Free TV tapings offer recession busting fun for residents and tourists
Published Tuesday March 10th, 2009
TORONTO - Seeing a live show with big-name talent in Toronto doesn't have to cost anything, if you look to the TV circuit.
Megastars and musicians regularly roll through Canada's most populous city to promote their projects on local talk shows, and audience members don't pay a cent to be a part of the action - something that should appeal to many in these tough economic times.
Sweetening the deal are the giveaways and opportunities to interact with the stars on set.
"Lots of productions shoot in Toronto, but it's not really often that you're going to walk down the street and there's going to be Tom Cruise standing on the street corner," says Leah Miller, co-host of the entertainment talk show "MuchOnDemand," shot at MuchMusic's iconic downtown streetside studios.
"But you can come down to MuchMusic and 'MOD' and he'll be sitting there in the audience," she says, referring to the "Top Gun" star's appearance on the show a few months back.
"MOD" tapes Monday to Friday from 5 to 6 p.m. ET and applications for tickets can be found on the show's website. An audience of about 150 - aged 14 and over - is allowed inside. Anyone is welcome to watch from outside.
Those who get in on the taping sit just a few metres away from the talent and have the opportunity to ask questions, take pictures and get autographs. The same opportunities exist for fans standing outside MuchMusic's giant streetside windows, which are opened during tapings so celebs can greet the crowds.
"It's an amazing experience being in there," Stephanie Zerhen, 14, of Thornhill, Ont., recalls of the time she got into "MOD" to see German pop stars Tokio Hotel play.
"The VJs are so nice. They come up to you, they'll interact with you. It's super sweet," adds her friend, 14-year-old Danielle Durham, who recently stood with Zerhen outside MuchMusic to watch the group Marianas Trench perform inside.
Show rules state that fans can't videotape, have their cellphones on, chew gum or "attack the artists," Miller says with a laugh.
"But ... all the artists that come in here, they know that their fans are important ... so they will take pictures, they will sign autographs."
Offering a similar feel, sans the street crowd, is MTV Canada's "MTV Live," a pop-culture talk show taped afternoons from Monday to Thursday at the landmark Masonic Temple downtown.
"The After Show" is also broadcast live from the same building after episodes of the MTV reality series "The City" and "The Hills." To get tickets for both shows, you must be at least 16 years of age and must fill out an online form on MTV's website.
If the screaming teen vibe doesn't grab you, consider "CityLine," the long-running lifestyles talk show taped Monday to Thursday mornings inside the same building that houses MuchMusic (299 Queen Street West).
Reservations can be made online and show officials say there's a waiting list, so it's best to book at least two to three months in advance.
Also covering lifestyles issues is CBC's daytime "Steven & Chris" show, which allows in 80 audience members at the public broadcaster's downtown studios. Tickets for the show, which breaks for the summer in May, are available online.
In the same building is the prime-time satirical news program "The Rick Mercer Report" (which has no more tickets available for this season), and the late-night talk show "The Hour With George Stroumboulopoulos," which can accommodate up to 160 audience members and is taped in the afternoons, Monday to Thursday.
"The audience is so close you can see the whites of everybody's eyes," Stroumboulopoulos says of his vantage point from the raised circular stage on the intimate set.
The spiky-haired host establishes a laidback, friendly vibe during tapings, chatting with the crowd during breaks and engaging in long Q-and-A's at the end.
"Usually it's about an hour every day," he says of his post-show discussions with fans, who can take pictures of the stars during commercial breaks and often walk away with promotional products and prizes.
"The Hour" - which breaks for the summer starting in June - has featured many illustrious guests and drawn audience members from around the world. And its international profile is likely to grow now that the show is being promoted by member-based organization Tourism Toronto.
The industry association has been putting "The Hour," along with the "Steven & Chris" program, into its calendars of events and pushing them on international travel media for the past year and a half.
"They say a lot about the experience in Toronto ... as an entertainment centre and one of the major urban cosmopolitan centres in North America," says Tourism Toronto spokesman Andrew Weir.
Other free TV opportunities to watch out for throughout the year include the occasional "Live(at)Much" specials, and the summertime MuchMusic Video Awards.
Some reality series also require audiences at different times of the year, including CTV's "So You Think You Can Dance Canada," which has been picked up for a second season.
And if you have no luck getting tickets for any show, just head down to the MuchMusic building and take a peek in the windows. At the very least, you'll catch behind-the-scenes action and may even get to meet the hosts, says Miller.
"We'll have groups of people coming up to the window and we'll be talking through the window or we'll go outside and meet them," she says.
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On the Net:
www.muchmusic.com/tv/mod20/
www.mtv.ca
www.cityline.ca
www.cbc.ca/stevenandchris/
www.cbc.ca/thehour
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