WWTBAM Bored

(Wow it's been so long since I've posted I actually forgot my SN!)

Hey BBs!

Long time no post. After five agonizing summers of waiting for The Call which never came I tried out again for another show for the third time this past March "on a whim" and am happy to report that I will be appearing this Thursday (Christmas Eve) night on Wheel of Fortune! I know it's a little off-topic but I wanted to share with my old BBs some good cheer!

It was truly life-changing and affirming and a dream come true to get up there and spin that (friggin heavy) wheel finally. Everyone was super nice on set and I made some great (I'm sure lifelong) friends and had such a blast. It took me several tryouts before I was cast too so anyone on here who has that dream, to borrow Bob#s line, never give up, never surrender! Because it can happen! (Stil haven't given up on Millionaire either just yet!)

I hope those of you who are so inclined get to tune in and if anyone wants any audition tips or tape date details I'm more than happy to talk about it all ad nauseum here or via Facebook or Twitter!

Wishing everyone a happy holiday season and a wonderful New Year!

xoxo
Danny

Congratulations!

Audition and taping reports are always fun reading on the Bored, so please share as much of your experience as you can!

- Tim H.

Congrats!
I would enjoy reading about your audition and taping.
Can you explain how to study and pass the written test? To me it is harder than the BAM test.

danangel wrote:(Wow it's been so long since I've posted I actually forgot my SN!)

Hey BBs!

Long time no post. After five agonizing summers of waiting for The Call which never came I tried out again for another show for the third time this past March "on a whim" and am happy to report that I will be appearing this Thursday (Christmas Eve) night on Wheel of Fortune! I know it's a little off-topic but I wanted to share with my old BBs some good cheer!

It was truly life-changing and affirming and a dream come true to get up there and spin that (friggin heavy) wheel finally. Everyone was super nice on set and I made some great (I'm sure lifelong) friends and had such a blast. It took me several tryouts before I was cast too so anyone on here who has that dream, to borrow Bob#s line, never give up, never surrender! Because it can happen! (Stil haven't given up on Millionaire either just yet!)

I hope those of you who are so inclined get to tune in and if anyone wants any audition tips or tape date details I'm more than happy to talk about it all ad nauseum here or via Facebook or Twitter!

Wishing everyone a happy holiday season and a wonderful New Year!

xoxo
Danny

Congratulations, and retroactive good luck!
That line, by the way, is a quote. It's from Galaxy Quest. --Bob

Break a retroactive leg!

Game show appearance posts are never off-topic!

Congratulations and retroactive good luck!

LOL, Bob! I knew that but I think by now it's fair I give you credit for it! It's a great mantra.

I'll be posting a piece about it all on my FB page probably on Christmas about what I gained from the experience. It gave me such perspective.

My advice per the written test actually would be to fill in as much as you can, even partial answers to show that you are at least trying even if you don't know the answers. I had the opportunity to learn from my first Final Audition (the callback) what I needed to improve for my second one. I would stress that the 15 second interview during the mock game (a la "Pat Chat") is critical to nail. I didn't rehearse really anything but I made sure to have a few interesting things about myself that I could summarize in about 20 seconds or less. Don't ramble on.

As for the auditions, smile and clap and root on your fellow auditioners. Don't do stunts or brag either.
I think that they look for a good cross section of the population, not specific types, though I was very happy to see I was the only guy with a beard at my Final. Dress nicely but don't overdo it. Energy is the key word.

As for the show, it was like being at the SuperBowl, only playing it. Very surreal. And the most important thing. Is to have fun and keep it in perspective. Everyone who makes it on the show has defied incredible odds to get there and though money and prizes are great, the experience itself is priceless.

I'll be happy to filed any questions without divulging spoilers until my show airs. Thanks guys! Glad I could share this with you (and ten million other people!

xoxo,
Danny

danangel wrote:
I'll be posting a piece about it all on my FB page probably on Christmas about what I gained from the experience. It gave me such perspective.

Some of us don't FB, so a cut-and-paste of your report onto the Bored would be appreciated.

I just set my DVR via the TWC app to record your show. Ain't technology great!

- Tim H.

Congrats!

ok, so I've tried out for BAM four times and made it into the contestant pool three times (first in 2010 for Movie Week, then in 2011 and 2013 making the regular show pool), but never got the Call and had resigned myself to never getting to fulfill the lifelong dream I've always had of getting on a game show.

I grew up watching them: TPIR, Wheel, Sale of the Century and so on were all I would watch, that and cartoons. And always dreamed it might happen to me someday.

I attended my first Wheel tryout along with my mom a few summers ago which was being held at a huge car dealership in North Las Vegas. I didn't get called up on stage but had a lot of fun wondering "what if" and watching the goofballs from this crazy town I call home up on stage, pleading with Marty Lublin (he's the Wheelmobile's "Traveling Pat") for the chance to appear on their favorite show. We were told there would be random drawings inviting people to Final Auditions (callbacks) in LA in a few months if our slips that we filled out were randomly drawn later.

