December 13, 2022 • 7 mins
Jay Teeter, longtime Emcee of the legendary Dolly’s Stampede in Pigeon Forge TN chats with Backstage Pass about working with the iconic Dolly Parton, dynamics with his human and animal co-stars, and his favorite elements of the production’s Christmas and Patriotic shows!
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Episode Transcript
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(00:01):
This is the FCB Podcast Network.This is Bess's Pass with Victoria Henley.
(00:24):
Hi everyone, and welcome into anotherepisode of Backstage Pass. It's Victoria here
in the beautiful Dolly's Stampede Theater.I am here with the one and only
Jay Teter. He is the MCof dolly Stampede. How are you?
Jay? Doing great? How areyou doing? I am doing great?
I mean fabulous. After that show? Yeah, what a show? This
was the what second night of yourChristmas show? It is? Yeah,
(00:44):
we actually just opened last night.We had two shows last night for our
opening night, and then two showstonight and they were awful. And it's
been a fantastic opening. We've beenreal excited, so wonderful. You have
been with this company for over twentyyears. What has that whole ride been
like for you? It's been amazing. So now, I've been in entertainment
for a long time since pretty anmuch after I get out of college.
I started with theme parks and didthat kind of stuff. It's really rare
(01:07):
to find an entertainment job that youcan be in one place for this long
and so I'm so fortunate to beable to partner up with Dolly pardon and
work for her since nineteen ninety eight. I started with her in Myrtle Beat,
South Carolina, moved over here toPigeon Forge in two thousand and one,
and like I said, now,after twenty five years, I think
the only one that's been with thecompany longer than me is her. So
I love that. So you've obviouslyseen a lot of changes throughout the years,
(01:30):
and there have been some changes inthe Christmas Show. Long time fans,
what can they expect to see that'snew? Yeah, so brand new
this year. If you did makeit out to our regular season, you
may have gotten a sneak peek ofthis. But we have a brand new
high flying romance act that's a partof our Christmas Show with a brand new
original song written and recorded by Dollyjust for this show. The team that
we have that did the Aerial Silksact are absolutely incredible. They do a
(01:53):
phenomenal job of just doing some amazingaerial stunts that you really can't see anywhere
else, maybe outside of Cirta doSole And so it's that kind of an
experience that you get to watch thatright there with your own eyes, with
a song that Dolly wrote and recordedfor us. It's really pretty magical for
the holiday season. So we've addedthat to our Christmas show, extended it
through from our regular season, andof course everything that everybody loves about our
(02:15):
Christmas show. The highlight is theNativity scene. We do a big live
Nativity with live donkeys and sheep andcamels. All the wise men come in
on actual camels, and it's reallybreathtaking. You almost feel like you're there.
We have this huge video wall onthe back wall that actually show scenes
of Bethlehem and it really kind oftransports our guests right there to feel what
it would feel like to be inthat scene and say, it's really pretty
(02:38):
magical. Everybody always wants to comeback year after year and see that scene
in our Christmas show. You know, I saw you interacting with fans on
the way out, and so manypeople, at least to five or six
said, this was the highlight ofmy Christmas season. And I'm sure,
what's it like to hear that feedbackfrom the fans. It's amazing. Now
growing up, I started with thecompany as a pretty young man, and
you know, I love being thecenter of attention, to love being an
(02:58):
entertainment, but As I've gotten older, I become a dad. I've got
two teenagers now, and I knowwhat it's like to take my family on
vacation. So when I'm down therein the arena and I'm looking up at
these families, that's one thing Ilove about our show. There's so many
great shows here in Pigeon Forge,but it's sometimes hard for little ones to
keep their focus and keep their attention. But with our live animals and the
music and the dinner and there's justso many things going on, it's so
(03:19):
easy to captivate any age, fromthe little ones to the parents, to
the grandparents, and they can allbe here experiencing this thing together as a
family and create those memories that youjust can't create anywhere else. Absolutely,
speaking of the dinner, there isan epic four course feast. Tell us
about that. Yeah, so we'vegot a fabulous four course feast. Make
sure you come hungry. We startoff with our creamy vegetable soup that everybody
(03:40):
loves, with that flaky biscuit,that's how you kind of get things rolling.
And then of course we have awhole rotisserie chicken that you get to
experience with the hickory smoke pork loina hot buttered corn on the cob.
We finished things up. We actuallyhave already said the hickory porkline, but
we actually finish things up with aflakey apple pastry for dessert. All the
Coca Cola products you can rank,just unbelievable delicious dinner. So make sure
(04:02):
you come hungry. You're gonna havea great time being able to watch a
fantastic show with the stars of ourshow, which of course are thirty two
magnificent horses. We have such abond with our performers and our horses that
get together, and we work somany hours together to create that bond that
you can really see it when youwatch the show. Absolutely well, I'm
full from the dinner, but youmade me hungry again when I got descriptions.
