever wondered how you could get the chance or what it’s like to be an audience member on your favorite TV show, allow me tell you about the eventful four hours I had at the "Jimmy Kimmel LIVE" show.
Back in January, we booked a trip to Los Angeles for the first week of July. Ever since, we looked for things to do, not that it was very hard considering we were going to Los Angeles. One of the things we got to do while in the City of Angels was attend the "Jimmy Kimmel Live" TV show as audience members. We made an account on a website called 1iota.com and got tickets for the July 2nd show of Jimmy Kimmel. We did this almost two months in advance. It took them a bit to get back to us, but they eventually did.
The day of the show we dressed up. They had a strict dress code. No white clothing, shorts, big logos, and a few other clothing items were not allowed in the studio. I wore a patterned silk long sleeve blouse and flowy black pants. We arrived an hour before the time we were scheduled to check-in. We were pretty close to the front of the line due to our early arrival. The wait was a bit wearying, because we stood for a long period of time on the crowded sidewalk of Hollywood Blvd right outside the studio. The weather was great so it wasn’t as bad as it could've been. After an hour, 1iota staff start going down the line, checking tickets and ID's and handing out wristbands. In less than half an hour, about 100 excited tourist and local Californians awaited in the lobby.
They showed past skits of the "Jimmy Kimmel Show" to keep us entertained. Slowly Kimmel’s staff started letting the crowd go to the restroom in sections, because once the show started we wouldn’t be allowed to stand up and leave the studio. Once everyone was back from the restroom break, the doors to the studio opened! As you would go up to the entrance of the studio a friendly staff member would ask how big your party was and then direct you to another friendly staff member that assigned you seats. We sat around the fourth row in the center. The studio was smaller than I had envisioned. Once we were all seated we watched more excerpts of the "Jimmy Kimmel LIVE" show. A few minutes later, a member of production came and explained all the safety precautions and told us we weren't allowed to have our phones out at any point during the show. After he was done explaining all the rules, a warm up comedian came to entertain us and get us super pumped up for the show. Minutes later the man himself Jimmy Kimmel ran onto the stage and the show began! When his crew wasn’t touching him up, he would talk to the audience in between his small breaks. I was one of the audience members he talked to. We talked a bit about Texas. Production moved the desk, cushions, carpet, coffee tables, and other props quickly on and off the stage. It would only take one shot for Kimmel to nail it; after all, it is supposed to be "LIVE".
Comedian Andy Samberg and Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson were the special guests on the show. Before Wilson left he fist pumped some of the audience members. We weren't able to see that day's band perform, because it was filmed on another stage at a different time. Jimmy Kimmel said goodbye to us all and just like that they began to escort us out of the studio and into the busy sidewalks of Hollywood Blvd.
It was a very enjoyable experience, and you get to see Kimmel and the special guests from a very close distance since the stage is quite small. It is most definitely worth it, especially if the tickets are free.
