Season Finale with Zach Braff and Maroon 5
Our season finale. It was as celebratory/teary as I thought it was going to be, but still fun. It's very much like the end of a school year, with people hugging and wishing each other good summers. There is even a version of cleaning out your locker; getting rid of stuff from your dressing room.
Here are some things I found that made me say out loud "why do I have this?" A CD of only the guitar intro to a James Taylor song, a glossy picture of the cast from "Lost", a plastic cup filled with honey packets, and a PlayStation controller not connected to anything. I seriously have no idea how these things ended up in my room.
Some things I remember from the week:
There was a part in the Vinnie Vedecci sketch where Italian crew guys are supposed to be playing a game of foosball (you know, the mini soccer game?). For some reason the props department didn't hear about getting a foosball table until the rehearsal on Saturday. It happens sometimes and is no big deal, but for some reason everyone on the floor was talking about it. It drove me crazy hearing that word 'foosball' over and over again!
"They didn't get a foosball table. Are we supposed to be playing foosball? Were you not told about the foosball table? No, nobody mentioned a foosball table to us."
Try saying that word over and over to yourself. It just doesn't sound right. They did eventually find a foosball table. Foosball.
Hanging out with the superfans outside the studio. Every Friday night, hardcore SNL fans camp out outside NBC to get on the standby line for tickets to the show. They bring sleeping bags and tents and are so dedicated. Bill and I stopped by to talk to them for a bit. They are so sweet and way nicer than the superfans who camp out for "Dateline".
Working with Tom the costume designer on getting the right look for the Melissa character. We kept using city areas to guide it. "A little less Williamsburg. It's L.A. but more Silverlake." Right before we did the sketch I had to run in to the control room to get last minute script changes from the producers. It was kind of a rushed and serious moment until I caught myself in a mirror and saw what they were talking to.
Hearing James Anderson, the guy who writes "Deep House Dish", sing these lines to our music arranger so she can come up with tracks: "Cause it's my duty duty duty duty to pop my booty booty booty booty."
Andy, Akiva, and Jorma shot the digital short with Zach very late on Friday night. They shoot and edit these pieces really late with very little equipment or planning. I am always blown away when I finally get to see them.
I had to do a few quick changes during the live show. That's when you have a sketch soon after another that requires a full costume transformation. You don't have time to go back to your changing booth so they run you to a designated spot in the studio. Every cast member is provided with a wardrobe person, makeup artist and hair/wig stylist. These people rip everything off of you and put you in a new outfit and wig in seconds ("careful with the moustache...ouch!").
It's dramatic and frenzied, with the stage manager yelling "you have twenty seconds...fifteen.." to add to the stress. By the way, the person who does my hair is Jodi. She is amazing and a total New Yorker. The "Bronx Beat" sketch came from Amy's impression of her. I hope this blog isn't how Jodi is learning about this.
Zach was really cool to work with and a very good sport about being puked on by a puppet.
Leaving the after-after party at 6am with the sun coming up. These bicycle guys in full spandex gear rode by and I was like "Who gets up this early? That's crazy! I should write a sketch about bicycle dudes next week." I guess that masterpiece will have to wait.
PS: I'm going to continue writing about previous episodes from this season as they rerun them over the summer. Foosball.
