By now most of you have probably seen my Wheel of Fortune episode so it is no longer a surprise of what happens! Now I can finally share a little more detail about my time at Sony Studios and what it was like being on the show.
The morning of the taping, I took a shuttle with several other contestants from the show to the studio. The air was full of electricity and nervous chatter. People were talking about how they made it on the show, where they were from, and how long they had been watching Wheel of Fortune. We quickly bonded as a group...nervous energy will do that to strangers. After arriving at the studio, we were whisked into a back room to begin filling out paperwork and going over the rules. We then took a tour of the stage. Let me tell you that nothing can describe the feeling of walking out onto the set for the first time and seeing it all in person. It was crazy.
The wheel was smaller than I imagined and MUCH heavier! It took all I had to get it to go around even one time!! We took turns practicing saying our names, calling out letters and spinning the wheel. Everything was fast paced and high energy. Afterwards we went back to our room to finish paperwork and begin getting our makeup done for our commercials we were going to shoot! While I was sitting there, a woman walked through and everyone started screaming! It was Vanna White! She looked like a regular person in her sweats and t-shirt. She stayed and talked to us for a few minutes before being whisked off to her own hair and makeup.
Upon arriving at the studio, we had no idea what show we would be on. They tape 6 shows a day, with 3 people on each show. They had already grouped us into groups of 3 but then we had to draw numbers to see what show we went on. I really wanted to be in the first week, which was shows 1-5, because it was Sand and Sea week and that can only be good right? The last show wasn't even airing until April and the theme for that week was "Gimme a Break"...what does that even mean??? So one of the contestants in my group was chosen to draw and he drew show 5!!!! That meant we were the last show of the week and we got to watch the other shows before us!!
Then they shuffled us out to shoot our commercials. That was pretty fun. For those who didn't see it, I basically said, "HI! I'm Sam from Blue Springs. Watch me play Wheel of Fortune on KSHB Channel 5" or something like that. Once that was done and makeup was done, it was time to start the first taping! It didn't start until noon! They ushered us out to a sequestered part of the audience, on the opposite side from our friends and family. We were given strict instructions to not even look their way.
Then the shows began. I was so nervous for the other contestants!!! Finally, after a day...no, a lifetime , of waiting for this opportunity, it was my turn.
Tune in tomorrow for the second part of my time on Wheel of Fortune!
UPDATE: If you missed the show last night, you can catch it here (in 2 parts) on YouTube. Click on Part 1 and Part 2 to watch.
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