Heading To Huckabee

It's a new week and I'm going to get into my regular posting schedule of Monday, (the occasional) Wednesday, and Friday starting this week. So here I go. 

I really like living so close to the 25th largest city in the country. 
So many things to do there. It's a city on the rise in regard to national popularity.
Nothing is more evident of that than downtown Nashville recently hosting the NFL draft. 

For 3 days during the last weekend of April, an estimated 200,000 spectators crowded Broadway from Bridgestone arena to the riverfront to witness the selection of this year's NFL picks. 
Fortunately, the plans I had made for my next couple of visits down I-65 didn't require traveling to Music City until after that weekend. One which, also, saw 30,000 runners participate in the "Run Rock & Roll" marathon. 
One of the interesting things about Nashville is that it has quite a long history in regard to television production, an industry that's alive and kickin today.
Thanks to networks such as: RFD-TV, Trinity Broadcasting, CMT, and a variety of independent companies, television production continues to be part of the Nashville business culture. 
Nine years ago, my son, Michael, and I went to the TV studio in the Grand Ole Opry house to be part of a CMT special featuring the guys from the Blue Collar Comedy tour. I wrote about it on the RH Factors blog. I will put the link at the end of this post if you want to read about it. 
On April 30, I went to be part of the studio audience at a taping of the TBN show, "Huckabee". 
It is a politically based talk show hosted by the former Arkansas governor and two-time presidential candidate, Mike Huckabee. 
Just like it's host, the program conveys a clearly defined conservative political attitude. And while it can be a little more to the right than my views, I find it rather entertaining most of the time.   
The show is taped on various nights throughout the month at the Huckabee Theater, right across the street from TBN studios, in Hendersonville,TN.
It is a stand alone building that from the moment I approached it, reminded me of a theater you'd see in Pigeon Forge, TN. 

As recommended on the program's website, I arrived about an hour early for the taping. 
I went through the security check and found myself in a large open lobby.

There was a very nice little catered reception featuring cupcakes, snacks, and soft drinks. 

I sat on a bench looking around watching the other soon-to-be audience members enjoying the reception. Most of them were my age or older. This made me feel even more like I was in the Smoky Mountains. The place just had that feel to it. 
There was a trio of reasons I was there. First, to see how a TV show is produced. Second, to say "hi" to one of my favorite stand-up comics, who warms up the audience. Third, a ventriloquist I like was a guest on the program.  
Rik Roberts is very funny stand-up with 20+ years experience. He's a past president of the Christian Comics Association and hosts my favorite podcast about the art & business of being "funny for money".  
On stage and off an important part of his act is impersonating one of TV's continuously popular sidekicks, Barney Fife. He has the stature and a lot of the mannerisms of Mayberry's favorite deputy. 
In full uniform and a single bullet in his shirt pocket, Rik mingled with the guests in the reception area; greeting, talking and taking pictures. 

 I talked with him for a while and got a two-shot of us.  

When it came time to go into the studio I did my best to become a sponge; soaking up all I could. From the minute I walked through the door, my head was on a swivel. Taking in everything to see involving the taping process.
As luck would have it, I was seated on the front row all the way to the left; right next to the station where announcer, Keith Bilbery, would look into a camera and segue between each segment and the commercials. 

One of the things I will always remember about the night happened during a break. I joked with Mr. Bilbery about a mistake he had been making in pronouncing a guest's name. He didn't get mad. In fact, he laughed and even repeated the joke to Mike Huckabee. 
The show started when Rik Roberts, transformed back into himself, came out on stage and warmed up the audience. The stand-up material he did I'd heard before. But it was nice to hear the laughter of an audience who hadn't. 
The show's host came out on stage to greet and joke around with the audience and thanked us for coming. 
Once he was finished the director spoke to us from the production booth. He gave us basic instructions and explained what our "job" would be during the show. 
Soon after he was finished the house band began playing the theme song. They provided the music and some sound effects as they were needed throughout the show.
Bilbery announced the show's line up as the opening billboard appeared on the screen. He then introduced Governor Huckabee. The host's 5 minute monologue came first. He talked about the recent White House correspondent's dinner and blasted the "liberal press" for calling out the president for choosing not to attend.  
I closely watched the switching of cameras. They had a red light when they were "on" and a timer on the front counting down the length of each segment. There were 3 cameras mounted on wheels that moved around the production floor, a hand held roamer, and crane camera that moved around both vertically and horizontally getting overhead and panning shots. 
At one point I began playing a mental game, guessing which shot the director would choose next. I watched the nearby monitor to see if I was right.  
The program they were creating was a combination of segments  taped that night and some previously recorded. 
Comedian Chondra Pierce promoting the upcoming  theatrical release of her documentary, "Unashamed" was 
one of those already finished. 

In addition, some segments for future shows were taped. A couple of them came under the heading "Huckabee's Hero". 
While the production staff and cast were setting up for the next thing, a group of enthusiastic theater staff workers would prepare the audience for what was coming up. They endevoured to keep our energy up by engaging different individuals in conversation and tossing out Huckabee themed t-shirts. One was thrown toward me but the guy next to me intercepted it. No biggie. He was at least 10 years older than me and it gave him something to remember the night once he got back to Oklahoma.  
One of the live segments featured ventriloquist Taylor Mason. He was promoting his new auto-biography, Irreversible. During his act he appealed to the political bias that presides over the show with a joke about... 
Well, rather than tell you let me show you. Here's a link to Taylor's segment. 
Taylor Mason On Huckabee
The last guest of the night was country music star, Daryl Worley. After being away from the country scene for a few years, Worley is now back on tour. Here's his interview with Huckabee explaining his absence and promoting his return. 
Daryl Worley Interview
Worley performed 2 songs. One to be used on this show and his popular hit about 9/11, "Have You Forgotten" to be included on an upcoming program this September.  
The conclusion of the music performance marked the end of production. 
There was an opportunity for "Meet & Greet" with Mike Huckabee but I didn't want to wait in line. 
Instead I went out into the theater lobby and talked with Rik Roberts for a few minutes. 
Having dropped a family member off at the Nashville airport at 6AM that morning; I had stayed in town all day. At that point I was tired. I just wanted to go home. 
There you have my experience with the Huckabee show. 
The following Saturday night, the show aired on TBN. I managed to catch a glimpse of myself on screen several times during passing overhead crane shots of the audience. 
I really enjoyed watching the whole process of making a TV show. I have always been very interested in entertainment production. But I know there were things that went into creating the show that I missed. But that's okay, I plan on going back again one day. I may ask questions in order to learn more when I do. 
I think my wife might be interested in going with me the next time as well. 
Thanks for coming by and reading my first blog post. Hope you enjoyed it. 
Later this week I will write about another evening in Nashville that has a direct connection to yet another TV show. I will let you know when it is posted. 
Here's the link to my the RH Factors post I mentioned earlier

Blue Collar Comedy Tour Special