I Met Stephen Colbert
So, I wasn't going to write about this until I got back to Seattle, but damn it, I am far too excited to wait. As the subject line of this blog indicates, I met Stephen Colbert this past Monday. ENVY ME, BITCHES! Bahahaha. What a day. Oh man.
How did it happen, you ask? Dumb. Fucking. Luck. I post on an LJ community called colbert_report, which is full of loyal members of the Colbert Nation. On Sunday, I posted a comment in response to a post that someone else had made, and in said comment I mentioned my temporary stay on the east coast and my desire to venture to NYC to try and get into "The Colbert Report" on Standby. A girl named Erin, who had attended a taping and met Stephen last week, replied to my comment saying that she had an extra ticket to the taping on Monday, the following day, and offered it to me. Well you can bet your sweet billy clubs that I jumped at the chance.
I replied to her comment and left her my e-mail address, and from there we corresponded via e-mail and made arrangements for the following day. I could not believe my good fortune. I hadn't even expected to get in on Standby, and now I had a ticket. I could barely get to sleep that night thinking about the activities that would be taking place the following day.
Soon it was Monday morning, and I quickly packed a small bag that I'd borrowed from Jen. In the bag I put several items, two of which were my copy of the book "Wigfield" (written by Stephen Colbert, Amy Sedaris, and Paul Dinello) and my digital camera. I also put on my black Legolas t-shirt, which I'd packed in the event that I did get to go, since Stephen is a huge Lord of the Rings fan. Arriving at the bus station at 9:30, I bought a ticket and boarded the 9:45am Martz bus to New York City.
The bus pulled into Port Authority at approximately 12:40pm, and, after acquiring a paper copy of the bus timetables, I headed for the subway. Carefully following the signs for Uptown, I hopped on the Q line, which let me off at West 57th street and 7th Avenue, three blocks up and three/four over from the TV studio. The studio was my first destination, since I wanted to ascertain its exact location before doing anything else. I walked and walked until I saw it: dark blue awning with the words "The Colbert Report" emblazoned upon it in white letters. I was amazed at the nondescript nature of the neighborhood in which the studio was located. Quite simply put, it was in the middle of nowhere. It wasn't in the Theatre District, or near any other television studios; it was flanked by regular, boring buildings. At first I was taken aback. I thought that a man of Stephen's stature was deserving of a much grander locale from which to broadcast his brilliance. But then I realized how perfect it was. This man is one of the few voices of reason and sanity left on television today. His humbleness and humility are the very things that separate him from those he so scathingly lampoons on a daily basis. It wouldn't make sense for him to have a massive television studio or whatnot. He is the David to their Goliath.
Anyway. It was 1:00pm then, and no one was around. I was pleased with this, and so felt comfortable enough to indulge my geeky fangirlishness. I took pictures of the awning from several angles, the front of the building, and even the roped-off alley where we ticket-having fans would soon be lining up to get in. Once I was done locating the studio, however, I found myself with a good chunk of time on my hands, what with it being two and a half hours until I was supposed to meet Erin. So, I ventured to 11th Avenue (the studio is between 10th and 11th) and walked until I found a diner-y type restaurant at the corner of West 57th and 11th. It was called Taso's, and it was there that I dined on chicken soup with rice and an Italian hoagie.
It was 2 oclock in the afternoon when I finished my meal, and so I headed back to the TV studio. The place was still deserted; nobody was there at all. Having nowhere else to go, I parked my tuckus on the curb across the street from the studio. Erin had called while I was walking there from Taso's, and so I called her back. She informed me that she and her aunt and uncle were in the city, and that as soon as they finished having something to eat, they'd be coming to the studio (at about 3:30pm). While on the phone, I saw a man arrive at the building. It soon became obvious that he was there for the show, so I promptly got up and stood in line behind him. We made small talk until Erin arrived with her aunt and uncle, almost exactly at 3:30.
More and more people started to arrive. Our party of four got settled on the concrete floor, chatting and culling our excitement over the impending taping. Several Standby-ers stopped by, and then Mark, the Audience Coordinator, came out with a clipboard to write down their names. I met several "Colbert Report" crew members that day, and I have to say that they were all incredibly cool people and very friendly. Mark was funny, too; with his glasses on he bore a resemblance to Stephen, and he acknowledged this fact in a rather humorous fashion.
