Pyramid is Casting

[Matt Ottinger]

It's a much more difficult job than you might think - seats are usually uncomfortable with not as much leg room as you'd like, the stop start nature of a lot of shows means a lot of boring downtime, the production team don't tend to like people going for toilet breaks despite a 3-5 hour (plus!) session...

I'm sure there are downsides, as there would be with any job, but in the category of things-one-is-paid-to-do, I have a hard time going along with the idea that this sort of work is "much more difficult" than I think it is.

[Brig Bother]

It's a much more difficult job than you might think - seats are usually uncomfortable with not as much leg room as you'd like, the stop start nature of a lot of shows means a lot of boring downtime, the production team don't tend to like people going for toilet breaks despite a 3-5 hour (plus!) session...

I'm sure there are downsides, as there would be with any job, but in the category of things-one-is-paid-to-do, I have a hard time going along with the idea that this sort of work is "much more difficult" than I think it is.

Long term? I'd take burger flipping. Doing nothing is *hard*.

[vtown7]

In some European countries such as Germany, you actually have to pay for tickets.

Yes, this is true, I paid around 25 Euros for my ticket to Wer Wird Millionar in Germany.  Worth it though!

(Not that I minded; the very polite audience staff allowed me to jump a two year waiting list as I was "from out of the area").

Ryan

[Otm Shank]

He's trying to break into acting but does paid audience work until that opportunity arises. ... By no means has he reached his career goals, it's a supplement.

Everything in business is about networking. By showing up to multiple productions, he's visible to some production people. By coming back and sitting through long taping sessions, he is showing his reliability. While he's likely visible only to the low-level production types, people move up the ladder or jump to different ladders. Can't hurt.

Frankly, it's no different than being an extra on a movie or television set. No one answers "what do you do?" with "I'm a professional extra." It's just another way for L.A.'s large pool of waiter-actors to avoid having to take the midnight train to Georgia (or the midnight plane to Houston, as I learned watching $25,000 Pyramid).