Tryout stories.

[PYLdude]

Okay. So many of us have gone through the process of trying to get on a game show. Some have gotten through, others haven’t, but it’s always a story to tell (if you’re so inclined).

I’m curious to see if you guys have any interesting stories about your experiences, ergo this topic.

I’ll start with one that really isn’t too much of a tryout story as it is an odd break.

Don’t know if I’ve told this one before, but I have a little more detail to go into if I did. Back in 07, I lost my uncle in the fall. To take my mind off of everything going on for a little bit I decided to fill out the Merv Griffin’s Crosswords contestant application just for a lark. I did this around lunchtime, East Coast.

A few hours later I’m on a bus heading to the mall so I can get some sort of outfit to wear to uncle’s funeral. I’m back in mourning mode at this point and sort of out of sorts, when my phone starts to ring. I look at the caller ID and it’s a 213 area code. I said “no way, really?”

So I answered, and wouldn’t ya know it was the contestant coordinator at Crosswords following up with me. “That was fast,” I remarked to the woman who laughed when I said that.

Unfortunately (or maybe not) I couldn’t take her up on her offer of a spot on the show because I couldn’t rearrange my schedule due to the turnover being lightning fast (plus I hadn’t overcome my fear of flying yet). Still, I’ve never seen that happen before. Usually the process takes more time. I just got a chuckle out of it. Considering where I was then, it helped.

[BrandonFG]

Outside of several J! online exams, I tried out for Millionaire at one of the Trivia Nationals conferences in Vegas in summer '18. I never got past the written exam.

The Wheelmobile made its way to the hotel behind Hampton's campus in fall 2001. I can't remember why I didn't go. I think it was raining and I had no ride...it might've also been a football game on campus.

/Maybe Fallon's Password will be my ticket
//So long as no one from the Forum works on the crew
///You know who you are?

[Loogaroo]

Nothing will compare with the tryout I did with Ben for Million Dollar Money Drop where 14 of us were standing in the lobby of a production office simultaneously shouting over each other to answer the one question they had us simulate.

[bscripps]

I went into my J! audition in Chicago knowing that the last question they ask during the interview is "What would you do with the money if you won big?"  (BTW, pro tip: they'll tell you that in the room, but they'll also tell you to answer anything but "pay bills".  That didn't stop at least three people in our group from answering "Oh, I've got some bills I need to pay...".  Wanna get on a show?  Show you can handle taking simple direction...)

Growing up, my grandparents had a pinball machine in the basement of their condo to give all the grandkids something to do while the adults sat upstairs and enjoyed various beverages.  One day, Grandpa called and told me they were moving to a new place, didn't have room for the pinball machine, and wondered if I'd like it in my house.  It took every last ounce of restraint I had to not say to him "I'm sorry, did you just call a 14 year old boy and ask him if he'd like his very own pinball machine?  Because yes, please!"  So the machine (Bally "Mata Hari" if you're scoring at home) was in my basement for several years after that, and I always told myself if I ever bought a house, I'd put a pinball machine in the basement.  Flash forward 30 years: I own my own home with a large finished basement perfect for a pinball machine.  So there's my answer for the audition.

Glenn Kagan was doing the interviews in my group, and I was the very first person in the room to be called upon.  He asks me the "usual" questions, then hits me with the "What would you do" line.  I immediately say "That's easy, I'm buyin' a pinball machine!".  I tell the story, get a good laugh at the "yes, please" line, Glenn asks what machine I'd buy, and then drops an absolute non-sequitur of a question: "Have you ever been to Las Vegas?"

I have no idea why he's asked this question, but I say yes, I've been there a few times.  Glenn says "Well they have this place--" and my brain finally makes the connection.  I interrupt him and say "Oh--the Pinball Hall of Fame!".  Turns out Glenn is something of an aficionado; we talk pinball for a minute before it's time for him to move on to the next person. 

After the audition, we chat for a few minutes about pinball--favorite tables, phone apps for playing virtually, etc.  And coincidentally, after the audition I'm heading down to Brookfield where the Galloping Ghost arcade has just opened a new dedicated pinball facility.  But having made that connection made me feel awfully damned confident about my chances.  (He was in the green room when I went back to change clothes after taping my first episode; I mentioned to him that I could now buy a pinball machine, then had to remind him how I knew he liked pinball.  I guess when you interview 2,500 people every year, not every conversation sticks... )

And for the record, I still haven't bought the pinball machine; still holding out for "Twilight Zone", but that runs into five figures...

[BrandonFG]

I went into my J! audition in Chicago knowing that the last question they ask during the interview is "What would you do with the money if you won big?"  (BTW, pro tip: they'll tell you that in the room, but they'll also tell you to answer anything but "pay bills".  That didn't stop at least three people in our group from answering "Oh, I've got some bills I need to pay...".  Wanna get on a show?  Show you can handle taking simple direction...)

