This was my second attempt to get on the show. My first attempt was an online application back in the summer of 2016, when they asked for contestants for Season 2, and I never received any callback from it.
I found out about onsite auditions in New York City on Valentine's Day through a post in the Facebook group Game Show News. This was a surprise to me. I passed on going to onsite tryouts in New York two years earlier (I was unemployed and any travel was a luxury I could not afford), but I made sure I would go down to try out for this year. I put in time off from my job and when it was granted, I hopped on the next bus from Boston to New York City.
I arrived in the city quite late, so I rode the subway and jogged down to ABC's studios. I was welcomed by the staffers and brought to a waiting area, where other hopeful contestants were staying. I filled out a paper application that asked for my background information, interesting facts about me, and what I'd do if I won $150,000. After I turned in my application, I waited my turn to do a videotaped one-on-one interview with one of the casting coordinators.
When I met the casting coordinator, she asked me to explain some of the highlights on my application. What caught her eye was that I was a cheerleader in high school, which most could not tell based on my appearance or my current job (working as a proposal writer for a tech company). Afterwards, my gameplay skills were assessed by having me describe a set of 7 words to her, then me trying to guess 7 words described by her, followed by me describing 7 words. Then, came the Winner's Circle. When this happened, I naturally started giving the rules by heart, and she was so impressed, she recorded me giving the rules. I left the audition saying how I just found about the tryouts and had to hoof it back to Boston, which showed how dedicated I was to trying out for the show.
Two weeks later, there was a Skype interview with a member of the casting team, she did a mock round where I would describe 7 words to her, and she would try to guess them. She tested my ability to pivot to a new way to giving clues by pretending to not know the answer despite very descriptive clues. After I played my round, she gave feedback on what I did well, and where I needed to improve (don't inundate the receiver with a lot information, and explain words as simple as possible). Then, we did a mock Winner's Circle round, in which I gave and she received. I learned that dumping too many clues on the receiver would not give them a chance to digest the information to give a reasonable guess. The contestant coordinator noted afterwards where I did well and where I needed to improve on clue giving or knowledge areas.
After that Skype interview, I was scheduled for two more. The calls were conducted in the same manner with mock games; the casting coordinators want to see if you've been practicing and improving yourself based on the feedback they gave you, and that you're excited/happy to potentially be a contestant. My last Skype interview was longer; the head of the casting department asked more detailed questions about my experience, what I'd do with the money, and interesting facts about me. We did one last main game/Winner's Circle combination and I had to show I mastered the game and was super-excited. After that last interview, I did not hear anything for a couple of weeks.
In March, I was put through a Skype contestant bootcamp that trained players on how to hone their technique. Like the auditions, mock games were played, and I was given feedback on giving clues to celebrities, so I could improve my chances of getting 7/7 in 30 seconds. Also, they wanted to continue seeing excitement/passion about playing the game. I also played mock Winner's Circles, too, much in the same way described earlier. After I played my mock games, I would note any feedback and spend my spare time honing my technique in areas I needed to improve on. I went through The $25,000 Pyramid board game and watched old episodes of the show to practice so I could prepare myself.
Eventually, in mid-March, I got the call that I was booked for the show, and I was elated. I spent the next several weeks finishing my bootcamp sessions with the casting team while preparing for the show (buying clothes, continuing to hone my technique to the morning of the taping by watching episodes online).
When the day arrived, I was super excited when I entered the studio, and there were some last-minute mock games to help prepare me for the real thing. After we, the contestants, were briefed on the eligibility rules and regulations about game shows, we were then slotted by the producers. There was a coin toss to decide who would sit in the contestant's chair closest to the Winner's Circle, to pick first, and I won it. Eventually, after getting into wardrobe and some makeup, I was walked to the set, and ready to play the game.