Auditions
are the way that applicants get into the contestant pool. A pool is merely a
large set of good participants, that the producers can pick from when they
start “live” taping in front of an audience. Depending on the game, sometimes
more than one round of auditions is arranged, to get the best possible people
to be part of the pool.
At
these auditions, you not only have to demonstrate your skill at the game
itself, but you have to illustrate that you are overjoyed and thrilled
to be playing it! Always play every question as though it’s the one final
question being asked for that ultimate top prize and you are going to win the
whole shebang, right there! Jump, squeal, clap, smile, laugh, act like you are
actually on stage with the lights, the audience cheering, the host urging you
on, your family watching! At every minute, you need to be “upbeat”, as if the
cameras are rolling. Don’t just show that good feeling when it’s your turn: Be
excited for everyone! Once you get past the auditions, you’ll be in front of
those cameras soon, for real, and you’ll want everyone cheering for you, too.
The Show is
Everything
The
most important thing to keep in mind is that your time has little value to the
network executives. You are assumed to have a totally free schedule and be
without any other obligations in your life other than their Game Show! You’ll
be expected to appear at their whim, not only for call-back auditions, but for
the actual tapings as well, should you be selected for the pool.
In
fact, you may even be requested to set aside several “possible” taping days,
only to be called at short notice to come in to the studio. Also, once you come
to the taping, there is no guarantee that you will be offered a chance to go on
stage at all. They might go through several shows without calling you, but
still ask you to return the next day (most productions are taped back-to-back
in a day, with entire studio audiences changed between each show).
Prepare
for your entry into the contestant pool by adopting the view that this is a
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and you must set aside all other distractions
(even work) for the chance to appear and win. If you have even the slightest
hesitations or reservations or should indicate (Heaven forbid) that your
schedule is rigid, the producers have many others who are flexible in the
extreme, and those are the ones who are going to be sitting together in the
“Green Room” (a backstage waiting room at the studio, where nervousness and
anticipation among members of the “on-deck” pool is so thick you can cut it
with a knife).