On November 7th, 2013, I was one of the lucky members of the audience that got to see Stephen Colbert and the writers of The Colbert Report converse at The Town Hall in NYC. I’ve attended a number of other “conversations” with Stephen, but of course, once is never enough!
There have been a number of very well written articles about the event, namely from Entertainment Weekly and Splitsider. I recommend you read those to get an idea of some of the things that were discussed; both articles are rich with content and quotes. So, enjoy!
However, as great as those articles were, they weren’t able to capture everything that went on. So, that’s what I am here for!! (Contain your excitement, please)!!
The event started off with Stephen and the writers entering the stage, one by one. Stephen was about the third person to be called and the minute I saw him I exclaimed, “NEW GLASSES!!” Wow!! I was excited enough to just be there, but now, my joyfulness just exploded!! I was sitting in the Orchestra, Row Q (which were pretty good seats) and I can tell from there he was not donning the wireless frames. Granted, I always thought he looked quite dashing in those glasses…but these?! Just WOW!! I hope they stay, even if he never wears them on the show and keeps them only for downtime. They are very fitting and appealing. Ok, enough about the glasses…(for now, I may have to gush again later…) But the writers all found a seat on stage and when the final person came out, Max Werner, there were no chairs left. He looks around and Stephen says, “I’m sorry. But this is the way the union told us to tell you!” HA!! They quickly got him a chair and he sat at the end.
Stephen sat in the middle and he quickly jumped into the role as group facilitator. He was great in the way he led the discussion, yet invited everyone else on the stage to participate. The first part of the evening involved Stephen talking about what a typical day looks like for them. The above mentioned articles speaks about it with relevant details, so I won’t focus on this part; however, I will mention a few humorous comments that were made throughout the discussion.
Stephen starts off by stating that by 9:00am, he is en-route to the studio. Since he is driven to and from, it gives him the opportunity to call-in and discuss the upcoming show. He then stated, “I live in the New York area…for all my stalkers out there.” Everyone began to laugh! He continued, “I appreciate them and I’m glad you are receiving the messages I’m sending you through the television. My wife also enjoys the letters, thank you!” It was very funny!!
Meredith Scardino, writer, mentioned she tries to think of ideas before she gets to the studio, like in the shower. This led to someone else on the panel (sorry, don’t remember who), stating that he will get some of his ideas in various ways, like watching Fox and Friends. Stephen then said, “Do you take a shower after you watch Fox and Friends?” HA!!
As a complete aside, but probably appreciated by us big fans, apparently Stephen likes to eat Thai Wings for lunch. He stated that if someone needs him around 1:30pm or so, he will probably be in his office, working on something and eating Thai Wings. And now you know …
Onto the Question and Answer portion, which was very extensive. So many people had questions in both the orchestra and balcony sections, they didn’t have time to get to everyone. Once again, the above mentioned articles spoke about many of the highlights of the Q&A, however, I do a number of things to add…(hold your applause…)
As the Q&A began, someone said something, but of course, I cannot remember what this something was (I promise, this will get better). However, Stephen’s comment was, “We all work very hard. We are all going to die young. Next question …”
Do you want to kick Bill Maher’s ass?
Stephen let out a very distinct, “No!” The guy who asked the question was audibly disappointed about this. I guess he is not a Bill Maher fan…
I love the way you punch the keys on the adding machine. You do it with such dexterity. How did you learn that?
Stephen said he started to do that when he was on Strangers with Candy and he did it in the first episode. He thinks Amy may have said not to use his fingers when using the calculator and it just stuck.
As per the other articles, when someone wanted to know how much of his character is like the real Stephen, he went onto explain his opinion (see articles). However, to add, he did speak of a study from 2009 about whether people think Stephen is really a Liberal or a Conservative. The end results were Liberals believed Stephen was really a Liberal and Conservatives really thought Stephen was really a Conservative making fun of Liberals. The latter portion of that statement made the audience collectively burst out into laughter.
