I will be appearing on tomorrow's (September 27th, 2011) original episode of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire".
In Chicago, the show airs at 4pm followed by a repeat episode at 4:30.
This is the story of how I came to be on WWTBAM.
At some point in June or July, I heard that there was going to be an
audition call for the game show "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" at the
Arlington Part Race Track. I probably heard it on WGN-TV and it was
probably reported by Dean Richards. Not sure exactly since I don't
watch much local news anymore. Still, I knew that I had the day off on
Friday, July 15th, so I decided to try and make the auditions. I do
remember auditioning for the show once before...it was either before or
during the show's first season in syndication and I didn't get past the
first round.
On July 15th, They were going to start taking people at 7am, so I
decided it was best to show up very early - 6am when the website said
they would allow people to form a line. On Thursday night I set my
alarm clock for 5:15 and on Friday morning I got up around 5:45.
Damn! I was late! ...well...later than I wanted to be. Laying in bed,
very groggy, I thought about it and decided that sleep would be better.
Then I realized I'd kick myself if I didn't go. So I got up, took a
quick shower and was out of the house a little past 5. Traffic was
better than expected and I got to Arlington Park by 6:45am and stood at
the end of a very long line.
My Facebook / Twitter posts
- Feeling foolish, standing in a very loooong line next to a horseracing track. - July 15 at 6:51am
- Worst part of standing on line - having to listen to inane people who
won't shut up. For even a minute. Where's my gun? - July 15 at 7:23am
- Intimidated. Guy in front of me obviously knows he is the smartest person in the room. Also funniest. Also has gas. - July 15 at 7:39am
- Going to be in 2nd group testing for Millionaire...got here at
6:30...will get into the test at 8:30. Sweet. - July 15 at 7:45am
While in line, we were told that they could take about 390 people at a
time. Group one was at 7:30, they would have 2 more morning groups then
after lunch one more group. Even though the line was long, it
apparently wasn't THAT long and by 7:45, I was inside the facility. The
line passed by WGN's Ana Belaval, who had set up with a cameraman to
interview people in line for the WGN Morning Zoo show. I had decided
that if she picked me to talk with, I would ask her if she was from
Puerto Rico because when she started at WGN in 2005 (and I was still
watching their Morning Show), she seemed to include that tidbit in
every. single. live shot she did(!) Luckily, my spot in line flew past
her.
Meanwhile, I had to put up with an assortment of annoying people around
me as I stood in line. There was the guy who knew everything and
treated the audition as a formality. And I'm pretty sure he had gas.
There were also the women who didn't know each other before getting in
line, yet they became fast friends. I theorized that they became
friends so quickly because none of them seemed to ever stop talking and
their volume level was generally at 11. Lucky for me that when we got
inside the building, they decided to stop singing TV show theme songs
off-key and with incorrect lyrics.
At about 9:00, the line started moving. We went up 2 levels to an open
area where chairs were set up. We all got a Millionaire T-Shirt and a
Millionaire pencil. Yay! It was there where we all took a 30-question
multiple-choice test. We had 10 minutes to finish. The guy who knew
everything was sitting next to me, and he finished in 8 minutes. I
finished in 9 minutes, amazed that the last question was something I did
not know until I heard it earlier that week - What is Katy Perry's real
name (Kate Hudson). We turned in the ScanTron tests and waited to see if our number would be called to advance to the next round.
As the Associate Producers were grading the tests in the back, people
around me started talking about some of the questions. I immediately
figured out that I had missed at least 3 questions. Surely I did not
score high enough. Minutes later, they started calling out numbers and
mine was the third one called. Wow. I think there was about 25-30
people selected, and the rest were sent home. I accurately figured that
once we passed the test, it was all about personality and enthusiasm.
Sure enough, I sat down with an Associate Producer who looked over the
questionnaire we filled out and asked me about myself.
"So, tell me about your job as an Account Service Rep," she said. No way
was that interesting, so I steered her away. "I work for a media
research company, basically training people on software and
troubleshooting problems," I replied. "My job's not too exciting, but
my songwriting hobby keeps me sane." "What kind of songs do you write,"
she asked - not knowing she fell into my cunning trap. "I am known for
catchy tongue-in-cheek songs. I have one song called 'I Wish My Girlfriend Was As Dirty As My Car' and another called 'I Accidentally Wrote A Country Song'."
At that point, she laughed and emphatically wrote something on my
application, told me to sit on the side until another Producer called
me. As I did, I noticed that about half did not get told to sit on the
side and wait - instead told they'd be contacted if they were on the
show and sent home. The guy who knew everything bid me adieu as he
left.
Facebook post
- Holy crap...passed the test...passed the interview. Waiting for an on-camera interview! - July 15 at 10:19am
The next short interview was with the show's Supervising Producer (Did
not know his role until I saw him again on taping day). He has a home
video camera set up on a tripod and asked a few personal questions.
"Personality!" I kept thinking. I smiled and was animated and tried
again to steer the conversation to music. He seemed to like me and told
me to sit in a chair for the next interview. Once again, I saw people
leave who he was weeding out.
Facebook / Twitter post
- Holy crap...interview #2 @MillionaireTV !!!! #GiantButterflies - July 15 at 10:28am
Next interview is the final interview - in a room with a professional
camera set up and an interviewer asking questions. They told me they
were taping it for the Producers in New York to evaluate, but I think
this one was to tell how photogenic I am because I was a complete idiot.
Facebook / Twitter post
- Oh no, the butterflies in my stomach are vomiting!!!!! @MillionaireTV - July 15 at 11:05am
I stayed around to film some stuff for promos, then they told me and 6
others that we could leave and we would get a card in the mail within 2
weeks telling us if we were to be in the contestant pool. If we were in
the pool, then we would be in the pool for 2 years but with no
guarantee we'd be on the show - and there was a chance we would not be
contacted.
Facebook / Twitter posts
- Arlington Park playing "Let the day begin" by The Call when they open the doors. Very cool! - July 15 at 11:17am
- Okay...made it thru the Millionaire auditions. Within the next 2 weeks
I will find out if I am in the contestant pool or not. Fingers X'd!!!!!
- July 15 at 11:40am
On July 24th, I got
THIS postcard that said I was in the contestant pool:
Very cool.
Facebook / Twitter posts
- I made it into the "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" contestant pool! Giggidy-Giggidy-Giggidy-Goo! - July 25
- If I appear on "Millionaire", instead of the "Jump The Question" lifeline I'll lick my lips then tell Meredith I want to "Jump The Host". - July 29 at 4:55pm
The call came on August 9th:
Facebook post
- Wow, that was quick! I just got the call.
Have to be in New York City on August 30th for the taping.
I'M GONNA BE ON "WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE"!!!! - August 9 at 5:54pm
..and just like that - less than 1 month after the audition - I made
plans to travel to New York City (they don't fly you in or put you up -
you have to pay for all that yourself) for an August 30th taping of "Who
Wants To Be A Millionaire"!
