Day 8 | Two Broke Girls
This morning was a late breakfast at Denny’s before going into to Warner Bros Studios for the 2 Broke Girls recording.
We wanted to have a look at some snack foods and clothes for this evening. Walmart was the go and we went to one of the Supercentre which is one of those massive free-standing stores.
The trip into the city was busy but with plenty of time we arrived at the check-in location at Warner Bros. There was parking provided and a marshalling area where identification and tickets for the recording were checked. There are no phones or cameras from this point so both Angus and Rosie were feeling a little unconnected. Even though we arrived with two hours to spare (as recommended) there were already people waiting. Next to us in the queue was ‘Jess’ from Western Australia. She was finishing up her US trip in LA but had been to Florida, New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco. While we waited for the rest of the benches to fill up, it was fascinating hearing of her courageous travels around the US and elsewhere.
When the time came we were herded across the road and through the lot to the sound stage and seated. We faced the “2 Broke” long sets from stands, the familiar kitchen, diner, and the girl’s apartment. Roger, our audience fluffer, explained that the cast would be introduced and
then they would set up a scene and then run it until the director and the writers were happy with the ‘take’. Every change of scene and the little huddle area around the big monitor were moved and the dozen writers, the producer and the director relocated. It was fascinating watching the real-time interplay between them deciding whether they had captured the right snappy thing. Rewrites on the fly and another take with a change in timing or punchline were the order of day.
They fed us a sandwich and LCM with a tiny bottle of water. Between takes you could get taken to the toilet. Even with the lengthened schedule Roger did a great job keeping everyone pumping. Angus was disappointed we didn’t get to see the horse but we did see Sandra Bernhard which is kind of the same thing.
They gave out prizes for various things like tee shirts and cupcakes - Rosie was very excited she got a cupcake for enthusiastic audience participation. We have never clapped and laughed so much, what an absolutely fantastic opportunity and experience.
After the show we dropped Jess at her hostel. Amazingly we were at the show from 3.00pm to 11.10pm, a cool eight hours. That’s a long day on set to get a 30 minute (22 plus ads) episode recorded. Still to come is the whole editing and sound process. On the way back we picked up In-n-Out and returned to the hotel.
Highlights
Watching the recording of a real sit-com. Angus
Winning a cupcake and being on set and seeing the stars. Rosie
The peanut butter chocolate shake and having a hamburger for breakfast. McKay
Eating dinner after midnight. O’Regan