As you might recall from a
previous post, Wednesday was the day I was to report at Navy Pier for the
Jeopardy! audition.
My first decision of the day was no less than brilliant, choosing public transportation as my means of self-delivery. I took the train, which was crowded at 6:51 a.m., but I was able to read in relative comfort. Upon arrival at Union Station at 8:00, I stepped down to the intersection of Canal & Jackson where I got on the inappropriately named Wacker Express (CTA bus #121) which was very popular with the business crowd - so much so, that all of the standing room was taken, including the doorwell. By the time it got to Navy Pier at 8:30 (after many stops), there were only three of us left.
I confidently walked in the front gate in the certain knowledge that there would be many signs informing me of the direction and location of the audition. My confidence was misplaced. Undeterred and buoyed by my childlike naivete, I stopped at the Starbucks counter and purchased a
Banana-Coconut Frappacino Venti in order to jumpstart my brain (working on the assumption that I would need it when I reached my destination). I walked around inside, went outside, came back in, went back out, looked down the pier toward the Shakespeare Theater (where I had seen
Antony and Cleopatra once) and just
knew it couldn't be that far down. I then went inside and upstairs where I happened upon a gentleman operating a forklift, who was himself looking for someone who could push a button that would open a door, enabling access to another area for him and his machine. Like Androcles removing the thorn from the lion's paw, I was able, in return for a button-push, to learn that the audition was way
past the Shakespeare Theater. Glad of my proclivity for arriving early ('early is on-time, on-time is late'), especially when I'm not sure exactly where I'm going, I proceeded at a brisk walk toward the other end of the pier. Did you know that Navy Pier is a mile-and-a-half long? It seems even longer when it's 9:00 and you are supposed to be somewhere at 9:30, with dire consequences hinted at for tardiness, "TESTING STARTS PROMPTLY AT THE APPOINTMENT TIME, AND NO ONE CAN BE ADMITTED IF THEY ARE LATE."
I finally come upon some signs that indicate I'm near Festival Hall. A likely place for the audition, I think to myself. There are many doors leading off the corridor, but, alas, they are all locked! I sense the inevitability of it before I even try the handles.
But just then, like a
deus ex machina in a play by Euripides, there suddenly appeared coming toward me a uniformed security person in the guise of Roz from
Night Court. Sensing the panic rising in me, she calmly told me to take that escalator (indicating what I had taken for a gray smudge off in the distance) to the third floor and go to Room 318.
I went to the end of a hall marked Rooms 324-329 and started doubling back toward the land side of the pier before I saw the first easel proclaiming that the
Jeopardy! auditions were indeed straight ahead. The corridor, carpeted in a hotel-like manner, became what amounted to a catwalk with a cavernous expanse on my left (of a size commensurate with rodeos or monster truck pulls). There were a couple of fold-up tables and several chairs against the wall, where three or four people were sitting. The woman behind one of the tables asked if I was here for
Jeopardy! and upon hearing my affirmative response along with effusive thanks for making it so easy to find, told me to have a seat.
This was 9:15. By 9:30, there were twenty of us, which turned out to be that session's full complement. Some of the others I talked to were from as far afield as Ames,Iowa; Traverse City, Michigan; Lexington, Kentucky; and Toronto, Ontario. We were each handed an application and a sheet of paper with 50 numbered blank spaces. Someone else went up and down the row of chairs, had each person stand and took a head shot with a Polaroid camera. After filling out our applications, we were invited inside a room where Maggie (brash, loud and uncouth don't begin to describe her) regaled us with anecdotes and explained how the buzzers worked (wait for the yellow lights or you'll be locked out, keep clicking, don't hold it down, use only one hand, etc.). Tony then talked about the clues and how the writers write them, giving us hints with examples (as if none of the people in that room had ever seen
Jeopardy!!
).We were then given another 50-question test (to verify that we belonged there, I suppose) and sworn to secrecy, as this is the same one they give in every city they will be in. The clues showed up on the screen, but were read by announcer Johnny Gilbert instead of Alex Trebek, and you had eight seconds after he stopped reading to write down your answer before the next clue came up. You didn't have to answer in the form of a question, so it wasn't as hard as it sounds.
They then collected the answer sheets, applications, polaroids, and the five things about yourself that you brought with you. They shuffled them up and called us up in threes to play a mock game so we could get comfortable with the buzzers and they could see your personality. I was the very last one(an eventuality I had been dreading), and when they were done with my interview, we were dismissed.
On the way out, I noticed improved signage, some of which read sessions at 9:30 - 12:00 - 3:30.
So that means at least 60 possible contestants from the Chicago region. They will be doing the same thing in 12 other cities, so that's 780 and Maggie said they need around 400 contestants each season. The bottom line is: I'm in a pool of potential contestants to be called in the next 12-18 months, but at best it's a 50-50 chance of even being invited out to do the show.
Stay tuned to this blog for further developments!
Finished reading the Koran - the Penguin Classics edition translated by the renowned N. J. Dawood. I used the alternative spelling for the heading of this blog because it looks much more exotic. The word itself means recital.
