Behind the Scenes of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

As part of my early October college visit trip, I had the pleasure of spending two days in NYC, one of which was a day for me to lace up my Chucks and explore the city. My dad had found out online that if we played our cards right, we could be audience members in a pre-recorded taping of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

With Starbucks in hand, we made our way to Rockefeller Center around 8:00 a.m. to wait in a stand-by line. This line didn't guarantee that we'd make it onto the show; we'd receive tickets that meant that we had stood in line and may be picked to sit in the audience if we came back later that afternoon. My dad and I received large beige tickets marked with the numbers 26 and 27, our places in line even though we had gotten there fifteen minutes before tickets were handed out. If you're considering trying your luck with The Tonight Show, make sure to get in line as early as possible!

Waking up early paid off!

We returned to Rockefeller Center at 4:30 p.m. and were led into the NBC store. We made it past its overpriced paraphernalia into a massive crowd of fellow stand-by queuers. A woman checked our tickets and instructed us to stand in the first of three lines awaiting further instruction. This was the longest part of the whole process, as the employees were waiting to see how many people who had received stand-by tickets that morning actually came back. We were then told to queue in order of the numbers written on our tickets, which were then rescaled in accordance with the number of people who had returned.

My dad and I were now numbers 24 and 25. Although this doesn't seem like a significant shift, it determined whether or not we would be admitted entrance into the studio. The number of stand-by tickets that are allowed entry varies; 5 people could get in one day, and 100 people could get in the next. The lower the number on your ticket, the higher your chance of getting in.

Again, we waited while the studio calculated how many people could be let in. The employees led us in NBC and Jimmy trivia until they received word that the first 40 people in line were the lucky ones who would be in the show's audience. I was ecstatic! I received an official bright yellow ticket and made my way into the Peacock Lounge, NBC's waiting room. We were under strict instructions to not photograph or record any content inside the lounge or the studio. After the audience members with pre-bought tickets were seated, those of us in the stand-by category were escorted into the studio in ticket-number order.

The studio is FREEZING. I felt like I was sitting in a refrigerator the entire time, and I was wearing jeans and a sweater! I was seated in house left's penultimate row, which was a blessing: I had an unobstructed view of the stage, unlike those in the first few rows. As the show set up (as well as in between segments), the Roots and a comedian named Seth Herzog entertained the crowd. During one break, Jimmy Fallon himself came into the audience-- he was four feet in front of me! He looks the exact same in person as he does on TV, except taller. I didn't realize how versatile of a performer he is until I saw him act, sing, and host live. Give this man more credit!

The studio is so much tinier than I could have ever imagined, which goes to show the power of the millions of cameras in the room. The ceiling has a lot of TV monitors so you can watch the show from the camera's angle. Obviously I was paying attention to the actual performance, but when I snuck glances at the monitors, the show looked completely different. It was so interesting to watch how the production crew is constantly in action behind the scenes. Certain segments were shot twice, like Jimmy and Alessia Cara's disco mashup of "Stay" and "Stayin' Alive." Jimmy told the audience that he "loves all of the cheering and clapping," so we did as we were told; Sunday night has never been louder!

At the end of the show, Jimmy ran through the audience giving out high-fives. I stuck my hand out and was curved. HARD. I played it off by smiling and clapping, but I was inwardly cringing at the likelihood of that clip being aired on national television. Luckily, it wasn't included in the episode's final cut, but that would be one hell of a clip to bring up should I ever find myself on The Tonight Show's blue couches.