So there we sat, waiting, waiting. Hours passed. Finally, at 6:00pm, they began to let us in. We were each handed a blue, laminated index card bearing the "Colbert Report" logo and a number. The VIP line had the same cards, but in red. They were admitted first, and then the rest of us non-VIP schlubs went in. We had to go through a metal detector and our bags were searched. This was a very minor inconvenience, and ended quickly. The room we entered was a waiting area, just outside of the studio. Another Audience Coordinator, Erica, spoke to us and gave a rundown of all the rules of the show. We practiced cheering and laughing, in order to make sure we had good volume for the TV. After a few more minutes of waiting, it was time.
First the VIPs were seated, and then the rest of us, in numerical order. I was number four (the man ahead of me had two other people in his party--his wife and son). Erin, her aunt and uncle and I ended up in the front row. Yes. The front row. I gasped when I saw the set sprawled there before me. Much to my shock, the studio was tiny! Far smaller than it appeared on television. The audience was made up of only 109 people. The distance between Stephen's desk and the Interview area was also *much* smaller than it looked on TV. I was astounded. And, oh...Did I mention that Stephen's desk was no more than ten feet in front of my seat? Because it was. Couldn't you just die? Oh it was wonderful.
We were lucky enough to see the "toss" between Stephen and Jon Stewart, and their interaction beforehand. I still remember the first time I saw Stephen. He came bounding out from the area between where the two audience groups were seated. The man has an INCREDIBLE amount of energy. He was jumping and leaping to and fro and all over the place. I'm 20 years his junior and I don't have that much energy.
Stephen's energy was just one of many things about him that are even more awesome in person than on TV. Stephen went backstage after the toss (his and Jon's interactions were SO cute, I might add), and after a hired comedian finished warming us up, he came back out to start the show. Before taping began, however, Stephen asked us if we had any questions for him. A girl in my section asked him something, and as he was answering, he was standing right in front of me. In addition to being energetic, the man is adorable beyond words. He had on a grey suit with a pink tie with white polka dots, and his close proximity to my seat gave me a terrific angle at which to look at him. His facial features are very soft, but still masculine. There were multiple laugh lines above the corners of his mouth, which showed up most distinctly when he smiled. What a smile, by the way. He has such a warm, genuine smile. It was a real pleasure to get to see it up close and in person.
Anyway, while he was standing right there in front of me, I saw him glance down a few times at my Legolas shirt. Oh yeah! I knew it was a good plan to wear that. Plus I knew that he was the one person who'd be looking at my shirt, rather than at my chest. I giggled internally when I saw him glancing down. He is such a LOTR fanboy. It's really cute.
Ahem. Yes. So, after the Q&A, the taping began. Mark McKenna, the Stage Manager, gave us directions in regard to applause and other such cues. It was so awesome seeing the show right before my eyes. I sat there barely believing that just the other day I'd been watching this on TV, and now I was watching it in front of me. Stephen was on the ball. He never missed a step. There were a few times when he came close to a character break (God, I love those moments), but he didn't. At one point he showed a clip of a Star Wars video someone had made with the footage of himself that Stephen had had on the show last week. While the clip was playing, Stephen was cracking up and laughing hysterically, as were we all. As soon as it ended and the camera went back to him--boom. Stone-faced, back in character. He is a professional if I have ever seen one. I loved seeing him laugh during the clips, though.
Sadly, the taping went by all too quickly. It began at about 7:30 and ended at 8. I loved absolutely every second of it. Erin and I were ecstatic at being there. We looked at each other on occasion, laughing, giddy that this was really happening. Once it was over, Stephen thanked the audience and took a bow, and we applauded and cheered wildly as he exited the studio and went backstage. Then we gathered up our things and headed out.
Of course, this is not where the story ends. Erin and her aunt and uncle and I decided to wait outside the studio, as Erin had last week with her friend. I didn't want to be stalkery, but she'd met Stephen this way and I wanted a chance to, too. I'd thought of several things that I wanted to say to him, though I wasn't sure I would actually get to meet him. The only people besides us who stayed after were these teenagers (or they might have been in their early 20s, I don't know), two of whom had made homemade T-shirts with the words "Colbert Nation" stenciled and painted on the front, and one had a sketch of Stephen on the back and a quote from the show.
