What I Do

     Lots of talent, hard work, and money goes into making a sitcom episode. So a lot is riding on the mood of those few hundred people in the audience.

     I make the audience feel welcome. I tell jokes (but never insults). I make them feel like they're part of the show. Because they are.

     I get them in the mood for the show they're going to see: "Frasier" is not "Friends" is not "Will & Grace."

     I get the audience happy and I keep 'em that way for the next 3-6 hours. I tell them what's going on down on that stage. I answer questions. I know what a key grip is, I explain what "walla" is, I even know what SMPTE timecode on the slate is.

     I work with a deejay (or my trusty iPod) and play music that's appropriate for the show and pump up the crowd.

     And I know when to lay back and not overshadow the episode we're shooting - because that's the reason we're all there. And I recap the plot before each scene and keep the audience very much tuned into the story.

     And if something happens, I've been there before and I can cover it. If the air conditioning goes out, if the lights go out (it's happened twice), if rewrites are taking 30 minutes between scenes - no problem. I've got it covered. I've got a LOT of material.

     Creating a sitcom episode is an enormous amount of work, and a lot of things can happen.

     But with all the stuff that producers worry about when making a show, I am going to make darned certain that the audience isn't one of those things.

     Because I love my job. (Plus, I've got a mortgage and two cats. And kitties gotta eat. )