We left around 6:30 (by the time we got gas and everything) and got to the audition site around 10:00. Auditions were from 11-3. There weren't as many people there as we expected there to be, so we decided to hang around.
The kid in front of us in line didn't even know what he was standing in line for. His friend told him he should go get in line because he lived right across the street.
Anyway. So we waited in the cold and wind until around 11:00 when they let a bunch of people in. A guy from KSL came around and handed out application forms. So we're all standing around in the cold, frantically trying to scrounge up pens and writing surfaces. I could barely write because my hands were so cold. Little did we know, we would have PLENTY of time to fill out those papers. (Questions included: what is your most embarrassing moment, what is one interesting thing about yourself that we wouldn't know by looking at you, what would you do with the money, is there someone in your family that you would give money to, what do you do for work, etc. etc.)
We moved up the line a little bit, and then waited for a while longer. We got inside around... 11:30? Where we were directed to a large conference room (set up like a lecture hall). Here we watched clips of previous episodes of Minute to Win It, and played a few Minute To Win It games. We waited for our numbers to be called.
They called numbers 10 at a time and then you waited in the hallway. When the producers were ready for you, you walked into a little room, stood in front of a banquet table where a producer was sitting and told about yourself. In the conference room, they made it sound like you better talk fast because they weren't going to listen to your sob stories and you only got 20 seconds. They also advised not to talk about how much you love the show, or what you would do with the money (since you don't have it yet).
The guy that went first was the one who didn't even know what the show was about. But he was an ex-Marine (or something) and came home and got a job with the government, but didn't like that he wasn't helping the vets, so he quit that job and is going back to school for Dental Assisting or something. Chad said he played hockey and that's about all I remember. I don't know what I said, but apparently it wasn't anything the producer cared about. I was so self-conscious that he was looking at me so unenthused about whatever I was saying. I swear you could hear crickets in the background. And I was talking really fast, because, like I said, that was the impression they gave. It probably didn't help that my voice is scratchy and cracks all the time because I've been sick for the last week and a half. Then the other people in our group were a whole Latino family. The mom stayed home with the kids. They had twin 10 year old girls, and 3 or 4 boys with them. The dad was a truck driver but hurt his knee and has been unemployed and is now going back to school. And, in case you're wondering, he makes sure he "wins" at everything he does. Okay, Charlie Sheen. Apparently part of their strategy was to also make sure the producer knew that the kids all thought the games looked easy.
So, he collected our application papers, we kept our numbers, and that was that. I wondered if it was one of those interview strategies where it's not what you say but how you say it. I wondered if there was one thing they were looking for - someone who pulled out a picture, or knelt down to talk to the producer (who was seated and we were all standing) or who knows what. But that was the extent of the audition. We were done around 2:00. Luckily we still had time to complete Operation: Easy Candy. We drove down to Erin's, and finding that they weren't home, let ourselves in through the garage (bet you wish you hadn't handed out that keycode, huh?). I brought pre-measured amounts of all the ingredients and made Easy Candy. They all got home just a few minutes after we got into the house. We didn't fool them by parking the van out front....
Anyways, we ate Subway for lunch, played soccer with the boys in the backyard (during which, a misdirected ball hit Sawyer in the face. It may or may not have been kicked by my foot... which caused him to hate me for about an hour.) Then we walked over to the church and helped Erin & Bryce clean the building. Will was watching Chad and I clean the glass doors, so I told him that we have to clean them because people put their fingers or hands on the glass. So from then on, he was very conscious of where he put his hands on the doors. And he was ranting the whole time about how "someone needs to tell the people that they can't put their hands on the glass to the doors, because then we have to clean it!" He was also pretty mad that he and Chad cleaned the drinking fountains and then the boys playing basketball came out and used them. It was kind of amusing. Oh - and mom, you will be proud to know that I taught Erin how to properly install a roll of paper towels. I was surprised I remembered!
We left for Idaho around 6:30, and got back about 11:00. The drive wasn't bad at all, and the weather was good. It was a fun quick trip. I just wish I hadn't had to teach YW the next day. But thanks to a large amount of announcements and interruptions, the lesson was only about 1/2 hour long. And that's about how long it needed to be with the topic of "Encouraging Enjoyable Family Activities".
So, the people at Minute To Win It said they would be making callbacks anywhere between 1 week and 6 months from the audition day. Don't hold your breath, people! We didn't have a sob story (and I don't mean that condescendingly - some people have really sad lives) or a "we'll get engaged on the show" story and we weren't scantily clad, and we weren't unemployed. So I'm pretty sure our chances are slim to none. But I will let you know if, by some miracle, we get a call back.
1 comment:
... I'll be home all day on Saturday, so you can feel free to pop by with that Easy Candy any time.
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