Rooting for you, and very interested to hear about the experience of the audition

More audition details:

There were 18 in our group, the second of three for the day. There are another three groups tomorrow. There may have been some on Monday, I don't know. Boston is one of about 8 locations for the in-person auditions this year.

First, everyone got a Polaroid taken of them in the hallway. Then we made our way into a conference room. We were seated at tables in the middle of the room, with the show staff and mock game equipment at one end. Everyone was asked where they were from, and for some, the response produced the first of many requests to speak louder and/or project their voice better (I never had a problem with this.) When it was my turn, the woman who ran the audition said she liked my delivery -- and the Mickey Mouse logo on my polo shirt.

Then the staff went over some logistical stuff and told audition-related stories about Ken Jennings and other famous contestants. (Roger Craig, who holds the record for highest single-day total, auditioned in person 7 times before getting on the show.)

Then we did an exercise where we practiced "clicking" and timing -- there are lights on the board that the players see but viewers can't, and you can't ring in until the entire clue is read and the lights go on. There was a mock board with 18 questions (6 categories with $200, $400 and $600 clues), and each person got one chance to ring in properly, answer the question, and select the next question promptly and with a minimum of words (again, some people had a problem with this, but I never did.)

We then took another 50-question test, this being a major factor into who gets picked for the contestant pool. When I took the online test, I thought I got about 40 right. Here, I thought I got about 45, so I was very happy with how it went. Unlike with the online test, I am not allowed to reveal what the questions and answers were.

Then there was a break while the papers were graded. I chatted with a guy at my table named Thomas, from Sussex County, NJ -- I think we were the only two from NJ. {Edit: There was also a semi-retired doctor from North Jersey.] He thought the test had gone well for him also.

Then there was more chitchat and logistical stuff from the staff. One of them was hired after being a contestant last year -- she was one of many who lost to Julia Collins.

Finally it was time for the mock games and interviews. We were called up three at a time. We each had a clicker identical to the one used on the show. It wasn't hooked up to anything, as this wasn't really about who rang in first. Nor was it really about getting the answers right, though of course that probably helped. They were looking for: not ringing in too early, ringing in as soon as possible after the lights went on, answering in a loud voice, and selecting the next question quickly and with a minimum of words. Again, the mock board had 18 questions (6 categories with $200, $400 and $600 clues). When a category was used up, it was replaced by another. Each mock game had 12 questions. When one game was done, the next one picked up where the previous one had left off. Initially the person who rang in first (and not too early) would get called on, but later on it was more about giving everyone enough opportunities to give answers. I believe each person got to answer four questions. After your mock game was over, you stayed at the mock podium to do an interview. Each person was generally asked what they did for a living, what they liked to do for fun (sometimes you'd be asked specifically about one of the five interesting anecdotes you listed on your application form) and what they would do with the money if they won. Here, they were looking for clear, well-projected answers, personality and camera presence.

I was in the fifth of six groups, with Thomas and a guy named Frederico, who because of his soft voice and some of the things he said was the guy who got most of the ribbing from the woman running the audition during the course of the event (which probably works in his favor, as they'll remember him.) As we were walking up, she said, "this is the match I want to see," which could be a good sign for all three of us. Not that it really mattered, but we were the only group which got through a whole mock game with no wrong answers. It felt just like it does at home when I yell answers at the TV, only that I had a clicker in my hand and had to wait to give a response. I had no problems with my voice or my clicking, though I could tell that Thomas was usually faster. My hands were sweaty so I'll chalk it up to that. He's also quite a bit younger than me and likely has better reaction time because of that.

During the interview portion, I described my job as a medical journalist writing about cardiology. She asked what has been the biggest story in cardiology, so I found myself discussing endovascular thrombectomy for treatment of acute stroke, something I'd never have expected to bring up at a Jeopardy audition. But I didn't get too technical and that led to a back-and-forth about how important it is to get a stroke treated quickly and how many people don't recognize the symptoms. She then asked about my interest in live music, and I told one of the anecdotes from my application, which is that, if you count my friends' bands playing in bars, I have been to more than 1,000 rock concerts. She followed up with, of all those, which was your favorite, and it's a question I was anticipating and had a planned answer for: my first Neil Young show. "He was with Crazy Horse and it was loud and glorious."* Then I was asked who have I not yet seen that I would like to, and I had an answer for that as well: Paul McCartney. There are actually several artists, but when speaking to a general audience, always go with the Beatle. Then I was asked what we would do with the money. I mentioned that, as she could probably guess from the shirt, my family are Disney buffs and we would do a lot more Disney trips, as well as travel to Scotland and Ireland to see the old castles. When I referenced the shirt, I looked down at it, and she told me to look at the camera instead. That was the only thing I did wrong all session.

