Alumni camp on the streets of New York to see ‘Hamilton’ star in SNL

The Falcon interviewed alumni Sherrilyn Ling, class of 2015, and Luke Salin, class of 2016. Ling and Salin both attend New York University in Manhattan and waited in line to watch the filming of “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda on “Saturday Night Live” Oct. 8 at NBC studios.Ling and Salin took two of the approximately 40 free spots available for the live show.

Who did you go watch on SNL? Why did you want go to the show?

Ling: It's always been on my bucket list to do the standby line for SNL, but I never had the courage. When it was announced that Lin-Manuel Miranda was hosting I was like I NEED TO GO, since Luke and I are massive “Hamilton” nerds.

So how long did you guys wait for? What did you guys do in your down time? How was sleeping on the streets of NY like?

Salin: We waited outside 21 painful hours, from 10 a.m. on Friday to 7 on Saturday morning. Sherrilyn was smart and downloaded movies on her computer and had fun. I was stupid and tried to do homework (bleh).

But Sherrilyn was actually smart. She brought a chair and a sleeping bag.

Ling: We legit lugged an enormous butterfly chair and sleeping bag onto the subway.

Salin: I think I only slept like an hour and a half? Sherrilyn somehow stayed awake on the phone most of the night.

Ling: I fell asleep for 10 minutes. I guess I just couldn't get comfortable sleeping in such a public scene, and I just decided to stay up all night.

How was the show? Did you find the experience worth it?

Salin: Ahhhh, it was so worth it. Getting to go into the studio to see the magic of a live broadcast was amazing. But on top of that, there are a lot of special things about this show. We got to see Kate Mckinnon's Hillary Clinton and Alec Baldwin’s Trump spoof the day after the whole Donald Trump tape scandal.

Lin's monologue was an adaptation of "My Shot" from Hamilton, which gave me chills, especially because I knew I probably would never get to see him perform a “Hamilton” song live now that he's not still in the show.

But the best part for me was when Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon came out as a surprise cameo in weekend update. I love both of them, and I kinda hoped that there would be some surprise guest, but I didn't expect either of them.

The wait was long and nerve wracking, but I'd do it again. We both definitely stressed out a lot. We got separated when they started taking people through security, and not sleeping and being on a dirty street with cockroaches wasn't fun either. But the payoff of seeing is more than worth the struggle of the wait.

What were some unforgettable experiences from those two days?

Ling: I was making a scene at one point because there was a cockroach running around my sleeping bag so I was squealing and this guy comes up and goes "What's wrong? Are you kidding me," and just stomped on it.

And I was just thinking "ah, I love New Yorkers."

And then later, a second cockroach showed up and I was inspired by that man, so I just stomped on it myself. It was great. He changed my life.

Did you guys leave the line to get food at all?

Ling: Gourmet meal of McDonald. Luke bought 20 nuggs and I legit ate my share of 10 in less than one minute. It was alarming.

Salin: Lin bought pizza for everyone in line, which was cool. One of us would leave to get some cheap food or to go to the bathroom.

Do you guys like living in NYC with all these fancy shows and celebrities to see? How is it different than Saratoga?

Ling: I feel really fortunate to have both NYC and Saratoga in my life. There's so much to do in the city that I would never have been able to do if I never left California. I'm an old movie geek so it's been a dream come true living in a place that has so many old movie screenings. Living in NYC had its ups and downs but overall it's been magical for me. Of course, going home to Saratoga is still the best feeling in the world.

I miss driving, my dogs, my mom and my SHS friends like crazy — I pretty much think about them every day. But NYC is such a cultural melting pot, and I learn so much just by simply living here.

Salin: Yeah, I agree. Sherrilyn has had more time to adjust and explore it than I have, but it's been quite an adventure for me already. As soon as you walk out the door, you're part of a really big world that has so much going on all the time. It's exciting, but overwhelming, too, and that's a nice contrast to quiet Saratoga. It makes me appreciate the bubble a little more. I never thought I'd go to New York for more than a vacation. I just assumed the food, entertainment and stuff were all over rated. I was happily proved wrong. But I definitely am counting the days until I can go back and snuggle with my dog, hang out with friends in the parking lot and drive to get some good PMT.