So we waited. And waited. Erin told me that when she was there last week, Stephen had come out around 8:30pm. I went back and forth trying to decide whether to stay or head to Port Authority to catch my bus. 8:45 rolled around and he still hadn't come out. I was nervous about missing the bus, but I knew this was my only chance to meet Stephen, and besides, I could take the 11:00pm bus.
Then it happened.
At about 9:00pm, Stephen came out of the studio. Mark, the Audience Coordinator from earlier, had come out before him, along with some of the other assistants and coordinators. But now, in the living, breathing flesh, was Stephen. "Oh, you're still here!" he said to the group with the T-shirt girls. He saw our group too and said hello. He walked down the stairs and went to talk with them first. As he shook their hands and signed their shirts, he looked over at me. "That's a great shirt," he said to me. "I wore it just for you, sir," I replied, and everyone laughed. "I'm a little bit obsessed [with LOTR]," he said. Now, I completely adore Stephen and would never call him a geek in a perjorative way (because geeks are hot), but he was really staring at my shirt. I seriously thought he was going to start drooling LoL. So anyway, he finished with the T-shirt group and then came over to us.
"Hi, nice to meet you!" he said, and we shook hands. Amazingly, I was not star-struck. Not even when I first saw him in the studio. Most TV stars or movie starts have an aura about them that screams CELEBRITY. But not Stephen. He's a regular, down-to-earth guy who just happens to be on TV. I felt so comfortable (aside from a teeny bit of nervousness) talking to him. He looked at Erin and said, "Hey. You were here last week, weren't you?" which made us all laugh. How awesome is this man that he remembers an audience member, a fan, from a week ago? He also started chatting with Erin's aunt and uncle, and I presented my copy of "Wigfield" (he went, "Hey, it's 'Wigfield'!" when I showed it to him) and asked if he'd sign it. He agreed, and I went to get my University of Washington pen from my purse. Unfortunately, the damn thing wouldn't write at first (for which I apologized profusely), but he got it going. It started to konk out again after a minute (I apologized some more), and he sucked on the tip to get out more ink.
Yes, folks. Stephen Colbert sucked on my pen.
While he was autographing my "Wigfield", I asked if I could get a picture, and he again answered in the affirmative. I felt like such a louse for taking up so much of his time, but he didn't seem to mind. I frantically dug through my bag and grabbed the camera and handed it to Erin. I stood on Stephen's left, and she took the photo, which actually came out pretty well. I thanked Stephen for his generosity, and he then bid us all goodnight.
As soon as he was out of earshot, I hugged Erin hard and quietly squealed into her shoulder. I felt like I was floating down the sidewalk for almost the entire duration of our 14-block walk to Port Authority. I am SO fucking glad that I stayed and didn't leave o get the 9:00 bus. Stephen was such a wonderful man, so kind to his fans (though it was unusual seeing him out of a suit). I unfortunately forgot to say the things that I'd previously planned to say to him (I wanted to tell him that he is a brilliant, beautiful man and that I respect and admire him greatly for who he is and all that he does, among other things). But it's okay. I think I might actually e-mail the Colbert Nation website Webmaster with my picture from the other night and ask if I can be "Stephen's autistic friend." We'll see. I'm also mad that I forgot to ask him for a hug. Oh well.
So, that was my "Colbert Report" taping experience. I'm almost sad to be going back to Seattle tomorrow, because I so want to try and attend another taping. It was so much fun and really one of the best times I've had recently. Plus meeting Stephen afterwards was just the croutons on the salad. Hee. Oh! As soon as I get home tomorrow I will upload my pictures and post them in another blog. So stay tuned!