I can’t remember the question, Stephen did mention that they will tell dark jokes, but it has to “be fit for humans” because they realize you can’t make fun of someone’s misfortune.
This very adorable 12-year-old boy asked a question about what Stephen’s favorite segment is? The boy stated he liked the Government Shutdown wedding, the “I tried to sign up for Obamacare,” and the story of Obama being a teleporter. Ok, this is horrible, but I cannot remember how Stephen answered the question. I even asked a few people I know that were also at the event and they can’t remember either. So sorry! However, if something does come to me, you will be the first to know!
At one point, someone stated, “I have a question for the writers.” With this, Stephen stands up and walks away.” HA!!
Stephen stated he can’t be angry all of the time and he keeps going by being able to dance as the flames go by. They spoke about the Cheerios ad and how vitriol it was. This is an example of when something irritated them and they needed to write and speak about it.
As the articles stated, Stephen spoke in great detail about their Wheat Thins product placement ad. Definitely check these out for lots of details. However, one thing I do want to add … that night, he kept calling them “Triscuits.” HA!! He even said, “I keep calling them Triscuits,” to the point, he had another person on the panel do the same thing.
Stephen does not go out of his way to generate a character break and spoke about the famous Munchma Quchi break! He said from the first time he read the script and saw that name, he burst out laughing. And when it was time to say it while doing the show, the minute he saw the name, he could not hold back the laughter. He said Max came up with the name, which generated a huge applause from the audience.
A young guy from the audience stated that he and his father bond over the show, but his father doesn’t really talk to him otherwise. It’s not that they don’t get along, he is just a very quiet guy. The young man asked if Stephen could record a message for his father, just to say hi. As the guy was speaking, Stephen took out his iPhone and started to record him speaking. He stated, “We can record each other as we speak.” Stephen did put his phone away, but also agreed to record the message for the father. Granted, he was sitting in the balcony, so it was quite a distance. Anyway, Stephen’s message was, ” Hey! Thank you for watching. Talk to your child more.” HA!!
What do you do during the two hours the writers are writing? Do you play with your LOTR pinball machine?
Stephen stated, “You must be a fan if you know I have a LOTR pinball machine in my office.” He continued to say he always has something to do … works on editing pieces, editing scripts, production, etc … everyone is always busy all of the time…nobody takes lunch outside and goes more than a block away for something.
Stephen stated he loves the “Cheating Death” segments and the names of the side effects they come up with.
Stephen stated that he enjoyed going on the Morning Joe program, for he had fun with them (back in January 2012). However, he still makes fun of them because they do fall short sometimes on relaying the news. He also stated that when he co-hosted on Good Morning America, he quickly learned that it is hard work and he has lots of respect for them and what they do,
As stated in the Entertainment Weekly article, they used to write everything the day of, like “The Word.” They did that for about two years and it was too much pressure. Stephen stated they were never home and it was no way to live. He also went on to describe the clock on the wall as something that just stares at you, seeing the time going by so fast, knowing you have so little time to get so much done.
There was a question regarding how they get the people in the taped segments to play along, for which Stephen and the team insisted that they don’t have to do anything and there is no editing involved. He stated that the questions and answers we see in the taped interviews are as it happened. Stephen also pointed out that if they are willing to say the things they say anyway, then they can’t be looking at themselves as being a joke.
One joke Stephen wishes he could have used but never had the opportunity was with Daft Punk. Since they stated they were not going to talk if they came on the show, Stephen was going to say to their manager (as Daft Punk sat there, covered in their helmets), “How do I even know that that’s Daft Punk in the helmets? They won’t talk and they won’t do the song .” And the manager was going to say, “If that wasn’t Daft Punk, they’d be doing the song.’”
Well, those were the highlights. I am so glad I was able to attend this and had a splendid time! I will be attending the event with Stephen and Jimmy Fallon on November 24th, 2013, so this is definitely becoming a great “Stephen Colbert” month for me! In the meantime…did you see those new glasses?!?!
