When we got to the Sony Pictures Lot, we met up with another fellow contestant and waited to be escorted in. I commented on how all the employees looked so trendy with their aviators. It seemed so excited seeing all these people go to work in a studio. Glenn and Corina eventually came and got us (after we stepped through a metal detector, of course). As we walked through the lot, different movie sets were being pointed out to us including Green Lantern and Iron Man 2. I'm not one that falls over myself over things like that, but it was pretty cool to look into a studio and see a vast space full of lights, cameras, and people. I didn't see any stars though. Maybe they're not awake at 8am.
We were soon ushered into the Green Room where Robert, another contestant coordinator, recognized me right away even though we hadn't met before. In the Green Room, they had a nice breakfast set up for us, but I couldn't eat anything. Then it was paperwork, make-up, and orientation simultaneously for the next 2 hours. Actually, a lot of time was spent going over our Hometown Howdies and our 5 stories. Out of the many tidbits of my life, they chose their 5 and had them on a little card. Some of the stories, I knew they would pick. Some of the others, I was a little surprised. Anyway, Robert - who has the best laugh ever - went over each of our stories with us, coaching us on how to be more specific, being succinct, and sometimes telling us what to leave out. We got to choose the story we wanted to talk about on air, but were warned that Alex will then choose whatever he likes. haha! Everyone had such interesting stories, I really enjoyed listening to them. There were 2 people who were previous alternates who were now there to play. We also had 1 alternate who had to drive 5 hours to get here. Eesh. I'm glad I fell out of the "alternate" geographic range.
I made my way to the makeup chair with Lisa. It felt so glamorous! I would love to have a professional makeup artist put my makeup on everyday. She did such a good job too - I was really pleased. And, when my mom saw me later, she thought it was good. Now THAT is approval.
At some point, Maggie came in - unfortunately with a cold (hope you feel better soon!) and told us the breaking news about Mackenzie Phillips. Now, I have no idea who that was - everyone else seemed to know. I thought, "uh... uh-oh. Taping hasn't even started and I'm already behind." But it was quickly back to business - the business of being on the show. Maggie went over the rules with us, things we should do, not do. It all came out of large binder and took quite some time to go over. Eventually, I was hungry enough for half a yogurt.
It was now time for practicing with the buzzers. The set was cold, cold, cold. Definitely glad I brought a sweater. It was the new set for the season - many viewers tend to dislike it, but when you're actually there, it seems pretty nice. We first practiced wagering and writing our names with the light pens. It's sort of like writing on a credit card pad. I wrote in very large, almost child-like letters because I wasn't completely convinced of the fineness of the tip. Next, we were called up in groups of 3 to play a practice game hosted by Glenn. As we went up for our turns, Mitch would mike us up.
As Glenn read the question, my eyes were trained on the board to look for the illumination of the "Go Lights" or "Enable Lights". When those lights come on, you are free to buzz in. If you buzz in before then, you're locked out for some fraction of a second. Ideally, you want to time yourself to buzz in right as the lights come on. Some people don't look at the lights and listen to the sound of Alex's voice. That was the strategy I was going to employ. Now, I've placed buzzer time games in high school - notably Science Bowl, and I have to say, my buzzer skills were good. I also practiced my timing while watching the show at home. But that definitely did not prepare me for the "signaling device", which was much heavier than I had expected. Not only that, I couldn't ring in by ear. I guess I was ringing in too early. So I had to switch my approach by watching the Go Lights. But even then, I was having difficulty buzzing in. Actually, I would say a lot of difficulty. There was another contestant that was having even more trouble than me, though, but by no means was I comfortable at all. On the opposite of the spectrum, there was a contestant who was a monster at the buzzer. I secretly hoped I wouldn't have to play against that person.
We played through 2 full games. I doubt I presented myself as any sort of threat and again, really hoped I could make it through my game without embarrassing myself. We had our last pow-wow in the Green Room before it was time for the show. Robert drew the first names - whew, not mine, and it was time to watch the first show.
I was escorted into the audience and had to ignore my family and friends. They kept trying to catch my eye and wave at me, which I'm pretty sure they were told not to do. The first game began with the contestants doing their Hometown Howdies. I felt all 3 of the contestants looked so smooth and calm on TV. Then, the theme song and Johnny Gilbert. Watching the game made me incredibly nervous. I couldn't stop shaking, and my teeth were chattering.
Kevin ended up playing a lock-game. Valerie played well during the rehearsal - maybe she was being locked out on the buzzer. Matt somehow dug himself to a hole early on. After the game was over, Kevin stayed on stage to do some additional champ interviews. He was very fluid on camera. As much as I liked everyone, I secretly wished I wouldn't have to play Kevin or the person with mad buzzer skills (name will be filled in later).
Valerie and Matt were led to the Green Room - now that their run was over, they had to be segregated from us. It was really weird to see our numbers dwindling. The rest of us were led back to the Green Room after it was safe - bathroom breaks, snacks, and of course, the names of the next 2 people!
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