P.S. When I got back to Jen's apartment, I remembered the pen sucking and of course I wanted to look at the pen to relive said memory. When I went to look for it, however, I could not find it. It wasn't in the bag I'd borrowed from Jen. Nor was it in my purse. I realized that I had not, in fact, gotten it back from Stephen after he'd signed "Wigfield" for me. That's right, people. Stephen Colbert stole my pen. The rat bastard. ;)
How did it happen, you ask? Dumb. Fucking. Luck. I post on an LJ community called colbert_report, which is full of loyal members of the Colbert Nation. On Sunday, I posted a comment in response to a post that someone else had made, and in said comment I mentioned my temporary stay on the east coast and my desire to venture to NYC to try and get into "The Colbert Report" on Standby. A girl named Erin, who had attended a taping and met Stephen last week, replied to my comment saying that she had an extra ticket to the taping on Monday, the following day, and offered it to me. Well you can bet your sweet billy clubs that I jumped at the chance.
I replied to her comment and left her my e-mail address, and from there we corresponded via e-mail and made arrangements for the following day. I could not believe my good fortune. I hadn't even expected to get in on Standby, and now I had a ticket. I could barely get to sleep that night thinking about the activities that would be taking place the following day.
Soon it was Monday morning, and I quickly packed a small bag that I'd borrowed from Jen. In the bag I put several items, two of which were my copy of the book "Wigfield" (written by Stephen Colbert, Amy Sedaris, and Paul Dinello) and my digital camera. I also put on my black Legolas t-shirt, which I'd packed in the event that I did get to go, since Stephen is a huge Lord of the Rings fan. Arriving at the bus station at 9:30, I bought a ticket and boarded the 9:45am Martz bus to New York City.
The bus pulled into Port Authority at approximately 12:40pm, and, after acquiring a paper copy of the bus timetables, I headed for the subway. Carefully following the signs for Uptown, I hopped on the Q line, which let me off at West 57th street and 7th Avenue, three blocks up and three/four over from the TV studio. The studio was my first destination, since I wanted to ascertain its exact location before doing anything else. I walked and walked until I saw it: dark blue awning with the words "The Colbert Report" emblazoned upon it in white letters. I was amazed at the nondescript nature of the neighborhood in which the studio was located. Quite simply put, it was in the middle of nowhere. It wasn't in the Theatre District, or near any other television studios; it was flanked by regular, boring buildings. At first I was taken aback. I thought that a man of Stephen's stature was deserving of a much grander locale from which to broadcast his brilliance. But then I realized how perfect it was. This man is one of the few voices of reason and sanity left on television today. His humbleness and humility are the very things that separate him from those he so scathingly lampoons on a daily basis. It wouldn't make sense for him to have a massive television studio or whatnot. He is the David to their Goliath.
Anyway. It was 1:00pm then, and no one was around. I was pleased with this, and so felt comfortable enough to indulge my geeky fangirlishness. I took pictures of the awning from several angles, the front of the building, and even the roped-off alley where we ticket-having fans would soon be lining up to get in. Once I was done locating the studio, however, I found myself with a good chunk of time on my hands, what with it being two and a half hours until I was supposed to meet Erin. So, I ventured to 11th Avenue (the studio is between 10th and 11th) and walked until I found a diner-y type restaurant at the corner of West 57th and 11th. It was called Taso's, and it was there that I dined on chicken soup with rice and an Italian hoagie.
It was 2 oclock in the afternoon when I finished my meal, and so I headed back to the TV studio. The place was still deserted; nobody was there at all. Having nowhere else to go, I parked my tuckus on the curb across the street from the studio. Erin had called while I was walking there from Taso's, and so I called her back. She informed me that she and her aunt and uncle were in the city, and that as soon as they finished having something to eat, they'd be coming to the studio (at about 3:30pm). While on the phone, I saw a man arrive at the building. It soon became obvious that he was there for the show, so I promptly got up and stood in line behind him. We made small talk until Erin arrived with her aunt and uncle, almost exactly at 3:30.
More and more people started to arrive. Our party of four got settled on the concrete floor, chatting and culling our excitement over the impending taping. Several Standby-ers stopped by, and then Mark, the Audience Coordinator, came out with a clipboard to write down their names. I met several "Colbert Report" crew members that day, and I have to say that they were all incredibly cool people and very friendly. Mark was funny, too; with his glasses on he bore a resemblance to Stephen, and he acknowledged this fact in a rather humorous fashion.
