Hi Anthony! First of all, best of luck at the City Sweep. I was selected from the Atlanta City Sweep last season. That one operated differently from the others due to the fact that they selected someone on that Saturday, flew them out immediately to L.A. and had them taping on Monday. That was me, and it was quite a whirlwind. You probably won't know anything that soon in Chicago, but it will be a fun day.
As far as the testing process, I think we went in groups of 75 and started with a written exam based on the Winner's Circle. They would give the clues on a video monitor (\"The Cable Guy\", \"Liar Liar\", \"The Truman Show\") and you write down the category (\"Jim Carrey Movies\"). There were 40 of those I think. One of the things they stress is phrasing your answers properly, so live, eat, breathe, and sleep \"Things That _______\", \"What ________ Would Say\", and \"Why (Reasons) You __________\". If you pass that, you'll play a mock round of the front game w/ a partner in front of one of the producers or contestant coordinators. Mine was in front of Exec. Producer Stephen Brown. Then it's a Polaroid head shot and a \"thanks and good luck\".
The actual traveling mall show is pretty impressive. Steve Saunders, the show's warmup guy, is the host. They'll play the game w/ random shoppers and fans, and they draw for a whole butt load of door prizes...mostly Sony DVD's, CD's and small electronic equipment. If Donny is actually appearing at this one, his fan contingency will show up in droves!!
Once again, best of luck. Everyone involved with the City Sweep are great people, and I'd do it all over again if I could!
Hope we see you on the show!
Shane Elsberry