Working on SNL During a Snow Blizzard = Free Stay at The Palace Hotel

While the city shut down on Saturday and I imagined people making it a Netflix and Chill kinda night, I was traipsing around Manhattan.

Late Thursday evening, I received a text for possible background work on Saturday Night Live. Background/extras means the randoms you see in those SNL sketches or digital shorts. This would be my second time working on SNL. The first was a digital short with Ryan Gosling. This is us before we all broke out into the Thriller dance. Can you spot me in my awesome YouTube screenshot? You can watch the short here.

This time, I was confirmed for the live show at 30 Rock- not Tina Fey's show, but the actual address 30 Rockefeller Center where SNL is taped. Friday was a short hour long rehearsal. I was so stoked when I strolled along a hallway of autographed photos from previous hosts and danced past all of the SNL cast members' dressing rooms. Hi, Kate McKinnon! She's so talented.

On Saturday we got there at 12:15pm to do a dress rehearsal. My skit was up early for the rehearsal, so I left around 2:30pm with a request to be back by 6pm when we would do runs with a "test" audience first and then the second "live show" audience.

I trekked it uptown to meet my neighbors for an Italian supper!

Dude skiing on the streets

I was so lucky to run into Dell, who was working on another SNL sketch. He went to the same acting program as I did at William Esper Studio.  Work is so much more fun when you're with people you know...he taught me a lot about Snapchat during the downtime.

It is common for sketches to get cut. And the one I was in got the ax before the live show. Which meant I was done early! I was a little surprised because I thought the sketch was funny. Ronda Rousey was pretty hilarious in it. The whole time we were rehearsing, I couldn't stop thinking about the damage she could easily do to me.  Like the damage she did in this short.

Due to the inclement weather and trains shutting down, NBC offered everyone a room at The Lotte New York Palace Hotel. Dell and I looked at each other and yelled, "Pizza slumber party!" Unfortunately, there was no pizza. Everything in the area seemed closed. And room service at the hotel was backed up an hour and a half.  It didn't stop us from foraging in the snow...and finding McDonald's. I know, it's terrible.

Around Rockefeller Center, this guy screamed something at us and pointed up. Before I knew it, Dell was running away from the building. I took off right as huge icicles bombarded the sidewalks. Workers were hacking at the ice from windows above us! I guess it's a preventative measure against lawsuits from injured pedestrians? Apparently, we didn't look like the suing type.

The Palace entrance.  I thought it looked beautiful that night, but in this pic, it's got a little American Horror Story Hotel vibe going on. 

I love love love hotels. And it doesn't take much to impress me. Give me a clean room, and I get excited. The bed was very comfortable! Any TV is a bonus for me since we don't have one in our apartment.  There was this beep beep boop console next to the bed that controlled the lights, temperature, and this privacy sign outside the room door that could be turned on and off.

The View

I really appreciated the mini staycation in the city. The hotel was gorgeous, and waking up to the light streaming through the windows was amazing. I could already see the city buzzing with energy and the tiny specks of people milling about on the streets.

When I told my friends and husband about getting cut from the live show, they were really bummed for me. But I don't do it to be seen on SNL. I actually don't do background for TV shows because it can make you ineligible for speaking roles (principal roles), and those are the parts for which I currently audition.

Let's say you have face time as an extra who plays a janitor. Then you could possibly be too recognizable to come back as an attorney with dialogue. Viewers would be weirded out. "Wait! The janitor from the past episode can't represent this guy charged with murder!" But the SNL sketches aren't related, and honestly, I don't think SNL often hires actors outside the main cast for speaking roles. I do it because I love watching the cast work in an intimate environment, the show treats us well, it's fun, and it's a paycheck! Gotta make the money, honey.

Here's to a great week, guys!

xo,

Erica

PS. Don't forget to enter the Asian beauty products giveaway here.