Thank you for this tidbit. At my Millionaire audition, I mentioned that I would "pay off the student loan bad guys", which got crickets. I'll just assume that answer also hurt my chances.

[knagl]

In 2003(!) I auditioned for Donnymid when they were doing a multi-city traveling tour that had a stop in Minneapolis. I wrote a very lengthy blog post at the time detailing the audition process and a special surprise of getting to play Pyramid in front of a crowd of a few hundred.

Linky: http://blog.knagl.com/archives/2003_09_28_knagl_archive.html

The postscript to the story in the blog is that I never did get a phone call, and the show was cancelled soon after my audition experience.

[DoorNumberFour]

In 2008, I tried out for MTV’s adaptation of the Japanese “Silent Library” segment of Gaki no Tsukai, a long-running comedy series.



The “audition” consisted of a complete play-through of the game, punishments and all, with cameras rolling, in one of Viacom’s large conference rooms at their Times Square offices. The guy seated to my right had to eat an entire can of incredibly spicy sardines. I think I had to drink a small cup of clam juice. I got called back to be an alternate, but never made it further than that.

[MikeK]

Around Easter 2015 in Chicago, I tried out for the final season of GSN's version of The Chase.  Four people, including two contestant coordinators, commented "Has anybody ever told you that you look like The Beast?"  (Yes and for the record, I was 6 foot 3 and only 320 pounds.  Beastie had 3 inches and about 50 lbs. on me.)  After making it through everything at the audition, I'm feeling really good about my chances, specifically at the possibility of a Beast vs. Mini-Beast episode.

I head back home, a good 6 hour drive, thinking they'd contact me in the following week, once they got back to LA.  At 10 PM, just outside of Toledo, 2 1/2 hours from home, they call me and want me to do part 2 in Chicago the next day, Easter Sunday.  I had been on the road for close to 10 hours at this point and I had just the clothes on my back with me since I thought this was a one-day process.  I ask the person on the other end if we can do the next step over Skype at their convenience.  "No problem."  I heard nothing from them for 3 weeks.  I made a phone call to check on the status of the contestant process.  The person on the other end says they just finished recording for the season.

I was in the pool for the last season of Millionaire as well.  No call, but the sweetest octogenarian from my group (of three!) made it and won $100,000.

[nowhammies10]

In 2017, I auditioned for J! when they came up to Toronto. These auditions took place during the week when Alex was made an officer of the Order of Canada in Ottawa.  He flew in to Toronto and surprised the auditionees before going to receive the honour a couple days later.  Toronto traffic being what it is, however, the 17½ mile drive from Pearson to the Fairmont Royal York downtown took much, much longer than expected.  As such, mine was the only group of the 4 that auditioned across those two days to miss him.

[calliaume]

- Jeopardy, 1996-ish: New York City. At the time, they were still bringing in potential contestants to the exams by drawing postcards out of a hat. My wife and I sent in postcards, and hers got picked. Fortunately, I was on this group's predecessor, and when I noted that and asked for advice on her behalf, both a five-time champion and a TOC winner told me to go with her to the test... because inevitably not everybody shows up (it was held during a workday), and they want to fill all the seats. So I went, and that's exactly what happened. 50-question test with fifty different categories, all $600-$1000 (at the time) Double Jeopardy-level questions. You had to get 35 right to move on. I think I missed by one or two; my wife was a little farther off. (Both of us have deep dives in certain subjects and nothing in others, which does not make for a good contestant.)

- The Weakest Link, 2001 or so: cattle call at a casino in Joliet, IL. I'm pretty sure I wasn't what they were looking for; mentioning I knew Laura Chambers (the show's contestant coordinator) almost certainly did not help.

- Let's Make a Deal, 2018-ish. cattle call at a casino in Aurora, IL. Came in dressed in a Chicago Cubs uniform. Two-question interview, and goodbye.

Back in 1990, when I was traveling to Los Angeles on business, I called both Classic Concentration and Jackpot to see if I could fit those into my schedule. CC wasn't taping, and the guy at Jackpot seemed pretty certain the show was done (and he was right).

I suspect at this point I'm not going to be a contestant any time soon (unless some show has a Senior Week).

[SuperMatch93]

When I auditioned for J! Kids Week in 2005, one of the producers had told all the parents to applaud when we came out at the end. Before the written exam started, one kid asked if he could go to the bathroom and when he left the room he got a nice round of applause.

One big fail on my part was at a Pyramid audition in 2017 (where, incidentally, I met Chad Mosher) when I gave the clue "your mother's back" for THINGS YOU CRACK.

