After Doing An Amazing Interactive Saturday Night Live Experience At 30 Rock, I Have A Whole New Appreciation For The Show

I know Saturday Night Live is a whirlwind. I’ve heard hosts talk about being sped through the sets during a show to hop from sketch to sketch, and I’ve never doubted cast members who talk about the grind that comes with working in Studio 8H. However, I never knew exactly what it felt like.

Well, attending The SNL 50 Experience at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City gave me an idea of what it’s really like. Now, I have a whole new appreciation for one of the best sketch comedy shows.

What Happened During The SNL 50 Experience

So, The SNL 50 Experience is a whirlwind of a time, and that’s putting it lightly. In the span of about 30 minutes, you are basically run through a mock show and a whole bunch of sets. It’s fast-paced, wild and very, very fun.

To illustrate just how much happens during this experience, here are all the stops I made on my journey through this Studio 8H simulation:

• First, I stopped and got my host photoshoot done (which you can see above).
• Then, I walked through those iconic doors and waved to the camera like I was about to give a monologue.
• Following that, I walked backstage before stopping at the cue card desk to chat with the person running the table, read a line (mine was from Timothée Chalemet’s 2025 episode), and then yell “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!”
• The next stop was a quick change (which I didn't actually change), and that catapulted me onto the set of “Weekend Update”
• While at the Update desk, I pretend to be both Colin Jost and Michael Che.
• Then, a walk through the prop hallway happened, which led to a sketch recreation of the iconic digital short “Dick in a Box.”
• After that, it was on to wigs and makeup.
• A recreation of Wayne’s World came next, and I got the chance to sing their excellent theme song.
• The tour then ended with a stop at the Five Timer’s Club.

Ummm…that’s a lot to cram into 30 minutes, and it really was like a whirlwind. My lovely guide whisked me through the halls of 30 Rock the whole time, basically holding my hand, and I was just trying my best to commit to the bits and hang on for the wild ride.

While I imagine this was nowhere near as intense as an actual run of show for Saturday Night Live, it did give me a sense of just how chaotic and fast-paced it is, which provided me with an entirely new appreciation for this long-running series.

Why The SNL 50 Experience Gave Me A New Appreciation For Saturday Night Live

As I’ve been watching the hosts and musical guests on SNL’s 50th season, I’ve been thinking a lot about just how many people have walked through those doors and experienced the thrill of the sketch comedy series. While I don’t know exactly what it feels like, I’ve always understood the frenetic energy in that studio and the absolutely mad pace everyone has to work with to pull it off.

However, there’s a big difference between theory and practice, and this experience allowed me to feel a morsel of what it’s like to really be on SNL.

I got a bit nervous walking through the doors for what would have been my monologue. And it gave me even more respect for the A-list SNL hosts who confidently walked down those stairs to begin their mad dash through this experience that must be way out of most of their comfort zones.

Doing little sketches and seeing all the memorabilia also put into perspective just how much time, energy and effort goes into each and every episode. It felt like I was walking through SNL history, and that mixed with getting to perform a little bit put into perspective just how magical this NBC staple is.

So, you better believe that as I continue to watch new SNL episodes with a Peacock subscription as they air on the 2025 TV schedule, I'll be watching it with an entirely new appreciation for everything that goes into making this show work.