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Stephanie Serr ’05
(left) and Kristen
LoVullo ’05 are
audience assistants for the “Rachael Ray Show”
in New York City. The two are responsible for
recruiting live audiences for six to eight shows
a week. |
Kristen LoVullo ’05
never imagined a job in television.
LoVullo, a public relations major and marketing minor,
entered the real world just like every other Oswego
graduate, to find a job in her chosen field. But when
the job didn’t deliver like she had hoped, LoVullo
jumped at the opportunity given by friend and sorority
sister, Stephanie Serr ’05,
to become a part of the crew at the new “Rachael
Ray show."
Serr, a broadcasting major, spent her first year out
of college working for “The Tony Danza Show.”
But when the show was cancelled, Serr, using a networking
opportunity, got an interview and was soon hired to
work for Rachael Ray.
Today, the two Oswego grads take their job as audience
assistants very seriously. Although they share a fun,
decorative atmosphere, the two are in charge of one
of the most important aspects of the show: audience
recruiting and crowd control.
They are responsible for booking the audience for six
to eight live shows each week, which means sending e-mail
correspondence, with a show date, to hundreds of people
every day.
According to LoVullo, the studio audience fits 115 people,
but because cancellations and time constraints can occur,
they book up to 200 people per show. Each live show
is booked one month in advance.
“We have enough e-mail correspondence to book
the show through April,” LoVullo said.
While the audience is usually filled with first-come-first-serve
requests, there have been occasions when a show was
produced for a specific category of people.
“If a specific type of audience is wanted, it
is our job to gather different groups to attend,”
LoVullo said.
Ray may tape a show geared toward high school cooking
classes, charities or college cuisine, in which case
she may want a young audience, or an audience made up
of sororities or even the Parent Teacher Organization.
LoVullo has nothing but excitement and positive things
to say about her newfound profession.
“No day is the same,” she said. “My
favorite part about the job is getting to know and meet
people from all over the country, meeting celebrities,
and we get to eat the food that Rachael Ray cooks after
the show.”
Not only do LoVullo and Serr see Ray everyday when she
is in the studio, but they have had the opportunity
to meet other celebrities like SuperBowl champion Emmitt
Smith; Marcia Cross of “Desperate Housewives”;
Jessica Simpson’s father, Joe Simpson; and singer
Natalie Imbruglia. The week of this interview singer
LL Cool J was scheduled to appear in the audience.
Since starting at the Rachael Ray show in June, there
is one taping that stands out the most to LoVullo. It
was in August, one of the first live shows that she
had seen. Oprah Winfrey was the live guest and as she
entered the stage on an elevator, members of the audience,
including LoVullo, broke into tears.
“I couldn’t believe that Oprah was standing
right in front of me,” she said.
From the computer correspondence, to keeping the line
of excited Rachael Ray fans under control outside the
studio, while they grab a bite to eat at a complimentary
pit stop offered before the show, and to finally ushering
them into their seats, LoVullo knows one thing’s
for sure: She is right where she wants to be.
“Once you’re in, you’re in,”
she said of the television industry. “I love it.
I like working in audience, too.”
Her advice to the class of 2007 and to those graduates
who just aren’t finding what they hoped for: “Make
a list of anything that you’re interested in…
Do internships, tell about any experience you have in
organizing your life, they are huge…It’s
not always what you know, but who you know. If you want
a job bad enough, you can get it.”
— Emily King ’05 |
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