No email ever came from that bit then a few summers ago the Wheelmobile rolled down then Strip for a stop at the Venetian and I made sure to give it another shot.

At these cattle call casting events, thousands show up over the course of two days in a big market like mine and they typically audition a few hundred from the crowd, picked at random from a large tumbler that has all the slips everyone fills out. They do a few "shows" throughout the day where people are called up in groups of five and play a very simple mock game a la the speed up round and do a cursory interview to establish their charisma for the evaluators, and they then decide whom gets an invite back for the Final Auditions, usually a few weeks later.

I just remembered that I also submitted a "Face of the Fan" video audition in prior to the Venetian audition but was not selected then either.

Well, after sitting through each of the shows at the Venetian, I was again not called to the stage, however a few months later while checking an email account I had forgotten I even had, I saw the invite to my first Final Audution in my spam mailbox and it was for a week later in LA! I was elated.
The trip to LA was a bit rocky and I stayed in an apparently haunted hotel downtown but didn't care because of the huge opportunity that lay before me the next day. After getting a haircut I didn't really need I managed to make it to the then Culver City Radisson just as Gary O'Brien, the Supervising Producer and boss of the Contestabt Dept was closing the doors to the banquet room where the callback was being held that day.

During those Final Auditions, there's about 70 or so hopefuls, including couples and specialty week potential contestants invited. It was pretty tense and I was quite nervous. Everyone gets one turn to try their skill at a puzzle and the contestant coordinators spin a wheel that reminded me of the old Twister game's spinner. They won't let you keep going but I remember I solved my puzzle which was "OVERNIGHT SUCCESS." I thought that bode well for me.

There is a written test with 16 hangman puzzles like on the show which is administered after everyone gets their shot. Some of the puzzles are filled in and some of them are downright impossible while others are pretty easy. You have five minutes. I think I got about nine correct with partial answers to most of the others.

After the test is administered, they play a blooper and retrospective video of the show over the years featuring some interesting cameos by celebrities. The only one I remember was Tina Fey for some reason, who apparently is a big fan. This is when they grade the tests and come back and tell you who made the cut for the end portion of the audition. They cut about 3/4 of the group and sent them on their sad way, but not me. My name was called. (Interestingly though they have changed this procedure and while they still keep people around after the test, you can still get "the Letter" as of 2015 even if you are dismissed after the test.)

Then it was on to play the mock game in groups of five and do our short interviews with Gary subbing for Pat. I rambled (I know... So unlike me....) about my writing at this point instead of giving a succinct and interesting few anecdotes about myself.

After that they asked for a second look at a few more people and then we were all thanked and told if we made it on the show that we would be receiving a letter in the mail in a few weeks of we got it otherwise, sorry.

The letter didn't come. I was pretty devastated and thought the dream was dead.

Then, this past March I saw a post on FaceBook that the Wheelmobile was coming to town again. Having been flushed out of the pool by then for Millionaire for the third(!) time I figured I'd tryout again "on a whim."

I went to the second day of auditions and planned to only stay for one show before heading off to my parents' for the day. As the last group of names was about to be called, I smiled to myself thinking it had been a fun lark auditioning once again.

And then.... I heard Marty call my name....

TO BE CONTINUED!

