Los Angeles Shows Offer Free Tickets to Tapings

Visitors Can Join Studio Audiences When Programs Are Being Filmed

Nov 4, 2009

There's more than Disneyland to see in the Los Angeles area. Visitors who plan ahead can be part of the studio audience when TV shows are being taped.

Game and talk shows offer free tickets to tapings of their programs. And sitcoms filmed before live audiences need bodies, too. The best part is that tickets to see your favorite shows or stars are free. Free stacks up favorably when compared to the cost of spending the day at Disneyland or another theme park.

Visitors Can Apply Online to Join Studio Audiences

Potential audience members can apply online for tickets. If they’re approved, they’ll be referred to a website where they can print out their tickets. The Los Angeles Tourism Bureau recommends applying for tickets through vendors such as Audiences Unlimited or hollywoodtickets.com, which feature sitcoms and talk shows. Tickets for reality TV shows are available through On Camera Audiences. The tourist bureau also notes that tickets for some shows, such as Jay Leno and Ellen Degeneres, are available only through the show’s website.

Tickets to Popular Shows Go Fast

Popular shows book up quickly, but sometimes standby tickets are available the day of taping. Prospective audience members need to go to the studio the day of the taping and wait in line. The tourism bureau says that chances of getting standby tickets are good for Saturday Night Live, the Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien, and Last Call with Carson Daly.

Some shows only put people on a “wish list” and then determine who gets in from that list. Two shows which do this are Hannah Montana and Dancing with the Stars. Additionally, Hannah Montana audience members must be between the ages of 10 and 14 years old, and must be accompanied by one adult.

Studio Audience Members Asked to Dress Neatly

The tourism bureau recommends audience members dress neatly for the show, especially the talk shows. That’s because staff place the best-dressed audience members up front, where they’re likely to be filmed. Neat dress is a requirement for Family Feud when it’s filming. The show does not allow audience members to wear jeans, t-shirts or shorts; men do not need to wear a jacket or tie, but their shirts (no white shirts, either) must have collars. That’s because audience members appear on camera.

Other shows do not allow cameras, cell phones or large bags. Some shows do not allow children younger than 16 to attend tapings. Ticket vendors list restrictions when they give ticket information for specific shows.

The copyright of the article Los Angeles Shows Offer Free Tickets to Tapings in Film/TV Industry is owned by Cheryl Probst. Permission to republish Los Angeles Shows Offer Free Tickets to Tapings in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.