With less than three months before the start of the Republican National Convention, executive producer and New York native Phil Alongi is now living in Cleveland and working 11 hour days, weekends too.
"This is not a local event, this is not a national event, this is Cleveland on the big stage," said Alongi, who is responsible for producing the convention. "It's my job of very quickly figuring out ways to turn it into great TV."
Alongi, who produced the 2012 Republican convention in Tampa, has a core team of 12 people. But he said that number will soon grow to 150.
"We have to worry about designing the set, coming up with the lighting plan, the sound plan," he said.
And be prepared to be surprised. Alongi said he will transform the Q arena with a new stage floor, carpeting and sections of seats removed. Lighting will also show off the arena in a much different way.
They are all tasks he can focus on now as he, and the rest of the country, wait for a crucial piece of information.
"Until we get a firm nominee or we know how things are going to move forward, it's hard to know what the program is going to be," he said.
Alongi, who worked as a producer for NBC News for three decades, said he is not nervous about fulfilling his big responsibilities, just anxious.
"You get to a point, you want to get there," he said.
Getting to the start of the convention is requiring a lot of time and effort on Alongi's part, including his crash courses in Cleveland history at John Carroll University. He said look for that local history and flare to be incorporated into his production.
"The only thing I would love for people to know is that we're here to respect the people of Cleveland & Ohio," he said.