Best response to "what will you do with the money": "My partner and I would like to have a baby, and what most people don't know is that sperm is really expensive. So we would use it to buy sperm. Can I say that on TV?"

After the mock games, we were given a couple of more updates on logistics and then dismissed.

One of the other people auditioning was a reporter for the Boston Globe, and he was writing an article about the experience. He asked to speak to me when I was walking out. He had noticed that I had given the answers every time the group was asked a question about Jeopardy history -- how many games did Ken Jennings win, who has the most career earnings from Jeopardy**, etc. He wanted to know how I knew all that stuff, how obsessive of a fan I was, etc. So I may or may not be quoted in the Boston Globe in the near future.

In a few weeks I'll hear if I made it into the contestant pool. If you get in the pool, you are in it for 18 months and can be called to play at any time (with about a month's notice). Given that 2500-3000 people made it to in-person auditions and about 400 people appear on the show per year, there's about a 1 in 7 chance of making it onto the show if you've gotten this far. Which means that, if the average holds, 2 or 3 people from this group of 18 will make it on to the show.

* -- 2/5/91 at the since-razed Philadelphia Civic Center, if you care.
** -- Brad Rutter.

Pretty cool. Hope you get the call! Someone from the Eagles MB was picked for the show about 10 years ago or so, but she finished in 3rd

Awesome story and appreciate the info. Best of luck, man!

Actually a buddy of mine was on Jeopardy and actually won (lost the next episode, though). He had a good experience and about 13K extra he didn't count on.

Awesome story

Geez. Even casting for jeopardy is insane. Good luck.

Good luck!

Though, my biggest take away from that story is that Polaroids still exist?!

Sweet, man. Good luck.

A friend of mine has dated two Jeopardy losers, lol.

now THAT is one weird fetish

stevelxa476 wrote:Good luck!

Though, my biggest take away from that story is that Polaroids still exist?!

I was as surprised as you. I don't know if it was the actual Polaroid brand, but it spat out a photo instantly, which "developed" in a few minutes. Whatever it was, the thing was ancient.

My former student was on two weeks ago and won 5 times.

Interview with him (now living in Madison, not NJ):

http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/Mad ... 12321.html

Best of luck to you, swiggers...sounds like you have the kind of knowledge and personality to be really successful!

Thanks, all.

Dan Feitel was an excellent player but had a strange habit of betting all but $1 in Final Jeopardy when it was not a runaway. This left him vulnerable to losing if everyone got the question wrong. It will be interesting to see if he adjusts his strategy for the Tournament of Champions.

Swiggers wrote:

stevelxa476 wrote:Good luck!

Though, my biggest take away from that story is that Polaroids still exist?!

I was as surprised as you. I don't know if it was the actual Polaroid brand, but it spat out a photo instantly, which "developed" in a few minutes. Whatever it was, the thing was ancient.

Blame it on the hipsters: http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/search.jsp?q=polaroid#/

mickbayne wrote:

Swiggers wrote:

stevelxa476 wrote:Good luck!

Though, my biggest take away from that story is that Polaroids still exist?!

I was as surprised as you. I don't know if it was the actual Polaroid brand, but it spat out a photo instantly, which "developed" in a few minutes. Whatever it was, the thing was ancient.

Blame it on the hipsters: http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/search.jsp?q=polaroid#/

nice stealth plug

Forgot to add the back she goes referral bonus tag!

Any gas grill recs?

I'm going to need that in the form of a question.

U WOT M8?

There was a Boston Globe reporter at my audition session for Jeopardy. His article finally came out. I am quoted at the very end.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/20 ... story.html

No, I still haven’t heard whether I made it into the pool. I’m guessing no because the new season starts taping sometime in August.