New Here - Auditioning Tomorrow! (Any Advice?)

[LoudmouthLee]

My name is Lee, and I have been using your site as a resource to study for my upcoming audition, tomorrow.

I realize I may be a WE (I'm a NYC Public School Teacher) but I hope you guys find me to be a welcome member of the community.

Thanks!

Does anyone have any helpful pieces of advice for me? I'm very confident in my trivia knowledge... but how does the whole process go? Is it nervewracking?

[TheCalvinator24]

Be yourself, only more so.

[earendel]

My name is Lee, and I have been using your site as a resource to study for my upcoming audition, tomorrow.

I realize I may be a WE (I'm a NYC Public School Teacher) but I hope you guys find me to be a welcome member of the community.

Thanks!

Does anyone have any helpful pieces of advice for me? I'm very confident in my trivia knowledge... but how does the whole process go? Is it nervewracking?

Welcome, Lee! We use the term WE® disparagingly but not for Bored Buddies (of which you are now included).

I've not done the auditions for BAM before, but from what I've heard here they are similar to those for Jeopardy! The best advice I can offer is to "be yourself only moreso". In other words, be outgoing, friendly, smile a lot, and so forth. It helps if you aren't in the dreaded MAWG (Middle-aged white guy) demographic, or if you have some "hook" that makes you stand out from the other potential contestants. But even those are no guarantee - MAWGs have managed to get on the show and some people with good "hooks" are not selected. Above all, when the test comes, BREATHE! and don't be discouraged if things don't work out - there's always another opportunity.

[silvercamaro]

Have fun! Have fun with the adventure of trying something new. Have fun with the people around you while you're waiting to get into the studio. Have fun with the folks nearby in the audience. When you take the test, reward yourself with a big smile every time you are confident of an answer or think you've made a pretty good guess. (We hope you'll be smiling throughout.) Cheer for yourself when they call your name among the test-passers. Finally, have fun with the AP who will interview you.

If you approach the whole process as an adventure, it's going to be a great day.

Welcome, and good luck!

[MarleysGh0st]

but how does the whole process go? Is it nervewracking?

Everyone takes a written test, with multiple choice questions recycled from past shows. You have 10 minutes for 30 questions, entering your answer onto a scantron form. The producers will grade those and read the list of passers. They will never reveal what the passing score is, but our general consensus is that it's 25 out of 30. The non-passers leave and the passers stay and get called up for a very short interview with one of the producers.

Then you wait a couple weeks (perhaps longer) to receive a postcard saying whether or not you're in the pool.

[MKearney]

Having now made it into the contestant pools for 3 separate shows, I've got a little know-how.

Bring friends. They'll calm you down, and make the experience more fun, and you'll be exactly the kind of relaxed and fun-loving person that the show is looking for. If you don't have friends, make them at the audition.

Passing the test isn't super-difficult, but you only have about 10 minutes.
Don't freak out, and just take the questions as they come, and make sure you didn't accidentally bubble the wrong answers.

The contestant coordinators see a couple hundred people a day, and are tired. They ask the same questions all day, and read through a bunch of boring applications. They'll scan through your app, take your picture, and ask you a couple quick questions about your day, the test, and a few interesting things on your app. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES GIVE ONE WORD ANSWERS. EVER. Not to say that you have to talk their heads off, but you need to be able to carry on a good conversation, and people on television do not respond to "How's your day been?" with "Good."

About those questions. Everybody puts down that they'd like to buy a house with a million bucks. Think of something fun for your answers. Something different.

They look at it like this. If you can't carry on a 3 minute conversation with some underpaid intern, how will you be able to do it under spotlights, surrounded by hundreds of people, on national TV?

They look for confidence and happiness. Not ridiculous amounts of energy. Treat it like you would a speed date. Get the most interesting things out first, and hope that they call you back

[LoudmouthLee]

Thanks!

My wife and best friend are going to the city (manhattan, sorry! I'm a WE all the way, baby!) and gonna wait at a nearby coffee joint for me. I'm excited.

My students have made a "Good Luck Mr. D!" banner and signed each of their names and good luck messages. Should I bring that? Too cheesy?

I'm not too worried about the interview process... Being a middle school teacher, you're on stage every waking moment.

I'm excited! I love taking quizzes

[Appa23]

Having now made it into the contestant pools for 3 separate shows, I've got a little know-how.

What other shows? (Since Gold Rush had no interview process.)

Currently in these pools?

[Appa23]

Lee, greetings and good luck!

I think that others here have given you some good advice.

If you really would use the million dollars to buy a house, then my advice is not to lie, but rather put your spin on it. Describe the house, or why you want the house. There likely is a good story there.

Many stories are made not by the actual facts but rather in how it is told.

(After all, I made the show by discussing formerly used defense sites and boring government contracts, more than anything else in my interview.)

[MarleysGh0st]

My students have made a "Good Luck Mr. D!" banner and signed each of their names and good luck messages. Should I bring that? Too cheesy?

Bring it!

[christie1111]

I love taking quizzes

Boy do you fit in here!

[Autumn2]

Hi Lee! I'm also trying out tomorrow, at the evening audition.
Which one will you be at??

Good luck to us both!

[LoudmouthLee]

Hi Lee! I'm also trying out tomorrow, at the evening audition.
Which one will you be at??

Good luck to us both!

7pm! You?

[Autumn2]

5 - 7 pm....is thta the one you meant? I thought there was one during the day and one from 5-7....

If you're at the 5-7 pm one...I'll be in black slacks and (as of now) a red button-down shirt, black jacket. I'm 5' 4", will have a couple of extra inches due to shooes, too. hope to see you there!

(oh, and I'm female.......)

[LoudmouthLee]

You should have recieved an e-mail that has an exact time. Mine says 7pm.

[peacock2121]

I have nothing to add to what others have said.

except.......

Good luck!