[TimK2003]

I have probably have gone to over a half-dozen auditions (not including TPIR) with no success.  My first one was during spring break in college -- auditioned for "Wordplay".  I don't remember how or where I applied for the appointment, butbI do remember it being held in an office at a no-name building off of Ventura Blvd.

The one interesting thing I remember from the auditions.is that they literally had dozens of used plastic definition slides (that the celebs would place in front of their desks) hanging all over the office.  Probably could have taken one back home if I had asked.

The worst was the Wheel of Fortune cattle call around 1996 in Columbus at a car dealership.  2 mile backups off the nearby freeway, the "audition" mainly consisted of a sheet of 'fill in the missing letters' to words or phrases associated with the local TV affiliate.  Good luck finding a box or person where you put your completed 'test' and even more good luck on being called (if you stuck around).

[colonial]

The first J! audition I ever attended was in NYC for the College Tournament. I won't reveal the year, but let's just say I got the news of the invite via snail mail on Merv Griffin Enterprises stationary.

I sat down in the hotel lobby with some other auditioners, talking about what schools we attended, what we're studying, etc. Just then, an older student came up to us.

"This is my eighth audition," he bellowed. "I've been to four Teen and four College auditions. And they've never picked me. They've always found a way to keep me out of the running."

Most of us ignored him. One auditioner did have the courage to ask him how he's been "kept out".

"You know how they give you 50 clues to answer? Well last year, the category clues were in alphabetical order. I mean, how do you prepare for that?"

I looked up and noticed a woman standing a few feet behind our orator. Could be his girlfriend, maybe his sister. Regardless, she was shaking her head in frustration, as if saying "Dear Pete, he's telling that stupid alphabetical story again."

He's about to tell another story when we're called in to the auditorium for the opening meeting. A J! contestant coordinator welcomes us and asks if we had any questions. Guess who raised their hand?

"Yes, could you tell me if the clues are in alphabetical order again this year?"

The contestant coordinator looked at him like he had 14 heads. "No, sir, the only order for the clues is Question 1 to Question 50."

The 50-question test comes and goes. I don't reach the next round and head out the door. But I had to wonder what became of "Alphabet Man".

Walking out the door, I spot him complaining to his lady friend.

"How could I have passed if they put all the pop culture questions first? How can you prepare for that?"

I then recall that the first clue had to do with bears. Not Bear Bryant or Winnie the Pooh, but something to do with a national park known for a certain type of bear. And going through the clues in my head, I realized that, just like good quizbowl, the categories were properly spread out.

I'm not sure if "Alphabet Man" ever got on the show, or any game show for that matter. But having a rotten, defeatist attitude off the bat isn't going to win you any favors with the contestant coordinators.


JD

[colonial]

One more story, also J! related.

It was 2008, and the audition was in Savannah, GA. I remember where because my wife and I left the house at the same time that morning -- she was going to work at an elementary school just south of Atlanta's airport, about a 30-minute drive on a good day. I was driving four hours to Savannah. When all was said and done, I beat her home by 30 minutes

But that's not the story. It has to do with an actor whose name I'll redact because I can't vouch the veracity of the story, only what I heard.

There were about 25 of us in the audition room. One was a rather large man who said he wrote for "Hollywood fan magazines" for a living. He's interviewed all the superstars, he claims.

Following the initial 50-question test, we engage in small talk with Maggie Speak and Cheryl from the Clue Crew. Maggie talks about Celebrity Jeopardy, and asks the audience what celebs they'd like to see play the game. "Fan Magazine Man" raises his hand.

"You should really get (name redacted) to play. (Actor) is such a nice person and easy to deal with. Definitely will bring fans to the show."

Maggie frowned. "I don't know. We did speak to (name redacted) about playing a few months ago. Seemed very disinterested, bored and upset that we pitched the idea to them."

Fan Man quickly responded: "Well, maybe if you weren't such a (rhymes with witch) to (name redacted), you'd have a booking for the show."

And with that, Fan Man was removed from the audition, screaming that this person was incredibly nice and not difficult. After the audition ended, I saw the guy sitting on a bench outside the hotel, bawling his eyes out. Also leaving the hotel were two hotel security guards who read him the riot act and escorted him off the property.

Also, the actor in question did eventually appear on J!, albeit as a guest clue reader, not a contestant.

JD

[PPatters]

I’ve auditioned for several game shows. Most went nowhere (Deal or No Deal, Match Game); one went extremely far and I was a never-chosen alternate (Child Support); and two I made (25 Words or Less and The Hustler). The Hustler just filmed, so my NDA prevents me from saying anything except that I will be on The Hustler lol but, I wrote about my experience with 25 Words or Less here.