Event ReporT: A Discussion with Stephen Colbert
On November 7th, 2013, I was one of the lucky members of the audience that got to see Stephen Colbert and the writers of The Colbert Report converse at The Town Hall in NYC. I’ve attended a number of other “conversations” with Stephen, but of course, once is never enough!
There have been a number of very well written articles about the event, namely from Entertainment Weekly and Splitsider. I recommend you read those to get an idea of some of the things that were discussed; both articles are rich with content and quotes. So, enjoy!
However, as great as those articles were, they weren’t able to capture everything that went on. So, that’s what I am here for!! (Contain your excitement, please)!!
The event started off with Stephen and the writers entering the stage, one by one. Stephen was about the third person to be called and the minute I saw him I exclaimed, “NEW GLASSES!!” Wow!! I was excited enough to just be there, but now, my joyfulness just exploded!! I was sitting in the Orchestra, Row Q (which were pretty good seats) and I can tell from there he was not donning the wireless frames. Granted, I always thought he looked quite dashing in those glasses…but these?! Just WOW!! I hope they stay, even if he never wears them on the show and keeps them only for downtime. They are very fitting and appealing. Ok, enough about the glasses…(for now, I may have to gush again later…) But the writers all found a seat on stage and when the final person came out, Max Werner, there were no chairs left. He looks around and Stephen says, “I’m sorry. But this is the way the union told us to tell you!” HA!! They quickly got him a chair and he sat at the end.
Stephen sat in the middle and he quickly jumped into the role as group facilitator. He was great in the way he led the discussion, yet invited everyone else on the stage to participate. The first part of the evening involved Stephen talking about what a typical day looks like for them. The above mentioned articles speaks about it with relevant details, so I won’t focus on this part; however, I will mention a few humorous comments that were made throughout the discussion.
Stephen starts off by stating that by 9:00am, he is en-route to the studio. Since he is driven to and from, it gives him the opportunity to call-in and discuss the upcoming show. He then stated, “I live in the New York area…for all my stalkers out there.” Everyone began to laugh! He continued, “I appreciate them and I’m glad you are receiving the messages I’m sending you through the television. My wife also enjoys the letters, thank you!” It was very funny!!
Meredith Scardino, writer, mentioned she tries to think of ideas before she gets to the studio, like in the shower. This led to someone else on the panel (sorry, don’t remember who), stating that he will get some of his ideas in various ways, like watching Fox and Friends. Stephen then said, “Do you take a shower after you watch Fox and Friends?” HA!!
As a complete aside, but probably appreciated by us big fans, apparently Stephen likes to eat Thai Wings for lunch. He stated that if someone needs him around 1:30pm or so, he will probably be in his office, working on something and eating Thai Wings. And now you know …
Onto the Question and Answer portion, which was very extensive. So many people had questions in both the orchestra and balcony sections, they didn’t have time to get to everyone. Once again, the above mentioned articles spoke about many of the highlights of the Q&A, however, I do a number of things to add…(hold your applause…)
As the Q&A began, someone said something, but of course, I cannot remember what this something was (I promise, this will get better). However, Stephen’s comment was, “We all work very hard. We are all going to die young. Next question …”
Do you want to kick Bill Maher’s ass?
Stephen let out a very distinct, “No!” The guy who asked the question was audibly disappointed about this. I guess he is not a Bill Maher fan…
I love the way you punch the keys on the adding machine. You do it with such dexterity. How did you learn that?
Stephen said he started to do that when he was on Strangers with Candy and he did it in the first episode. He thinks Amy may have said not to use his fingers when using the calculator and it just stuck.
As per the other articles, when someone wanted to know how much of his character is like the real Stephen, he went onto explain his opinion (see articles). However, to add, he did speak of a study from 2009 about whether people think Stephen is really a Liberal or a Conservative. The end results were Liberals believed Stephen was really a Liberal and Conservatives really thought Stephen was really a Conservative making fun of Liberals. The latter portion of that statement made the audience collectively burst out into laughter.
