Hosted by Rove McManus
Guest line-up: Hugh Jackman, Mischa Barton, So You Think You Can Dance judges, winner Jack & runner-up. Plus performance by The Rogue Traders
Cast: Carrie Bickmore, Peter Helliar, Dave Hughes, Hamish Blake, Andy Lee & Ryan Shelton.
HOW it started:
Someone was generous enough to offer tickets to the 27 April Sydney show (advertised as the official after party for SYTYCD). So of course, I took up on the offer since I missed out.
Managed to also secure 2 additional tickets for Steve (everyone’s favourite cartoonist) but unfortunately due to unforseen circumstances he was unable to attend on the night.
RoveFeed also received the offer but because he was located in Melbourne, it wasn’t exactly feasible for him to travel up to Sydney with only a few days notice so he was able to transfer the tickets over to another fan (anniea)
.THE NIGHT:
First off, the location of the studios were less than a 10 minute walk from the train station so no issues getting there at all - extremely convenient for those using public transport.
It was situated in an old rail yard converted into a venue for contemporary arts & other shows, they retained the exterior of the old building & modernised some of the interior so pretty funky.
We walked into the venue & were greeted with security and the friendly Roving Enterprises production staff. They asked for the name of the person who booked the tickets and that’s when a red flag came up.
They were unable locate it anywhere on the lists so slightly panicked I tried to explain to them using the email I printed off as back-up (it’s worth it – print it off because you don’t want to be refused entry at this point).
We made it into the venue and got our ‘band audience’ laminated passes (makes for a really nice souvenir), for us they gave the option of seats or standing but I honestly told them that we got the ‘worst off’ tickets which meant we had to stand hidden during the entire broadcast.
WAITING..
There was a lot of waiting around prior to the show, so in the mean time we visited the indoor bar. (Drink responsibly)
FIRST Roving Enterprises crew sighting:
We ventured outside to kill time, and a slightly confused looking Kent Valentine approached us & asked where security was, easy enough question. Pointed him the right direction & done deal.
Who’s Kent? He updates the RoveDaily website with the content we see, and also a comedian managed by Token.
MORE WAITING...
Spotted Kynan Barker (more on him later) with the headset in the lobby mingling with the other production assistants, and no idea who they were.
TIME TO ENTER THE STUDIO
Please note: They do scan you with a metal detector, so attempting to bring a camera in probably isn’t the best move.
We were divided into two separate groups, the people with reserved seating or folks stuck with standing the entire night.
For us it worked out great in the end, I thought we were going to be ushered into a dark corner with camera equipment in our way but we ended up approximately 4 metres (?) away from the desk facing the couch.
Possibly one of the best and actually the closest position - real lucky.
If you saw the broadcast then you’ll notice for the Sydney set-up, they had a red carpet entrance for the main guests so most of the people in the group hi-fived Hugh Jackman or Mischa Barton as they entered.
Great for us but I think we were an annoyance to the behind the scene crew because we were unpredictable & technically on the set and in their way.
They warned us to stay within the designated area as marked off with rope & tape and not to get in the way because you could get knocked in the head with the camera. The cameramen next to me started swinging his camera and I flinched. They weren’t joking.
WARM-UP
The warm-up guy (Kynan Barker, although on the night he introduced himself to us as ‘K.B’) told us the basic rules, I’m sure he has done the routine a thousand times. Cracked some jokes, made sure the audience knew when to clap and gave us some lollies from a bucket to keep us going. Pretty good.
But I don’t think he liked my joke when I said ‘give us the lollies now so we can throw it at Mischa Barton’, his response – “No, don’t throw lollies at anyone”.
INTRO
We were introduced to the cast members; Rove came in and started talking to the audience & briefly explained what was going to happen.
Someone stated they were from Tasmania in our group (and in an attempt to defend themselves, they stated they weren’t raised there only moved there) & Rove made a quick-witted response by explaining to them that people generally would try to leave Tasmania NOT move there voluntarily.
Pete then came in soon after, made a good CSI: Bankstown joke.
Rove then dashed off to the SYTYCD set for a live cross-over, he later did a dance for the camera while waiting for the live feed.
BELVEDERE - Floor Manager
Someone tapped me on the side and told me to “move”, I turned around and my first thought was “Belvedere?” because it was Rob "Belvedere" Mascara (you’ll recognise him from Good Morning Australia, I had to google his name).
I had to make room because where I was currently standing was where Carrie, Pete, Hamish & Andy would wait off camera until their segment came up. Fair enough, moved over a bit so they could fit between the camera equipment & myself.
Carrie Bickmore walking onto the stage for her segment
LIVE ON AIR
The show officially goes live on air, Rove walks from the SYTYCD set to the ROVE set. Audience is anticipating his entrance at this stage so the room is in high gear. Next thing we know the show is in full swing.
