THE SNL STANDBY GUIDE
"Frowned upon by society, appreciated by the famous." - Kelly Mcaulley

Are you planning on attending saturday night live sometime this season?

Are you planning on attending saturday night live sometime this season? Never been there before? So i assume you need some info and some tips. Well you're talking to a standby expert here. I, kelly, of twisted-laughter.com, am happy to bring you all the info you will need to attend an SNL standby.

-----------------------------

WHEN AND WHERE DO YOU LINE UP FOR STANDBY?

a popular question amongst people. If you've ever read that SNL standby line is on 50th street, its no longer there. They've changed it to the other side, 49th street. So line up over there, and most people get there friday night. Its kind of hard to predict when exactly the line will get long, but go with your instincts. Here is a tip: If it's raining or snowing, most people wait and see if it clears up. So that means that usually the line will get long at night. If the weather is warm and nice out, then people will line up much earlier roughly around rush hour (5-7PM). Its your call. But the line starts to fill up friday night around 11pm

WHAT SHOULD I BRING TO THE STANDBY?

Well, stuff to keep yourself from boredom of coarse. Magazine's, an ipod, board games if you're with other people. But besides that, dont forget to bring your camping equipment. Im talking about a camping chair, a sleeping bag, and all that. I usually bring a blanket in May since its warmer, but during the colder parts of the season, you should get a good sleeping bag. I recommend something from "Coleman". You can purchase this stuff at a resonable price at (Target).. Dont forget to dress in layers too if you do standby from November or December to end of March. Those are New York's coldest months. To check the weather for New York, you can do so here @ weather.com

WHAT IS IT LIKE ON STANDBY??

Its really fun. I mean, if you dont get in the show its not the end of the world. But you're going to have a blast on standby. You get to meet really cool people, and you'll probably make some cool friends, and you get to meet a bunch of cast members while on standby. They are all really nice and will stay for a while and talk to fans , take pics and whatever. Its an awesome experience. UPDATE - the cast does not come out anymore on standby. But read further!

CAN I JUMP IN LINE WITH A FRIEND WHO IS HOLDING A SPOT?
Mbr> Also you cant jump the line - like meeting up with your friends, if your friend gets there first to hold your spot and you jump in later to meet them, thats an automatic ticket revoke or to the back of the line.

WHAT TIME DO THEY HAND OUT TICKETS

They hand tickets out at 7AM. You will be woken up by the depths of hell at 6AM (which i dont like being woken up like that at that time when we still have an hour left) by NBC Security. Gather your crap together while you're half asleep and wait until the page comes out with tickets. The page will go over the proceedure when he/she arrives with the tickets. Choose between dress or live and tell the page which one you want, she'll give it to you, and you come back when it says on your ticket.
DRESS you arrive back at NBC @ 7:15pm. LIVE you arrive back before 10:45PM

WHATE SHOULD I CHOOSE? DRESS OR LIVE?

Well, I dont like when people ask me this question. Honestly, its your call. Dress is cool because you get to see about 2 hours worth of SNL. Live is awesome too because you get to be part of the live show and witness it in person rather than on your tv. Imagine people are watching live at home but your watching the same thing only in person and get to see how its put together. Pretty cool. But its totally your call. Here's a tip - if the host or musical guest is really big, chances are it will be kinda hard to get into either show. Anyone can show up, friends / family of the cast or old cast members in town. So for example Rainn Wilson and Arcade Fire, 4 people (me and 3 people) only got in. But dont take my full word for it. Just warning you.

THIS SUCKS I DIDN'T GET IN. IM DISSAPOINTED.

Dont Be! Even though seeing the show is awesome, if you're willing to wait till the live show is over (1AM eastern time) get behind the barracades on 49th street and get out your cameras. The cast loves to meet the fans. Just look out for them and yell their name when they come out. They are all really nice. You'll have a blast. **NOTE - there is NO after-live meet and greet session the night of the finale!!

And thats pretty much it. Need more info? Just send me an email and ask!

This entire page was written up by Kelly Mcaulley.