Scottsville native goes backstage at SNL
For the 39th season of Saturday Night Live, with cast members Seth Meyers, Cecily Strong and Kenan Thompson and guest hosts like Drake, Lady Gaga, Lena Dunham and Louis C.K., Scottsville native Alison Castle had a front-row seat.
Castle, a 1991 Allendale Columbia graduate, got exclusive back-stage access throughout most of the season while working on a book, titled Saturday Night Live, that's being released this month.
It combines never-before-seen archival photographs, a season-by-season breakdown and an interview with show overlord Lorne Michaels. Weighing in at a hefty six pounds, it was a labor of love for a lifelong fan of the show.
"It was so much fun to watch, it blew my mind," she said. "It was honestly a dream come true for such a big geek fan of the show."
One bonus was catching up with former SNL standout Kristen Wiig, whom Castle knew when they were both students at Allendale Columbia.
Castle has edited several other large book projects, including books on Stanley Kubrick, Marilyn Monroe and Linda Eastman. For the SNL book, she expanded beyond photo curation to describe the process leading up to 11:30 Saturday night.
Monday is the first writers meeting; Tuesday dozens of sketches are written, and Wednesday they're whittled down to 40 or so. Thursday and Friday are run-throughs and blocking, and final rehearsals on Saturday run up to 90 minutes before showtime.
Worked in between the actors' frenetic schedules are makeup, set design, special effects and camera work.
"It's amazing to watch because everyone's very cool-headed and professional," Castle said. "No matter how scary it is or how many variables are going on, they just buckle down and do it. Then when the show goes live, it's an incredible feeling."
JMURPHY7@DemocratandChronicle.com