(04:23):
It's just as amazing as he said. It's really incredible. We're going
to post the link so you cancheck out all of that. Jake,
I've got to ask you, youknow, there's so much. There's horses
jumping through fire, there's a chickenchase, there's you have an incredible voice,
They're singing, dancing. What's yourfavorite part though, of the whole
show. Christmas show, of course, it's got to be the motivity scene.
You know, there's and we actuallymake it snow inside the arena,
if you can believe that. Sothat's that's a pretty cool thing that the
(04:45):
kids get excited about too. Wehave dancing toys. That's a big scene
where actually it's like a toy shopthat comes to life on Christmas Eve and
the toys are dancing around and interactingwith each other. There's so many great
different elements to the show. Ofcourse, my favorite is obviously the mostivity
scene. I'm so thankful that we'rein a show that is not afraid to
show the real reason for the season, and that's becoming more and more rare
unfortunately. But here in Pigeon Forwardsyou can definitely see it every single night
(05:09):
here at the Stampede. How longdo we have to check out this Christmas
Show? Yeah, so we'll runall of November, all of December.
I think we go a couple daysinto January, usually round January first second
somewhere in there we'll wrap things upfor the Christmas season. But we'll be
doing the show seven days a weekbetween now and the first of the year
wonderful. We'll have those links postedup photos blog article. Now, Jay,
just to leave us on this becausethis show runs throughout the year.
(05:30):
You have a patriotic show, sowe decide to come back. What can
we expect there? Yeah, Soof course our regular season show is a
little more focused on a friendly rivalrybetween the North and the South. We
actually, of course have another originalsong that Dolly wrote and recorded for us
called color Me America. So throughoutthe competition, you know, part of
the show, we're all competing andtrying to win the events and all that,
but at the end of the show, really Dolly brings it all back
(05:51):
together that it doesn't matter whether you'refrom the North or the South, or
the East or the West, we'reall Americans and we all have that foundation
that we can build on together.And that's what it's to me, is
such a special part of our showthat that needs to be heard more and
more all the time. That there'sso many things that we need to find
common ground more than we can findour differences. You can get on social
media every day and there's differences allover the place. But what we need
(06:14):
to focus on is what we havein common and then that's of course our
pride in our country in America.So of course I love that very well
said. Well, make sure thatyou check out the Patriotic Show, the
Christmas Show only at Dolly Stampede andPigeonforge, Tennessee. Jo was such a
pleasure speaking with you, my pleasure. Thank you, and thank you as
always for joining us on backstage pass. We'll see you next time. This
(06:51):
has been a presentation of the FCBpodcast network, where real talk lifts.
Visit is online at FCB podcasts dotcom. M
This is the FCB Podcast Network.This is Bess's Pass with Victoria Henley.
(00:24):
Hi everyone, and welcome into anotherepisode of Backstage Pass. It's Victoria here
in the beautiful Dolly's Stampede Theater.I am here with the one and only
Jay Teter. He is the MCof dolly Stampede. How are you?
Jay? Doing great? How areyou doing? I am doing great?
I mean fabulous. After that show? Yeah, what a show? This
was the what second night of yourChristmas show? It is? Yeah,
(00:44):
we actually just opened last night.We had two shows last night for our
opening night, and then two showstonight and they were awful. And it's
been a fantastic opening. We've beenreal excited, so wonderful. You have
been with this company for over twentyyears. What has that whole ride been
like for you? It's been amazing. So now, I've been in entertainment
for a long time since pretty anmuch after I get out of college.
I started with theme parks and didthat kind of stuff. It's really rare
(01:07):
to find an entertainment job that youcan be in one place for this long
and so I'm so fortunate to beable to partner up with Dolly pardon and
work for her since nineteen ninety eight. I started with her in Myrtle Beat,
South Carolina, moved over here toPigeon Forge in two thousand and one,
and like I said, now,after twenty five years, I think
the only one that's been with thecompany longer than me is her. So
I love that. So you've obviouslyseen a lot of changes throughout the years,
(01:30):
and there have been some changes inthe Christmas Show. Long time fans,
what can they expect to see that'snew? Yeah, so brand new
this year. If you did makeit out to our regular season, you
may have gotten a sneak peek ofthis. But we have a brand new
high flying romance act that's a partof our Christmas Show with a brand new
original song written and recorded by Dollyjust for this show. The team that
we have that did the Aerial Silksact are absolutely incredible. They do a
(01:53):
phenomenal job of just doing some amazingaerial stunts that you really can't see anywhere
else, maybe outside of Cirta doSole And so it's that kind of an
experience that you get to watch thatright there with your own eyes, with
a song that Dolly wrote and recordedfor us. It's really pretty magical for
the holiday season. So we've addedthat to our Christmas show, extended it
through from our regular season, andof course everything that everybody loves about our
(02:15):
Christmas show. The highlight is theNativity scene. We do a big live
Nativity with live donkeys and sheep andcamels. All the wise men come in
on actual camels, and it's reallybreathtaking. You almost feel like you're there.
