A Little 'Real Time' With Bill Maher

One of the great things about living in LA is the entertainment industry, which can be taken advantage of in many ways— creating projects and pitching ideas, auditioning for TV and film roles, being an extra in a movie or serving as an audience member at a taping.

TV talk show tapings are ubiquitous here. Just about any day of the week you can be in the audience. HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher tapes every Friday (live for the East Coast) at CBS Studios just down the road from me on Faifax and Melrose. It is one of my favorite local adventures.

A week ago, I decided to take a couple of friends for a little "real time." Being a political show, I thought the historical events of the week (the death of Bin Laden) would make an especially fascinating adventure.

As we got seated in the famous Studio 33 (The Bob Barker Studio), the energy was palpable. Bill Maher was undoubtedly champing at the bit to come out and do his opening monologue. But before he could make his appearance, Real Time's head writer, Billy Martin, needed to rev the audience up.

I have been to the show so many times that I know his funny act by heart. He tantalizes us with the guest lineup, then he starts interacting with the audience, explaining the importance of laughing and clapping ("especially when Bill does his monologue since I wrote it" Martin quips). "You are not here to watch exciting TV, you're here to make TV," he says.

One of Martin's standard bits is asking the audience, "How many conservatives do we have in the audience?" Usually a handful raise their hands, prompting Martin to ask his follow-up question, "How was the ride up from Orange County?" For the first time ever, not one person raised their hand! Either it was 100 percent liberal or there were a few very sheepish conservatives.

Finally, it was show time. Bill Maher comes out. (We were all trying to guess what his opening line would be). He says something like, "Well, I guess you've all heard the news. Charlie Sheen's tour has ended." Maher was on fire with his comments about President Obama's gutsy decision to Bin Laden's villa hideout to a little Republican razzing, like Cheney for accidentally shooting people in the face, and of course Sarah Palin got a few jabs. 

Then Bin Laden expert, Peter Bergen was up first. Mid-show was Muslim expert Irshad Manji, followed by a tellar panel with Michael Eric Dyson, Jeremy Scahill and David Frum. All made for a very lively debate. The historic evening ended with a standing ovation (Billy Martin must have been beaming). It's an adventure I'll always remember.

To get your free tickets go to Real Time with Bill Maher.

Adventure Tip: Do something different on a Friday night. Instead of going out to dinner, or to a movie, go to an event, a book signing, or a Talk Show taping. Make it an adventure you'll never forget.