So there we sat, waiting, waiting. Hours passed. Finally, at 6:00pm, they began to let us in. We were each handed a blue, laminated index card bearing the "Colbert Report" logo and a number. The VIP line had the same cards, but in red. They were admitted first, and then the rest of us non-VIP schlubs went in. We had to go through a metal detector and our bags were searched. This was a very minor inconvenience, and ended quickly. The room we entered was a waiting area, just outside of the studio. Another Audience Coordinator, Erica, spoke to us and gave a rundown of all the rules of the show. We practiced cheering and laughing, in order to make sure we had good volume for the TV. After a few more minutes of waiting, it was time.
First the VIPs were seated, and then the rest of us, in numerical order. I was number four (the man ahead of me had two other people in his party--his wife and son). Erin, her aunt and uncle and I ended up in the front row. Yes. The front row. I gasped when I saw the set sprawled there before me. Much to my shock, the studio was tiny! Far smaller than it appeared on television. The audience was made up of only 109 people. The distance between Stephen's desk and the Interview area was also *much* smaller than it looked on TV. I was astounded. And, oh...Did I mention that Stephen's desk was no more than ten feet in front of my seat? Because it was. Couldn't you just die? Oh it was wonderful.
We were lucky enough to see the "toss" between Stephen and Jon Stewart, and their interaction beforehand. I still remember the first time I saw Stephen. He came bounding out from the area between where the two audience groups were seated. The man has an INCREDIBLE amount of energy. He was jumping and leaping to and fro and all over the place. I'm 20 years his junior and I don't have that much energy.
Stephen's energy was just one of many things about him that are even more awesome in person than on TV. Stephen went backstage after the toss (his and Jon's interactions were SO cute, I might add), and after a hired comedian finished warming us up, he came back out to start the show. Before taping began, however, Stephen asked us if we had any questions for him. A girl in my section asked him something, and as he was answering, he was standing right in front of me. In addition to being energetic, the man is adorable beyond words. He had on a grey suit with a pink tie with white polka dots, and his close proximity to my seat gave me a terrific angle at which to look at him. His facial features are very soft, but still masculine. There were multiple laugh lines above the corners of his mouth, which showed up most distinctly when he smiled. What a smile, by the way. He has such a warm, genuine smile. It was a real pleasure to get to see it up close and in person.
Anyway, while he was standing right there in front of me, I saw him glance down a few times at my Legolas shirt. Oh yeah! I knew it was a good plan to wear that. Plus I knew that he was the one person who'd be looking at my shirt, rather than at my chest. I giggled internally when I saw him glancing down. He is such a LOTR fanboy. It's really cute.
Ahem. Yes. So, after the Q&A, the taping began. Mark McKenna, the Stage Manager, gave us directions in regard to applause and other such cues. It was so awesome seeing the show right before my eyes. I sat there barely believing that just the other day I'd been watching this on TV, and now I was watching it in front of me. Stephen was on the ball. He never missed a step. There were a few times when he came close to a character break (God, I love those moments), but he didn't. At one point he showed a clip of a Star Wars video someone had made with the footage of himself that Stephen had had on the show last week. While the clip was playing, Stephen was cracking up and laughing hysterically, as were we all. As soon as it ended and the camera went back to him--boom. Stone-faced, back in character. He is a professional if I have ever seen one. I loved seeing him laugh during the clips, though.
Sadly, the taping went by all too quickly. It began at about 7:30 and ended at 8. I loved absolutely every second of it. Erin and I were ecstatic at being there. We looked at each other on occasion, laughing, giddy that this was really happening. Once it was over, Stephen thanked the audience and took a bow, and we applauded and cheered wildly as he exited the studio and went backstage. Then we gathered up our things and headed out.
Of course, this is not where the story ends. Erin and her aunt and uncle and I decided to wait outside the studio, as Erin had last week with her friend. I didn't want to be stalkery, but she'd met Stephen this way and I wanted a chance to, too. I'd thought of several things that I wanted to say to him, though I wasn't sure I would actually get to meet him. The only people besides us who stayed after were these teenagers (or they might have been in their early 20s, I don't know), two of whom had made homemade T-shirts with the words "Colbert Nation" stenciled and painted on the front, and one had a sketch of Stephen on the back and a quote from the show.
