The Letterman Experience

April 10, 2007.

I'm so excited. I won the lottery. No, not the one that you play to try to win a gazillion dollars. The lottery that The David Letterman show holds to see if you can be a guest for a live taping of a show. Let me explain.

So here I am in New York City, the Big Apple. I love this place. It was just about 10 o'clock in the morning, and I accidentally stumbled upon the Ed Sullivan Theater.

The rules are simple. Your not allowed to line up in front of the doors of the Ed Sullivan Theater before 10AM. Lucky for me it was just about 5 minute till then. So, I detoured from my days itinerary and strolled over. There were only a handful of people at the doors. I was surprised at this. I stuck around in line and within about 15 minutes or so the Letterman interns showed up. They kindly greeted us, and let us into the lobby of the historic Ed Sullivan Theater.

A very well spoken, and assertive young lady told us how the whole process worked. She was very precise and to the point.

She told us that there was a brief form that we needed to fill out. It was just general information; name, age, etc. I happily filled out my form, smiled, thanked her, and began phase two.

At this stage more people began piling into the lobby. The crowed had nearly tripled in size. I imagined it being a lot bigger; especially for a taping of Letterman.

The next step seemed a little bit intimidating at first, but it was nothing. I really enjoyed it. In fact, I wish it lasted longer.

After handing my completed form back to the girl in charge I was instructed to wait in a second line for an 'interview'. Not really an interview by any degree. They just look over your information that you gave them and ask you some questions. Things like: "Where are you from?" "What are you doing here in New York?"; etc.

I was however asked if I was a fan of David Letterman. I smiled and said yes. I have been watching Letterman since the early 1990s. I love the guy. They also ask you what your favorite segment of The Letterman Show is. "Stupid human tricks!" I answered. She kindly smiled and said "Yeah, thats one of my favorites too." I was then thanked and moved along my way.