danangel wrote:ok, so I've tried out for BAM four times and made it into the contestant pool three times (first in 2010 for Movie Week, then in 2011 and 2013 making the regular show pool), but never got the Call and had resigned myself to never getting to fulfill the lifelong dream I've always had of getting on a game show. I grew up watching them, TPIR, Wheel, Sale of the Century and so on were all I would watch, taut and cartoons. And always dreamed it might happen to me someday.
I attended my first Wheeln tryout along with my mom a few summers ago which was being held at a huge car dealership in North Las Vegas. I didn't get called up on stage but had a lot of fun wondering "what if" and watching the goofballs from this crazy town I call home up on stage, pleading with Marty Lublin (he's the Wheelmobile's "Traveling Pat") for the chance to appear on their favorite show. We were told there would be random drawings inviting people to Final Auditions (callbacks) in LA in a few months if our slips that we filled out were randomly drawn later.
No email ever came from that bit then a few summers ago the Wheelmobile's rolled down then Strip for a stop at the Venetian and I made sure to give it another shot.
At these cattle call casting events, thousands show up over the course of two days in a big market like mine and they typically audition a few hundred from the crowd, picked at random from a large tumbler that has all the slips everyone fills out. They do a few "shows" throughout the day where people are called up in groups of five and play a very simple mock game a la the speed up round and do a cursory interview to establish their charisma for the evaluators, who then decide whom gets an invite back for the Final Auditions usually a few weeks later.
I just remembered that I also submitted a "Face of the Fan" video audition in prior to the Venetian audition but was not selected then either.
Well, after sitti through each of the shows at the Venetian again, I was not called to the stage, however a few months later while checking an email account I had forgotten I even had, I saw the invite to my first Final Audution in my spam mailbox and it was for a week later in LA! I was elated.
The trip to LA was a bit rocky and I stayed in an apparently haunted hotel downtown but didn't care because of the huge opportunity that lay before me the next day. After getting a haircut I didn't really need I managed to make it to the then Culver City Radisson just as Gary O'Brien, the Supervising Producer and boss of the Contestabt Dept was closing the doors.
During those Final Auditions, there's about 70 or so hopefuls, including couples and specialty week potential contestants invited. It was pretty tense and I was quite nervous. Everyone gets one turn to try their skill at a puzzle and the contestant coordinators spin a wheel that reminded me of the old Twister game's spinner. They won't let you keep going but I remember I solved my puzzle which was "OVERNIGHT SUCCESS." I thought that bode well for me.
There is a written test with 16 hangman puzzles like on the show which is administered after everyone gets their shot. Some of the lyres are filled in and some of the puzzles are downright impossible while others are pretty easy. You have dice minutes. I think I got about 9'right with partial answers to most of the others.
After the test is administered, they play a blooper and retrospective video of the show over the years featuring some interesting cameos by celebrities. The only one I remember was Tina Fey for some reason, who apparently is a big fan. This is when they grade the tests and come back and tell you who made the cut for the end portion of the audition. They cut about 3/4 of te group and sent them on their sad way, but not me. My name was called. (Interestingly though they have changed this procedure and while they still keep people around after the test, you can still get "the Letter" as of 2015 even if you are dismissed after the test.)
Then it was to play the mock game in groups of five and do our short interviews with Gaey subbing for Pat. I rambled (I know... So unlike me....) about my writing at this point instead of giving a succinct and interesting few anecdotes about myself.
After that they asked for a second loom of a few more people and then we were all thanked and told if we made it we would be receiving a letter in the mail in a few weeks of we got it otherwise, sorry.
The letter didn't come. I was pretty devastated and thought the dream was dead.
Then this past March I saw a post on FaceBook that the Wheelmobile's was coming to town again. Having been flushed out of the pool by then for Millionaire for the third(!) time I figured I'd give it a shot "on a whim."
I went to the second day Of auditions and planned to only stay for one show then was to my parents for the day. As the last group of names was about to be called, I smiled to myself thinking it was worth a shot and had had fun anyway. And then.... I heard Marty call my name....

TO BE CONTINUED!

Yay, autoconnect!!

Sending positive waves into the past for you! Hope you did well and congratulations for making the show!

It's great reading about the Wheelmobile and the other types of auditions they have now. My auditions were in the dim, dark past, when they had just started doing their road shows, and were done very differently. I like your description of the current methods, though, and would be right there yelling "Pick me!" at the Wheelmobile events if I could.

How did you get 9 answers? The test is impossible. What did you study for the puzzle test? Is there an online site? Were there any puzzles that you recognized from previous WOF shows?

Thank you all for the positive vibes!

I have heard of some people acing the test. It's just hangman puzzles with some letters filled in so it's not as hard as it looks. Also, I don't really know how much they take the results of the test into consideration really as I have heard some are chosen for the show who completely bombed the test. I believe that they administer the test as a means of giving them some time to come to a consensus and make their choices as to whom they liked and who might not have been what they were looking for.

Like BAM, the best advice that I can give would be to watch the show and also people have said doing crosswords helps too. Energy is the most important. Be prepared to smile and clap for like three hours straight. Attitude is everything!

I'll post more about my casting experience and the show later today. It's hard to do on my phone! Hence the typos!

xoxo,
Danny

This will be displaced in Boston by Patriots All Access. I hope they do the usual 1or 2 am displaced broadcast.

Congratulations on making the show. Your story is remarkably like mine except that your perseverance was stronger. I went to 3 BAM auditions (Birmingham Jackson, and Memphis) and passed the test all 3 times back in the Regis days. Did as good as I could on the interviews but never got a happy card. My WOF story only has one audition in it. I was lucky enough to get called on stage at a Wheelmobile stop in Biloxi, Ms and acted my normal crazy self. They must have liked what they saw because I got an invite a few weeks later to second, invitation only audition in New Orleans. Like your second one, we had 75 people that got cut down to 25 after the tests were graded. I am in that number that felt like the puzzle test was at least as difficult as the BAM test. (back then anyway) My two hooks in that second audition interview were my football public address shout I do when our team enters the stadium and the fact that my girlfriend (The Baboo) and I had been "dating" for 23 years without getting married. A couple of months later, I got my notice to come to Culver City.

That trip to California was a good thing for me. That allowed me to even up the score with The Baboo. She took me to New York for her BAM taping and now I was able to take her to California for my WOF taping. Coast to Coast courtesy of game shows.

The day of the taping was one of the most fun days of my life. I won a little over ten grand but it would have been a huge amount of fun even if I zeroed out. I think most every game show contestant (other than maybe Ken Jennings) has something that they wish they had done a little differently but sometimes it gets a little crazy when those lights are shining in your eyes. I definitely have one unsolved puzzle phrase that I will never forget. I hope you are happy with how things went and that your experience was as fun as mine. One other thing we have in common is that we both have beards. My memory might be fuzzy but I think that I was also the only one at my invitation only audition that had one.

Again, Congratulations on making the show.