For my 46th birthday, I asked for three things:
One. Lunch at Katz’s Deli
Two. Watch Good Morning America AGAIN.
Three. Snow
I got all three.
My friend Val (bless her patience) and I sleep walked in super cold weather to line up extra early in Times Square to watch Good Morning America for the second time.
I deliberately wore a bright top because I knew they preferred their audience to wear happy colors which helps set the tone of a morning show (I should know right? hellooooooo), and sure enough, we were given seats in the front row. This time though we were facing the camera, right behind the hosts, so getting on camera (cameo much?) was inevitable.
There were no TV or movie celebrity guests on this episode. Instead, they had the special Cyber Monday Deals & Steals segment (it was early December) where all the items featured were on sale online AND were given to audience members afterwards
But not us.
I honestly don’t know why…. I do know that audience members who were given these items had to sign some kind of waiver even before the show ended. Val and I plus a few others weren’t given waivers, ergo, no bagful of fantastic featured gifts except for a pair of cute socks. It may have to do with the fact that we weren’t residents of their country. In any case, I was still grateful because hey! the socks were free, and given on my birthday no less! Besides, watching the show LIVE was already a gift to me.
Before the show started they asked who among us would like to stay and watch the taping of Strahan, Sara & Keke which happens right after Good Morning America in the same studio. I wanted to watch Michael Strahan live so it was a definite YES for us.
In between the two tapings the audience was ushered down to an empty studio so we could wait while they fixed up their set. It took less than 20 minutes and we were led back to the GMA studio, only a third of which was used for the talkshow. Once again, Val and I were chosen to sit in the front row (Ahhhhh the beauty of wearing bright colors and following instructions/suggestions eh?).
The show itself wasn’t dynamic in that there were no live guests and no moving segments, just the three main hosts Michael, Sara (Haines) and Keke (Palmer) talking about how they spent Thanksgiving. It never got boring though as the three were all lively hosts.
On one of the mini breaks, Michael spoke to the audience, thanking us for staying to watch. He then said he would try to take a photo with ALL of us by going down each row for our convenience.
AND HE DID.
He went down each row during every break to patiently take a selfie with each and every one of us. Before doing so he excused his co-hosts saying that both Sara and Keke would not be able to accommodate all of us for photo ops as they would need to leave as soon as the taping was done. I was one of the lucky ones who got to take photos will all three hosts. (Thank you front row seats! Thank you bright colored tops!).
In case you’re planning to watch FREE tapings of TV shows like us, check out the website www.1iota.com
Register first then everything else is easy enough.
Just make sure to double check the dates and schedules that you want before getting on their waitlist. Also, follow their instructions on clothes colors as it may make the difference between sitting at the back of the studio (where you can’t see much with all those heads blocking your view) and sitting up front and center (where you can almost touch the hosts AND be seen on TV!).
Cameraphones were allowed in all three shows that we watched but do put it away when they say so. Lastly, enjoy the full experience. I’ve worked in front of the camera for the past 25 years, it was nice being on the other end for once……or thrice.
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