[quote name=\'DJDustman\' date=\'Oct 9 2005, 10:12 AM\']For those who have been to wheelmobile events already, can you tell us anything significant about the events that goes on, anything to expect?[/quote]
Firstly, if the Wheelmobile event will be held outdoors, prepare for the weather. If you're serious about getting on the show, you'll want to be at your best, and being sweat-soaked, shivering, or rain-drenched probably won't help matters any. Nor will waking up the following day with a major sunburn.
Expect much standing in line. But I wouldn't recommend bringing your EoTVGS to read during that time.
More on that later.
Basic format: They do several "shows" per day, and you need to get in line for each one if you wish to be considered as a participant. When you get near the front of the line, you're given a small sheet of paper to fill out with a souvenir pen. (And yes, it's the same questions each time, which you'll have to answer repeatedly.) Most of it is no-brainer stuff - name, contact info, that sort of thing. There are just a couple of lines that require some thought - I believe it was something along the line of "any unusual talents or awards", but that may have changed. It should still be along the lines of something interesting about yourself.
After all of the entry forms have been collected, everyone gathers around a stage with a puzzle board. Names are pulled at random from the bin, five at a time, and those people go up on stage, where they tell the audience about themselves (not really an interview so much as "tell us about yourself"), then play a speed-up round (though the "three seconds to solve" is more like one...). A wheel is spun to determine what "lovely prize(s)" the participants will receive; lather, rinse, repeat as desired.
Now, as to strategy. For one, dress for success. Wear something nice, yet venue-appropriate. And absolutely, positively, without fail, be sure to have a variety of interesting things about yourself and "hidden talents" ready to go. Be someone that Wheel's core audience would want to watch. (Note: Wheel's core audience has never heard of this forum, nor would they be particularly interested if they did.)
Now, they'll tell you that what they're looking for is people who call logical letters (which includes watching the unused letter board), are good puzzle solvers, and display good energy and personality. And while those are all true, there may be more to it than that. The host will say several times throughout the day that if your name isn't called, don't fret - they'll take all of the entry forms back to Culver City with them, and select some people whose names weren't called to attend a final audition, along with the on-stage players that they like. At the event I was at, he said this several times, and I don't recall him ever saying that that selection would be random. Which brings me to my last, and perhaps most important, point...
Anyone there could be a "spy". They're looking for contestants, and if they have a group of 1000 people there who are interested, they'd be pretty foolish to only look at 100 of them. What this means is, you need to be on your best game show *contestant* (not game show geek) behavior the whole time you're in the area. Be cheerful. Be sociable. Be energetic. And if the guy handing out forms starts talking to a section of the line and asking if anyone has any hidden talents or some such thing, by all means speak up! Don't have a hidden talent? Find one! (And be sure to find some way to incorporate something about it into your entry form, too, so they can identify you afterwards.) Come up with *something* interesting to make yourself stand out from the crowd. You never know - it might help your name be pulled "randomly" later on.
