Phoenix Audubon
CAGiversary!
Hey, y'all.
Earlier today, I was a contestant on "Wheel of Fortune". Yes, the one on TV...that "Wheel of Fortune."
How did I do? I did...well...
...I won't go into any details about what happened on the show. If you'd like to watch it, my episode airs April 9th.
However, I will dish on the happenings before the show.
In all, there were 16 of us; 15 actual players, and 1 standby, in case someone didn't show up, or could not play during the day. I actually was a standby contestant in 2006; they promised me the next time they called, I'd be on the show for real.
So, one of the stage hands came for us, a woman--she's small, but very stern and sarcastic. I figured that's because she's had to deal with difficult contestants in the past...anyways...
They lead us into a small room. And, for most of the day, that's where we stayed. They had to keep tabs on us at all times, to ensure we weren't cheating with someone on the outside. Fortunately, no one got "cabin fever".
We filled out a few forms--for information about, for game integrity, y'know, legal stuff. Then they explained the rules to us. All the while, there's various food available to us--granola bars, fruit, pastries, etc, as well as water, sodas, and coffee. I tried to keep my intake to a minimum--in 2006, I had a short cappuccino from a nearby Starbucks, and the rest of day, I felt like going to the bathroom....Every. Fifteen. Minutes. I thought, "They'll never call me back after that." Fortunately, I was wrong.
But I digress...
So, we have plenty of time to mingle, so I talk to the rest of the group...nice bunch.
First, they gave us a tour of the studio. Let me tell y'all...that saying about how cameras add 10 pounds? Well, you can also say that they add 10 square feet, as well. Everything you see on TV--the puzzle board, the wheel, even the distance from the wheel to the puzzle board--it's all smaller in real life. That's Hollywood magic, for ya'...even though we were in Culver City, but again, I digress...
We all get to spin the wheel...it takes some effort to spin it, lemme' tell y'all. They do this to see how we look and act on camera. This is where the contestant coordinator tells me something they'll tell me all day...you'll find out what it is after April 9th.
Everyone (except the standby guy) got makeup...and I'll admit it, I needed it. The week before, I started breaking out right on my forehead. I managed to control it, but there were still quite a few red spots this morning. But those makeup ladies did a good job of covering them up. Perhaps I should invest in some of this "concealer" potion...err, product.
Before we went to rehearsal, we got put into groups of who would play each show. I got paired with an interesting pair...watch and you'll see. Let me put it this way--you can tell which one's me.
Then, they decided in what order our groups would play. They have a very scientific method to do this: they have a bucket with five golf balls, each with a number. One person from the group picks a ball. Ta-da. The other guy in my group picked ball #3, which is how we ended up on Wednesday's show.
Afterwards, they had to pick who stood in which color on the stage--red, yellow, or blue. Again, there's a very scientific method for this: they have a brown plastic bottle with three little red ball-things (they weren't perfectly round). If you got a 1, you were on the red side. A 2, yellow side. And 3, blue side. I was hoping for #3. I got...#3! Schweet!
Oh yeah, one funny thing did happen...after I had used the bathroom, I saw two women walk past me; there was a small Asian woman, and another woman...I didn't get a look at her face (or I can't remember it), but she says "Hi," to me. I thought it was kinda' odd, but I go back to the waiting room. A couple of other guys are staring at me. I'm all, "What?" And he's all, "Don't you know who that was?" I was, like, "No."
"That was Vanna White!"
Whoops. Ah well, it's not like I haven't seen before without her makeup. No biggie.
So we go to back to the stage for what is essentially a dress rehearsal. We spin the wheel some more, and now we get to practice the game a bit by trying to solve a puzzle. I did manage to solve the puzzle I was given...but it didn't count. A portent of things to come? Tune in and find out!
Oh yeah, one more thing they told us...even though most of us had family in the audience (including me), we weren't allowed to make ANY contact with them before or during the show, at the risk of disqualification. Again, to prevent cheating. They really pounded us with that one.
Well, I think that's all I've got. Us contestants sat in the audience while we waited for our turn to play.
So, watch this post after April 9th; I'll give a recap, plus some commentary as to what happened as well.
