Rules of Engagement

Roseanne, Full House, Cosby Show...these are just some of the shows I remember that started the credits with "blah-blah...is filmed in front of a live television audience".

I had no idea they continued to film this way, that is...until I made my way to set of Rules of Engagement on Tuesday. We sat in comfortable bleachers overlooking 4 main sets for the show. (diner, upscale restaurant, living room, kitchen) The AD greeted all of us and told us how it would the show would go, first we would do our blocking, (positioning where we would be sitting, standing, crossing, etc...) then we would do a few rehearsals, and then the audience would arrive at 6:30 and we would begin taping.

It was a breath of fresh air, as I thought it would bring a sort of theatre element to it, where the scenes would just progresses naturally, and for the most part that held true. We had a couple hours break before the audience shuffled in, so I strolled the studio lot to kill some time. I didn't run into anything exciting this time however, just lines of tourists being prepped on what to expect, the do's and don'ts, that sorta thing.

6:15 - time to take stage, we all shuffled into our positions and being that we were in the second scene (upscale restaurant), I was able to stand in the wings and watch the actors as well as the audience. It was a really good vibe, everyone seemed to be having a great time...the actors would joke and laugh when they had to do retakes, as opposed to yelling "%!@&!!...can we go again?" plus, the show stars David Spade and Putty (from Seinfeld), so it's kind of hard not to be laughing around those guys!

Tonight was also kind of a historic night, as Obama was elected President, and so the crew was updating us and the audience as the polls came in, and once projected the winner, the place erupted with even more excitement...it was a pretty electrifying night!

The episode is entitled 'House of Money', and should be really easy to spot me as I am sitting up at the bar with "Putty", while he and the lead actress are getting a drink, then in one other scene, I am sitting directly behind their table once they are seated.

The attached photo is looking down from the audience bleachers onto the restaurant and the diner sets, and the other is from the set looking up at the audience...normally cameras are frowned upon, hence the sneaky looking pics.