At this year’s Tony Awards, viewers can expect over 100 people on stage during the opening number (according to what host Pink told BroadwayWorld!). But if you’re watching from home, you may notice that the audience still looks completely full despite many out of their seats and up on stage. Enter: seat fillers.
When an artist in the audience needs to get up to perform, accept an award, go to the press room (which is usually across the street) or use the restroom, a very lucky theater fan is expected to rush to the front of the house during a commercial break and take their spot.
So how exactly does one earn entry into Radio City Music Hall on Broadway’s biggest night to fill the seats of theatrical icons? BroadwayWorld breaks down the process, plus what it’s actually like watching the show close-up next to some of your favorite stars.
How Do You Become a Tony Awards Seat Filler?
Well, there’s no singular answer to that question. According to three previous seat fillers, it really comes down to who you know and being in the right place at the right time. Some theater fans or industry professionals are asked by a connection to participate or apply.
According to one former seat filler, the Tony Awards team even asks for a résumé so they can get to know possible candidates before seat fillers are selected.
On the applications, “there are also questions like, ‘This is a black-tie event, so should we select you, do you have a gown or tuxedo ready to go?’” explains Ryan Bloomquist, who has attended numerous ceremonies and started seat filling in high school. “And they are also very strict in saying, ‘This is an industry event. Do you promise to not talk to anyone? Don’t bring business cards, résumés. You’re there to work.” (Seat fillers aren’t paid, but they do get free entry to the ceremony.)
Some seat fillers are afforded the opportunity to go because they are part of the American Theatre Wing’s SpringboardNYC program, which sets college actors up for success before they embark on a career in theater.
According to Kelsey Martin, who attended the Tonys numerous times in the past, seat fillers will be alerted approximately three weeks before the ceremony if they’ve been chosen. “Then we go into overdrive,” she says. “We’re like, ‘Oh my God, we have to find an outfit.’”
How Does Seat Filling at the Tony Awards Work?
On the day of the Tony Awards, there is always a dress rehearsal in the morning. Seat fillers are asked to arrive at approximately 3 p.m. after dress has wrapped.
Martin explains that, because you can’t bring in a water bottle or food when you enter Radio City, seat fillers are often getting in a quick bite and making sure they’re hydrated before getting on line. “They give us wristbands, and then we all go in and sit down in Radio City,” she says, adding that when everyone has arrived, production staffers “give us the overview of how the entire evening is going to work.”
When the pre-telecast (The Tony Awards: Act One) begins, the Tony Awards team will “strategically place seat fillers around the house,” says Bloomquist. “They always want the audience to look full, and you’re told, ‘As people come in, just keep moving down your row to whatever seat is empty.’”
By the time the opening number begins, it’s off to the races for the seat fillers. They’re usually held in the back of the house until they’re informed by a staff member to move to the front where they will meet another Tonys staffer who instructs them where to sit. But it all depends on what is needed — and what seats are empty.
“There have been years I’ve ended up in the same seat for the entire night,” says Bloomquist.
Other times, he says, “You’re on your feet the whole night, and often you’ll have 30 seconds to get down from the back of Radio City to the front row. So you do have to be able to hustle.”
All of the movement is done during commercial breaks, and seat fillers are typically not moving until they’re told to — or until the audience member has returned to their seat.
What Is Tony Awards Seat Filler Etiquette?
When it comes to seat-filling etiquette, Samantha Dawn Tuozzolo — who was a seat filler at the 2018 Tony Awards — puts it simply: “It’s literally like background work. You’re there to fill in the back and don’t act like an asshole. Don’t talk. Look gorgeous.”
“Essentially do not speak unless you’re spoken to,” says Martin.
Because seat fillers have worn wristbands in the past, she explains, “Usually people will end up chatting you up, and they’ll be like, ‘Oh, are you a seat filler? How did you get this opportunity?’ People are usually really nice about it, but [staffers] ask that we not initiate conversations, specifically fan-girling. And they ask us to do our best to not let the wristbands be seen from the camera.”
“The most fear-inducing moments are when — very few and far between — someone might not understand or might not know that you’re a seat filler, and they assume you’re just someone sitting in their seat,” says Martin. “There’s a moment of absolute panic if someone walks up and looks at you like you have committed an unforgivable crime because you’re sitting in their seat after they’ve gone to collect their award. Those are the moments that are so awkward because they might come back even before the commercial break. You’re not allowed to talk, and you’re not even sure if you’re allowed to move, and you’re trying to communicate to this Broadway star, ‘I took your seat because I was told to!’”
What It’s Like Sitting Next to Broadway Stars at the Tony Awards
While moving around from seat to seat on Broadway’s biggest night can be a lot of work, Martin says, “This is sort of where it’s iconic to be a seat filler because this is how you end up sitting by Bernadette Peters and Denzel Washington and Jennifer Damiano.”
“One year, I sat two seats down from Denzel and behind Tiffany Haddish for like 30 minutes, and that was so fun because you just get to hear Denzel and Tiffany Haddish talking to all the people around them,” she recalls. “Of course everyone wants to come visit Denzel. And so you have all these icons that come. I think Kelli O’Hara came and said hello.”
According to Bloomquist, “Because you’re really only filling up like 10 rows, you end up next to the most famous and exciting people. So I’ve sat next to Bono and Patti LuPone and right behind Beyoncé. Sometimes, if [a show that is performing has] onstage seating, seat fillers will also be used that way. So for Rocky’s performance, I ended up on stage.”
“I remember in high school, for ages, I had my Facebook profile as a photo of me behind Angela Lansbury,” he says, adding that during another year, “whoever was behind the camera thought I was someone important, so they cut to me during an acceptance speech!”
As for Tuozzolo, when The Band’s Visit won Best Musical during her seat-filling experience, her longtime friend — and a coproducer on the musical — Benjamin Simpson “walked down the aisle next to me,” she says, adding that she got the chance to hug him. “It was actually so iconic that my Best Friend won a Tony, and I was there on the aisle.”
Also that evening, Tuozzolo sat in Chita Rivera’s seat when the late, great theater icon accepted the Lifetime Achievement Tony Award. “I was sitting next to her daughter [Lisa Mordente], and I was just so happy,” she says, adding that the camera panned to her — and she received multiple text messages with a screenshot of the moment afterward. “I remember her daughter just kept looking at me and smiling at me.”
“I was like, ‘This is a dream come true,’ and it really was,” says Tuozzolo. “I was at the f**king Tonys!”
