Having just received a handwritten note in the mail from Meredith Vieira herself (how cool is that?), I thought it was time to share my experience with you all.I arrived at the ABC studios on Tuesday at 7a.m. fully dressed and ready to go. I waited outside with the other contestants called that day - there were eight of us total and everyone was super nice, both excited and nervous to be there. I was one of only two people from the New York area. We were let in and taken to the "green" room (it's not green...it looks like someone's very crowded living room) and asked to place our belongings in assigned lockers. We were not allowed anything in the green room - no magazines, no papers, no chapstick, nothing. If you wanted something, you had to ask one of the two production assistants who sat with us all day to unlock the room where our stuff was - they also had to monitor our bathroom visits. There were breakfast things in an adjoining room and while we partook of those, we were visited both by the show's lawyer and the executive producer. We also found out early on that there were five contestants held over from the taping on Friday, which we all knew meant that the chances of us taping on Tuesday went from great to very, very slim. We were still prepped anyways - we each had our make-up done, we visited the stage to practice getting in and out of the chair, we filmed a 30-second "bumper" which is what they air before the commercial if you're coming up next (it basically shows you waving at the camera looking really excited), we filled out paperwork...all the while knowing most of us would be back the next day. Ugh. Around 11:45, after a breakfast of roasted turkey, potatoes, and vegetables (most of the employees get to work around 6a.m. so it sort of makes sense that their lunch hour is most people's breakfast hour), we were placed in the green room where we watched the show being filmed through a closed circuit television.
They film five shows a day, three days a week. After the five held over contestants played, people from my group were taken down to sit backstage. I wasn't part of the initial three to be chosen to do this. By this time, they were already filming the fourth episode of the day and member #1 from my group was finally in the chair. Again, my prospects didn't look good. Of course, it was great to watch the people you'd gotten to know for the previous five hours try their luck - you're definitely rooting them on and hoping they do well. At the sound of the last buzzer on the fifth episode, I was ready to get out of there. I was now one of five held over contestants in my group who would be coming back on Wednesday. I felt bad for Adrian and his parents who had sat in the audience all day without getting to see me play; I felt bad for my phone-a-friends who were made to sit by their phones for almost six hours without getting a call; I felt bad for myself that I had to do this all over again the next day. But I was still excited. Of course.
Tuesday night, New York was deluged with massive thunderstorms, which shut down the subway system and created mass chaos in the city on Wednesday morning. Not good. Adrian was amazing and flagged down an out-of-service cab and got the guy to take us to the studio (I think it helped that I stuck my belly out super far and made it look like I was about to faint while Adrian was haggling with the cab driver). I was the last one of my five group members to arrive and everyone had their morning commute story to tell. One guy in my group was literally drenched in sweat, having had to walk over ten blocks to the studio. Luckily, they keep the studios super air-conditioned, so much so that the day before I had been sniffling because it was so cold. After cooling off and taking us to breakfast, it was time for them to get us into make-up (both artists were late arriving) and get us miked. Then taping began.
I was the third of our five to get into the chair. My producer had already informed me that they were at the end of an episode and that I was going to quickly go into the questions without any chit-chat. Meredith leaned over her console to shake my hand and then it all started. It is as surreal as you can imagine. The lights, the microphone on my back, the knowledge that Adrian is behind me but I can't see him, the computer screen in front of you with the question and answers, Meredith acting like she does in every episode I've ever watched. Surreal and scary. I answered two questions and then boom! the buzzer goes on to announce the end of game play. Meredith is whisked off to change clothes and I am supposed to too, but my producer says because of all the morning delays, I won't have time so I play the "next day" in the same outfit. No biggie. I get to come onto the stage with Meredith, holding her hand as we walk (woo hoo!) I play, I win some money, and then my tv debut is over. I hug Meredith (woo hoo!) and am then led to a side room where Adrian joins me to watch the rest of the episode before we are escorted to get my things and leave. Of course, Adrian and I sit there going over every question and all my responses and reactions, and while I regret nothing, it's still hard to think of it as over. It went so fast!
As far as I know, the episode will air the week of November 13 - it was pushed back a few weeks according to the account lady I spoke with. They told us that we were specifically chosen for these episodes because they will air during November sweeps. We were supposed to be high energy; I hope I lived up to that. It was one of the highlights of my life and while I'm glad it's over, nothing beats meeting someone I highly admire and respect or getting a note from her with sincere accolades.
Obviously, this is not my whole experience - unfortunately, I won't be able to share that with you until after my episode actually airs. But I hope this is enough for now.