So we waited. And waited. Erin told me that when she was there last week, Stephen had come out around 8:30pm. I went back and forth trying to decide whether to stay or head to Port Authority to catch my bus. 8:45 rolled around and he still hadn't come out. I was nervous about missing the bus, but I knew this was my only chance to meet Stephen, and besides, I could take the 11:00pm bus.
Then it happened.
At about 9:00pm, Stephen came out of the studio. Mark, the Audience Coordinator from earlier, had come out before him, along with some of the other assistants and coordinators. But now, in the living, breathing flesh, was Stephen. "Oh, you're still here!" he said to the group with the T-shirt girls. He saw our group too and said hello. He walked down the stairs and went to talk with them first. As he shook their hands and signed their shirts, he looked over at me. "That's a great shirt," he said to me. "I wore it just for you, sir," I replied, and everyone laughed. "I'm a little bit obsessed [with LOTR]," he said. Now, I completely adore Stephen and would never call him a geek in a perjorative way (because geeks are hot), but he was really staring at my shirt. I seriously thought he was going to start drooling LoL. So anyway, he finished with the T-shirt group and then came over to us.
"Hi, nice to meet you!" he said, and we shook hands. Amazingly, I was not star-struck. Not even when I first saw him in the studio. Most TV stars or movie starts have an aura about them that screams CELEBRITY. But not Stephen. He's a regular, down-to-earth guy who just happens to be on TV. I felt so comfortable (aside from a teeny bit of nervousness) talking to him. He looked at Erin and said, "Hey. You were here last week, weren't you?" which made us all laugh. How awesome is this man that he remembers an audience member, a fan, from a week ago? He also started chatting with Erin's aunt and uncle, and I presented my copy of "Wigfield" (he went, "Hey, it's 'Wigfield'!" when I showed it to him) and asked if he'd sign it. He agreed, and I went to get my University of Washington pen from my purse. Unfortunately, the damn thing wouldn't write at first (for which I apologized profusely), but he got it going. It started to konk out again after a minute (I apologized some more), and he sucked on the tip to get out more ink.
Yes, folks. Stephen Colbert sucked on my pen.
While he was autographing my "Wigfield", I asked if I could get a picture, and he again answered in the affirmative. I felt like such a louse for taking up so much of his time, but he didn't seem to mind. I frantically dug through my bag and grabbed the camera and handed it to Erin. I stood on Stephen's left, and she took the photo, which actually came out pretty well. I thanked Stephen for his generosity, and he then bid us all goodnight.
As soon as he was out of earshot, I hugged Erin hard and quietly squealed into her shoulder. I felt like I was floating down the sidewalk for almost the entire duration of our 14-block walk to Port Authority. I am SO fucking glad that I stayed and didn't leave o get the 9:00 bus. Stephen was such a wonderful man, so kind to his fans (though it was unusual seeing him out of a suit). I unfortunately forgot to say the things that I'd previously planned to say to him (I wanted to tell him that he is a brilliant, beautiful man and that I respect and admire him greatly for who he is and all that he does, among other things). But it's okay. I think I might actually e-mail the Colbert Nation website Webmaster with my picture from the other night and ask if I can be "Stephen's autistic friend." We'll see. I'm also mad that I forgot to ask him for a hug. Oh well.
So, that was my "Colbert Report" taping experience. I'm almost sad to be going back to Seattle tomorrow, because I so want to try and attend another taping. It was so much fun and really one of the best times I've had recently. Plus meeting Stephen afterwards was just the croutons on the salad. Hee. Oh! As soon as I get home tomorrow I will upload my pictures and post them in another blog. So stay tuned!
P.S. When I got back to Jen's apartment, I remembered the pen sucking and of course I wanted to look at the pen to relive said memory. When I went to look for it, however, I could not find it. It wasn't in the bag I'd borrowed from Jen. Nor was it in my purse. I realized that I had not, in fact, gotten it back from Stephen after he'd signed "Wigfield" for me. That's right, people. Stephen Colbert stole my pen. The rat bastard. ;)