Composing New York: It’s Saturday Night!
The first time I found out about Saturday Night Live I’m pretty sure I was in middle school. It happened when I stumbled on a Youtube video called “Creating Saturday Night Live.” It wasn’t even a live sketch; it was just a bunch of behind the scenes clips edited together showing all the different teams that worked together to make the show run. Cue cards, hair and makeup, camera operators and the likes. My parents are New Yorkers, so of course I had heard about this mysterious older-kid-show, “SNL,” but this odd little video was my first true introduction. I was completely and utterly enamored. These regular people, not Hollywood superstars, were putting on a two hour long show, in a tiny studio in the middle of Manhattan, completely live, every Saturday night.
From seemingly miniscule tasks like what color marker to write lines on the cue cards with, to building entire custom wigs or life-like sets, every little cog has to work together in order to make the gears of the show run. It’s definitely a little messy, and has the stressful, exhilarating intensity of a restaurant scene from The Bear, but little-me was hooked. It’s telling that this particular video spoke to me; and that in high school I was a stage manager for our theater productions. Any kind of live theater, or a live broadcast for that matter, is pretty much embraceable chaos. But that’s what makes it so great. I’d never seen a television show like it. And once I started watching some sketches and eventually the live broadcasts, which start at 11:30 p.m. EST, I instantly fell in love with the sketch comedy artform. It was almost like I had this epiphany of, “Oh! This is what comedy is. I’m really on board for this.” I think sketch comedy is such a unique form of creative expression in that it’s a very approachable form of comedy.
It draws on the gritty experiences that we face everyday and brings out the comedic realities we often overlook. And as much as I love sitcoms, which follow similar conventions, sketch comedy has more freedom to be whatever it wants to be, a more absurdist approach. As I got older the show just became funnier and funnier because I began to understand the political impressions and the more suggestive humor. By high school I was keeping up with the show every week and I would even screenrecord and pull clips from my favorite sketches on Youtube and edit them into compilations to watch over again. When I started playing jazz, it became a dream of mine to play in the SNL house band (and still most definitely is). The show became a total hyperfixation, and I am not alone in that adoration
For a lot of New Yorkers, SNL is a shared experience. The show has been on air since 1975 and has become a staple of the New York comedy and entertainment scene. It’s not unusual to walk into a deli and overhear, “Hey, did you catch the new SNL last night?” The show wholeheartedly embraces its New York identity, often writing sketches that represent different aspects of the New York culture like our ever-failing public transit system (Transit Workers), the cast of characters you might encounter in Central Park (First Warm Day of the Year Red Carpet), or the disgustingness of a corner-store bathroom (Bodega Bathroom). This season SNL is celebrating its 50 year anniversary, making it one of the longest running network television programs in the United States. Its success has led to the show booking some of the most renowned bands and musicians as musical guests, such as David Bowie, Prince, Nirvana, and The Rolling Stones.
It has become a coveted live music spot for both upcoming and legendary artists. Seems everyone wants to play the SNL stage! The show has also launched the careers of many recognizable names, all of whom started as cast members or writers (Will Ferrell, Jimmy Fallon, Tina Fey, Julia Louis-Dryfus, Adam Sandler, and that’s just the short list!). The show's ability to remain at the front of the cultural zeitgeist for five decades is due in part to the show’s creator and longtime showrunner, showbiz icon Lorne Michaels. For the anniversary special Michaels went all out, and you can catch the SNL 50th anniversary concert and special streaming on Peacock. So cheers to fifty years of Saturday Night, and if you’re anything like me, you’re hoping for fifty more.
Some recommended reading (a few of my favorite sketches):
Schmitt’s Gay (Season 17)
Debbie Downer: Disney World (Season 29)
National Anthem (Season 32)
The Californians: Stuart Has Cancer (Season 37)
Weekend Update: Stefon on Autumn's Hottest Tips (Season 40)
New Orleans Vacation (Season 44)
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