Regular segments such as Rove’s monologue, Carrie at the Newsdesk & PeteSpace...
HUGH JACKMAN
Crowd pleaser Hugh Jackman made a nice entrance by high-fiving people in our section before proceeding to the seat. Very comfortable interview, quiet enjoyed it.
After the show cut to commercial, Haydo (spell check) from RoveDaily came onto the set with a portable camcorder for the website’s exclusive behind the scenes footages.
Hugh Jackman posed for the photographer with Rove than dashed off the set but not before giving the $20 he won to a lucky member of the audience.
MISCHA BARTON
Yeah... (nothing comes to mind with the interview). Personally wasn’t my cup of tea but she stayed around until the end.
DURING THE COMMERCIAL BREAKS
You’ll have people coming onto the set to wipe down the glass table, and reapply make-up.
The executive producer (?) Craig Campbell seemed fairly happy for someone who has to work on a late Sunday night.
At one stage, Rove started picking on my mate because he had his jacket on the velvet ropes (he removed it after the crew advised him to), can’t recall exactly but Rove asked if his crotch was that big that he needed to show the audience.
Then my friend started asking him something really random which even had me confused, Rove stood there with a ‘Huh?’ face reaction. Classic.
This is the same friend that asked me ‘What channel is Rove Live on?’ prior to the show. He still refers to the show as ‘Rove Live’, what happens when none of your friends are aware that you have a fan site.
Note to anyone going to the show: Take a friend who follows direction & orders from security. There were a few moments when I wanted to give him a little slap and tell him to just calm down and stay away from the Redbull.
Rove also walked over a few times to show the crowd what was coming up on the paper or how many minutes there were for each segment.
Random audience interaction.
THE COUCH
Apparently Hamish elbowed Mischa Barton in the head, didn’t see it (but kind of wish I did now).
THE ROGUE TRADERS
I enjoyed the performance, the SYTYCD contestants from the series really got into the song in the mini mosh pit.
THE OFFICIAL SYTYCD after-party
There was an actual party, but it was for exclusive industry types & V.I.P so it appears.
OVERALL
Had a great experience, the cameraman next to me yawned so I’m assuming he just wanted to get it over and done with but it really was fun for fans to see how it works each and every week.
It came and went fairly quickly for me, I’m sure there was more to it but didn't recall all of it (I'll update if anything else comes to mind or when other bloggers mention something I forgot to include.)
I don’t think the person who gave me the tickets would read this but just in case – big special thanks (you know who you are). Appreciate it.
Rating: 10/10 – Biased of course. Didn’t encounter any issues and didn’t have to wait in the cold.
AND no I did not receive any special treatment, it was just a fluke that we were ushered into a good spot on the night. No one else in the room beside anniea was aware I was even there keeping track of what was happening. :)
2 comments:
awsome read really enjoyed reading about what happens around the studio.you should go to his shows more offen and give us the goss of what's happening behind the scenes.quick couple of questions though if thats cool?.is it very strict being in the studio?.are the crew mean or nice?.where does rove do during the ad breaks? and does he use the autoscript on the cameras every segment or does he just think of the content on the spot?and does he seem nervous when he's on stage? do you leave right after the show finish's on tv?.anyway thats all of the questions i can't think of of anymore questions right now it's 3am!. anyway hope you get a chance to answer my 20$ in 20minutes and wish you best of luck with your blog spots.k i will seya later mate.
Unfortunately I’m not really a blogger & this is only from a fan’s point of view, and doubt I’ll be attending any future recordings since I’m located in Sydney (tickets are hard to get also).
- Not extremely strict at the Sydney studios, there are security personals making sure no one storms the stage or interfere with equipment.
Note: DO NOT BRING any signs, they don’t allow it because it blocks the view for people behind.
- Crew were really accommodating the day we went, they didn’t immediately refuse entry when we weren’t listed. And they did offer us sugar & in the Melbourne shows they provide Redbull.
- Rove normally thanks the guest for coming, gets his make-up retouched; pose for photographs (which is later uploaded onto RoveDaily) or cracks a few jokes with the audience during commercial.
- Autocue is used for regular segments such as the monologue & the Newsdesk with Carrie Bickmore since they have time restraints but for the interviews I’m assuming there are some pre-determined questions that Rove uses on his card and the spontaneity depends on how well the interview is going.
- Rove doesn’t seem nervous, but if you have a room full of strangers watching your every move & expecting you to be funny then he wasn’t really showing it. Pete looked a bit nervous on the couch though, you just want to go over & give him a blanket or a pillow to hug.
For the Sydney show we were kicked out fairly fast, not much lingering happening.
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