The cast and crew of TigerTv’s Studio 21 was preparing for a mock show last Tuesday, but faced a real plot twist when they found out that instead of a rehearsal, they would be taping a live show.
The mix-up was simply a scheduling error, but gave the producers only about 24 hours to do a week’s worth of preparations. Rosie Van Vliet, the executive producer, was anxious about if the crew was ready “” and if she was ready herself.
“Once we found out the show was live, the prep that needed to be done had more to do with training [the] crew,” Van Vliet said. “I was really nervous. I felt like I needed the mock show, personally, because it was my first time directing an episode.”
Van Vliet tried to remain calm despite feeling nervous.
“I was literally running around trying to oversee everything that was happening. I felt lost and nervous beforehand, but once we got into it, everything went very smoothly,” Van Vliet said.
As the leader of the show, Van Vliet turned to other experienced members of Studio 21 to help prepare the novice cast and crew members.
“As a veteran to being on camera, it was pretty important to not get stressed,” said Brenda Ramos, co-host of the opening segment. “We met up an hour before the show to prep and teach a lot of the new people new positions.”
“Once I realized this was going to be a live show, I did my best to keep the cast and crew calm,” said Andrew Robertson, associate producer of creative content. “Live show or not, we still had to get in front of the camera doing our parts.”
And that was exactly what they did. The clock counted down the final moments, hosts took their seats, videographers focused the cameras in and Van Vliek signaled the start of the show.
Ramos and her co-host Zach Wooten opened and were followed by several segments of pop-culture news. The show also featured a live performance by The Lonely Horse, a local band that played three songs.
Ramos and her co-host Zach Wooten opened and were followed by several segments of pop-culture news. The show also featured a live performance by The Lonely Horse, a local band that played three songs for a live studio audience.
Senior TigerTv station manager Benji Gomez was instrumental in bringing the band to Studio 21. The timing of their new CD release was part of the reason for the last minute schedule mix-up.
“We were looking to do a little more promotion for their big EP release and tour kickoff this Friday. I told them about the Studio 21 broadcast and how it’s helped many bands reach Trinity students in the past, and they seemed excited about it. We confirmed the details on Monday afternoon,” Gomez said.
Despite the frantic preparation and anxiety about the show, cast members agree that they were pleasantly surprised by how the show came together.
“As a veteran to the show, my expectations were low,” said Zachary Wooten, program manager for TigerTv and Studio 21 co-host. “The first show is usually rocky [but] I was blown away by the precise coordination of the cast and crew to put up a truly remarkable show with virtually no hiccups.”
Van Vliet agreed.
“Everyone stepped up to the plate and really did their job well. I’m really thankful for my associate producers who dealt with my panicked rampage like champs and really did all the grunt work,” Van Vliet said.
Going forward, the crew hopes to build on the success they saw in the first episode this week.
“I think we definitely set the bar high. Part of me always wants to surprise people with live shows now. It really seems to light a fire under people, and while it may have been stressful in the moment, the end product was phenomenal,” Gomez said.
TigerTv produces three live shows each week. Studio 21 airs on Tuesday afternoons. The Not So Late Show and Newswave are also produced weekly and air on Thursdays and Fridays respectively.
