My Jeopardy! Adventure

Anyone who has known me for a while knows that one of my life ambitions has always been to get on Jeopardy!. I actually tried out for the teen tournament when I was in high school, and though I got to go take the initial test in the studio, I did not make it. My dad and I still spent a fun day in LA and he even treated me to a yummy dinner at a nice restaurant in Malibu.

Over the last few years I have sporadically watched the show, and I started to get more into it last summer when my friend Ken was on and we actually got cable so we got the right channel. S-Boogie enjoys watching "Jeppy" as part of our nightly routine, so my interesting in appearing on the show has been renewed as of late. Like any other rabid fan, I had been watching the website to see if auditions will be held anywhere within a reasonable distance of my home.

Well, on Sunday morning I was reading the Tribune online and I noticed a little item stating that the Jeopardy! "Brain Bus" would be coming to Sandy on Monday evening! I had been neglecting my perusal of the Jeopardy! website for a few weeks, so somehow I missed this important fact. Luckily my Monday afternoons are free, so I decided to head up to Sandy to try my luck. When the brain bus comes to town, they are mainly trying to promote Jeopardy!, so they let you play in a mock game in order to win t-shirts or hats. They also give out a 10-question pretest to the first 1,000 people who show up, and if you pass that pretest then you can qualify to get a real audition. I wasn't sure how many people would want to try for a shot at the pretest, so I got up to Jordan Commons at 3:00, two hours before things were supposed to get started. There were a few other people already there lined up on the floor. I wasn't surprised by the demographics of the group at all--most were about 50 or 60ish, and everyone was reading a book. So, 5:00 rolled around and the Jeopardy! people got out their free stuff, got the crowd pumped up with the theme music, and started ushering people in to take the pretest. It was surprisingly easy for me--I think I knew about 8 out of the 10 questions. After I finished, they looked it over, told me I passed, and handed me a letter that was my official invitation to the real tryout today. I went back out, did a terrible job in the mock game, and got my free t-shirt. I also got some truly disgusting Mexican food from the food court before driving home in shock that I was going to be trying out for Jeopardy! The very next morning.

Last night I hopped on the internet to find out more about the audition and interview process. There are a number of websites out there with information on Jeopardy! strategy. It is one of the most popular game shows to try out for, and one of the hardest to get on. I found out that they give you a 50 question written test as the initial part of the audition. Sources from the internet told me that you had to get 35 out of the 50 right to pass. That scared me a little, so I tried a few of the practice tests that were out there. I felt even worse after I managed to only get 20 right on one and 25 right on another. I did find one that I got 35 on, so I started to feel a little better about myself and decided to get some sleep. I wore my new Jeopardy! t-shirt to bed for good luck.

This morning I got up really early, put on my jazziest maternity top and some makeup, and drove back up to Salt Lake. I had to be there by 9, so I was a little worried about the traffic and the weather. Luckily the traffic was not bad, and the snow even stopped falling by the time I got to Draper. When I got to the hotel, there were about 50 or so people waiting outside the room where tryouts were going to be held. Normally they start right on time, but they were having technical problems and so I got to sit outside and freak out for an extra 15 minutes. Then we got to go into a big room where a bunch of tables were lined up in rows before two big TV screens in the front. For the test, we each had an answer sheet with 50 spaces. On the screen, they would flash a question with the category, and we had about 10 seconds to write down the answer (it didn't need to be in the form of a question). As they started to show the questions, I became more and more confident, because most of them were things I knew. I didn't even have to guess. There were a few that I had no idea on (who is Goldie Hawn's husband? what state has a badger on the flag?), but most were obvious to me. I guess I got lucky again. Then we got to wait around for about 15 minutes while they took the tests outside to grade them. After that, they came in and read off the names of the 17 people who had passed. And I was one of them! We got to stay in the room while everyone else went home to feel bad. This was the point when I started to wish I had gone to the bathroom, but luckily I was able to hold it for the rest of the process. We had to fill out a long form with all of our personal information and sign that we weren't related to anyone involved with the show. Then they took a picture of each of us and attached it to our paperwork. The next part was the mock game/interview. They called groups of three up to the front, gave us buzzers, and has us play a little bit with the buzzers. There were categories to choose from and everything like on a real game, but they didn't keep score. They just wanted to see how we would do when we were actually on the show. They reminded me once or twice to speak up a bit more, but I still don't think I did as badly as some of the people there. After a few minutes of buzzer play they interviewed everyone a bit. None of this was filmed, but the contestant people were taking lots of notes. Afterwards they explained that they will put everyone in the contestant pool for the next year, but that not everyone will get called to come down and actually be on the show. Then we all clapped for each other and left to come home. I celebrated by stopping at Starbucks for some hot cocoa and a croissant.

So, bottom line is, I am now in the active contestant pool for Jeopardy! for the next full year. I could get a phone call any day asking me to come down to LA for a taping. The truth is, this probably isn't the best year for this, but I think it could work. I also think I have a pretty good chance of getting onto the show. For one thing, I'm a girl, and there were a lot less women than men in the pool; it also doesn't hurt that I'm a lot younger than many of the other potential contestants. Anything more "diverse" is good. Also, I think I did fairly well on the charisma/personality part of the whole process. Plus, the last few days have just gone surreally well--I'm almost inclined to believe that it's a sign that I'm going to get on. I really hope they want me sometime in the next few months, since that would be the easiest. I'm not sure how well having a nursing baby will go with television taping. On my paperwork I put down that I'm not available in June or July, and they told us that taping doesn't usually happen during the summer anyways so I don't have to worry about that. I still can't believe it--I might be on TV!

Comments

COOLGUY said…
You go girl!!! I'm happy for you - it sounds like you had some fun. I wish I could have taken you to dinner afterwards.
Anonymous said…
Hey, I'm way impressed. That sounds like no easy process. Congratulations!
Kirk L. Shaw said…
Congratulations, Foxy! You may not believe this, but I was there this morning too, and I think I was on your same row, across the aisle. I think only you and one blond-haired guy in our age-range made it past the test. Aren't you the one who the head publicity guy applauded for your reaction to your name being called? Kudos, and best of luck in LA! :)
Th. said…
.

Hooray for Foxy!

Did they uncover that you dated Ken. Because I suspect that might have clinched you a spot.

Of course then they would want to make a big deal about it and that might be weird.

Huh.

Anyway, I'll be living vicariously through you.
That's what I do.
Cicada said…
That is so cool! Congratulations! I am no good at Jeopardy! but I at least would have gotten the Goldie Hawn question right. She and Kurt Russell have a cottage up in Ontario, so they're well-known around my neck of the woods. Other than that, I probably would have gotten them all wrong.

Anyway---I'm excited for you!
Congratulations! That is so cool!
Earth Sign Mama said…
Yay For Faye!!!! Of course you'll get on the air. They know real talent when they see it. This time, I'll come and be in the audience and cheer.

P.S. I didn't think that Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell were married, exactly, although they have been an item for many years and several children. (He was a child star, and I've always thought he was really cute.)
emily said…
Basically, you're my shero.
FoxyJ said…
I did have to indicate whether anyone I knew had been on the show, so I had to write down Ken's name (since I have been in contact with him since he's been on). They caught that and said something about it.

Oh, and IS, I was the one who made a funny face. I had really been sitting there during the grading process convincing myself that I hadn't made it, so I was genuinely shocked about it. Now I feel kind of silly, but it's probably good to get some kind of attention.
skyeJ said…
I've said it before, and I'll say it again, my sister is the BOMB!!

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