We have this huge video wall onthe back wall that actually show scenes
of Bethlehem and it really kind oftransports our guests right there to feel what
it would feel like to be inthat scene and say, it's really pretty
(02:38):
magical. Everybody always wants to comeback year after year and see that scene
in our Christmas show. You know, I saw you interacting with fans on
the way out, and so manypeople, at least to five or six
said, this was the highlight ofmy Christmas season. And I'm sure,
what's it like to hear that feedbackfrom the fans. It's amazing. Now
growing up, I started with thecompany as a pretty young man, and
you know, I love being thecenter of attention, to love being an
(02:58):
entertainment, but As I've gotten older, I become a dad. I've got
two teenagers now, and I knowwhat it's like to take my family on
vacation. So when I'm down therein the arena and I'm looking up at
these families, that's one thing Ilove about our show. There's so many
great shows here in Pigeon Forge,but it's sometimes hard for little ones to
keep their focus and keep their attention. But with our live animals and the
music and the dinner and there's justso many things going on, it's so
(03:19):
easy to captivate any age, fromthe little ones to the parents, to
the grandparents, and they can allbe here experiencing this thing together as a
family and create those memories that youjust can't create anywhere else. Absolutely,
speaking of the dinner, there isan epic four course feast. Tell us
about that. Yeah, so we'vegot a fabulous four course feast. Make
sure you come hungry. We startoff with our creamy vegetable soup that everybody
(03:40):
loves, with that flaky biscuit,that's how you kind of get things rolling.
And then of course we have awhole rotisserie chicken that you get to
experience with the hickory smoke pork loina hot buttered corn on the cob.
We finished things up. We actuallyhave already said the hickory porkline, but
we actually finish things up with aflakey apple pastry for dessert. All the
Coca Cola products you can rank,just unbelievable delicious dinner. So make sure
(04:02):
you come hungry. You're gonna havea great time being able to watch a
fantastic show with the stars of ourshow, which of course are thirty two
magnificent horses. We have such abond with our performers and our horses that
get together, and we work somany hours together to create that bond that
you can really see it when youwatch the show. Absolutely well, I'm
full from the dinner, but youmade me hungry again when I got descriptions.
(04:23):
It's just as amazing as he said. It's really incredible. We're going
to post the link so you cancheck out all of that. Jake,
I've got to ask you, youknow, there's so much. There's horses
jumping through fire, there's a chickenchase, there's you have an incredible voice,
They're singing, dancing. What's yourfavorite part though, of the whole
show. Christmas show, of course, it's got to be the motivity scene.
You know, there's and we actuallymake it snow inside the arena,
if you can believe that. Sothat's that's a pretty cool thing that the
(04:45):
kids get excited about too. Wehave dancing toys. That's a big scene
where actually it's like a toy shopthat comes to life on Christmas Eve and
the toys are dancing around and interactingwith each other. There's so many great
different elements to the show. Ofcourse, my favorite is obviously the mostivity
scene. I'm so thankful that we'rein a show that is not afraid to
show the real reason for the season, and that's becoming more and more rare
unfortunately. But here in Pigeon Forwardsyou can definitely see it every single night
(05:09):
here at the Stampede. How longdo we have to check out this Christmas
Show? Yeah, so we'll runall of November, all of December.
I think we go a couple daysinto January, usually round January first second
somewhere in there we'll wrap things upfor the Christmas season. But we'll be
doing the show seven days a weekbetween now and the first of the year
wonderful. We'll have those links postedup photos blog article. Now, Jay,
just to leave us on this becausethis show runs throughout the year.
(05:30):
You have a patriotic show, sowe decide to come back. What can
we expect there? Yeah, Soof course our regular season show is a
little more focused on a friendly rivalrybetween the North and the South. We
actually, of course have another originalsong that Dolly wrote and recorded for us
called color Me America. So throughoutthe competition, you know, part of
the show, we're all competing andtrying to win the events and all that,
but at the end of the show, really Dolly brings it all back
(05:51):
together that it doesn't matter whether you'refrom the North or the South, or
the East or the West, we'reall Americans and we all have that foundation
that we can build on together.And that's what it's to me, is
such a special part of our showthat that needs to be heard more and
more all the time. That there'sso many things that we need to find
common ground more than we can findour differences. You can get on social
media every day and there's differences allover the place. But what we need
(06:14):
to focus on is what we havein common and then that's of course our
pride in our country in America.So of course I love that very well
said. Well, make sure thatyou check out the Patriotic Show, the
Christmas Show only at Dolly Stampede andPigeonforge, Tennessee. Jo was such a
pleasure speaking with you, my pleasure. Thank you, and thank you as
always for joining us on backstage pass. We'll see you next time. This
(06:51):
has been a presentation of the FCBpodcast network, where real talk lifts.
Visit is online at FCB podcasts dotcom. M
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