Stay tuned!
Earlier today, I was a contestant on "Wheel of Fortune". Yes, the one on TV...that "Wheel of Fortune."
How did I do? I did...well...
...I won't go into any details about what happened on the show. If you'd like to watch it, my episode airs April 9th.
However, I will dish on the happenings before the show.
In all, there were 16 of us; 15 actual players, and 1 standby, in case someone didn't show up, or could not play during the day. I actually was a standby contestant in 2006; they promised me the next time they called, I'd be on the show for real.
So, one of the stage hands came for us, a woman--she's small, but very stern and sarcastic. I figured that's because she's had to deal with difficult contestants in the past...anyways...
They lead us into a small room. And, for most of the day, that's where we stayed. They had to keep tabs on us at all times, to ensure we weren't cheating with someone on the outside. Fortunately, no one got "cabin fever".
We filled out a few forms--for information about, for game integrity, y'know, legal stuff. Then they explained the rules to us. All the while, there's various food available to us--granola bars, fruit, pastries, etc, as well as water, sodas, and coffee. I tried to keep my intake to a minimum--in 2006, I had a short cappuccino from a nearby Starbucks, and the rest of day, I felt like going to the bathroom....Every. Fifteen. Minutes. I thought, "They'll never call me back after that." Fortunately, I was wrong.
But I digress...So, we have plenty of time to mingle, so I talk to the rest of the group...nice bunch.
First, they gave us a tour of the studio. Let me tell y'all...that saying about how cameras add 10 pounds? Well, you can also say that they add 10 square feet, as well. Everything you see on TV--the puzzle board, the wheel, even the distance from the wheel to the puzzle board--it's all smaller in real life.
That's Hollywood magic, for ya'...even though we were in Culver City, but again, I digress...We all get to spin the wheel...it takes some effort to spin it, lemme' tell y'all. They do this to see how we look and act on camera. This is where the contestant coordinator tells me something they'll tell me all day...you'll find out what it is after April 9th.
Everyone (except the standby guy) got makeup...and I'll admit it, I needed it. The week before, I started breaking out right on my forehead. I managed to control it, but there were still quite a few red spots this morning. But those makeup ladies did a good job of covering them up. Perhaps I should invest in some of this "concealer" potion...err, product.
Before we went to rehearsal, we got put into groups of who would play each show. I got paired with an interesting pair...watch and you'll see. Let me put it this way--you can tell which one's me.
Then, they decided in what order our groups would play. They have a very scientific method to do this: they have a bucket with five golf balls, each with a number. One person from the group picks a ball. Ta-da. The other guy in my group picked ball #3, which is how we ended up on Wednesday's show.
Afterwards, they had to pick who stood in which color on the stage--red, yellow, or blue. Again, there's a very scientific method for this: they have a brown plastic bottle with three little red ball-things (they weren't perfectly round). If you got a 1, you were on the red side. A 2, yellow side. And 3, blue side. I was hoping for #3. I got...#3! Schweet!
Oh yeah, one funny thing did happen...after I had used the bathroom, I saw two women walk past me; there was a small Asian woman, and another woman...I didn't get a look at her face (or I can't remember it), but she says "Hi," to me. I thought it was kinda' odd, but I go back to the waiting room. A couple of other guys are staring at me. I'm all, "What?" And he's all, "Don't you know who that was?" I was, like, "No."
"That was Vanna White!"
Whoops. Ah well, it's not like I haven't seen before without her makeup. No biggie.
So we go to back to the stage for what is essentially a dress rehearsal. We spin the wheel some more, and now we get to practice the game a bit by trying to solve a puzzle. I did manage to solve the puzzle I was given...but it didn't count. A portent of things to come? Tune in and find out!
Oh yeah, one more thing they told us...even though most of us had family in the audience (including me), we weren't allowed to make ANY contact with them before or during the show, at the risk of disqualification. Again, to prevent cheating. They really pounded us with that one.
Well, I think that's all I've got. Us contestants sat in the audience while we waited for our turn to play.
So, watch this post after April 9th; I'll give a recap, plus some commentary as to what happened as well.
Stay tuned!