I can’t remember the question, Stephen did mention that they will tell dark jokes, but it has to “be fit for humans” because they realize you can’t make fun of someone’s misfortune.
This very adorable 12-year-old boy asked a question about what Stephen’s favorite segment is? The boy stated he liked the Government Shutdown wedding, the “I tried to sign up for Obamacare,” and the story of Obama being a teleporter. Ok, this is horrible, but I cannot remember how Stephen answered the question. I even asked a few people I know that were also at the event and they can’t remember either. So sorry! However, if something does come to me, you will be the first to know!
At one point, someone stated, “I have a question for the writers.” With this, Stephen stands up and walks away.” HA!!
Stephen stated he can’t be angry all of the time and he keeps going by being able to dance as the flames go by. They spoke about the Cheerios ad and how vitriol it was. This is an example of when something irritated them and they needed to write and speak about it.
As the articles stated, Stephen spoke in great detail about their Wheat Thins product placement ad. Definitely check these out for lots of details. However, one thing I do want to add … that night, he kept calling them “Triscuits.” HA!! He even said, “I keep calling them Triscuits,” to the point, he had another person on the panel do the same thing.
Stephen does not go out of his way to generate a character break and spoke about the famous Munchma Quchi break! He said from the first time he read the script and saw that name, he burst out laughing. And when it was time to say it while doing the show, the minute he saw the name, he could not hold back the laughter. He said Max came up with the name, which generated a huge applause from the audience.
A young guy from the audience stated that he and his father bond over the show, but his father doesn’t really talk to him otherwise. It’s not that they don’t get along, he is just a very quiet guy. The young man asked if Stephen could record a message for his father, just to say hi. As the guy was speaking, Stephen took out his iPhone and started to record him speaking. He stated, “We can record each other as we speak.” Stephen did put his phone away, but also agreed to record the message for the father. Granted, he was sitting in the balcony, so it was quite a distance. Anyway, Stephen’s message was, ” Hey! Thank you for watching. Talk to your child more.” HA!!
What do you do during the two hours the writers are writing? Do you play with your LOTR pinball machine?
Stephen stated, “You must be a fan if you know I have a LOTR pinball machine in my office.” He continued to say he always has something to do … works on editing pieces, editing scripts, production, etc … everyone is always busy all of the time…nobody takes lunch outside and goes more than a block away for something.
Stephen stated he loves the “Cheating Death” segments and the names of the side effects they come up with.
Stephen stated that he enjoyed going on the Morning Joe program, for he had fun with them (back in January 2012). However, he still makes fun of them because they do fall short sometimes on relaying the news. He also stated that when he co-hosted on Good Morning America, he quickly learned that it is hard work and he has lots of respect for them and what they do,
As stated in the Entertainment Weekly article, they used to write everything the day of, like “The Word.” They did that for about two years and it was too much pressure. Stephen stated they were never home and it was no way to live. He also went on to describe the clock on the wall as something that just stares at you, seeing the time going by so fast, knowing you have so little time to get so much done.
There was a question regarding how they get the people in the taped segments to play along, for which Stephen and the team insisted that they don’t have to do anything and there is no editing involved. He stated that the questions and answers we see in the taped interviews are as it happened. Stephen also pointed out that if they are willing to say the things they say anyway, then they can’t be looking at themselves as being a joke.
One joke Stephen wishes he could have used but never had the opportunity was with Daft Punk. Since they stated they were not going to talk if they came on the show, Stephen was going to say to their manager (as Daft Punk sat there, covered in their helmets), “How do I even know that that’s Daft Punk in the helmets? They won’t talk and they won’t do the song .” And the manager was going to say, “If that wasn’t Daft Punk, they’d be doing the song.’”
Well, those were the highlights. I am so glad I was able to attend this and had a splendid time! I will be attending the event with Stephen and Jimmy Fallon on November 24th, 2013, so this is definitely becoming a great “Stephen Colbert” month for me! In the meantime…did you see those new glasses?!?!