I did not get called to "come on down" at The Price is Right. This is a souvenir photo, and yes I am butt hurt over it. But then I am someone who when I buy a lottery ticket I'm sure I have the winning numbers, check them twice even though the first number is wrong and then scratch my head in disbelief. So small wonder. I tried for two days. Had a ticket for the third day but was too tired.
Basically it's a lot of waiting. You wait to get checked in, then wait some more. Then you get "interviewed" by a man who makes the decision on whether you are good TV material or not. His name is Dan and he spends about 20 seconds or less with you. "Where are you from, what do you do for a living?" I watched him as he was interviewing the group ahead of us and saw him spend a lot more time with one older gentleman in particular, I knew that man would be chosen and he was. You are told that you are being watched while you are in line and in the audience and that you never know who will be called. So naturally I was doing my best to look happy and engaging with all the people around me. That's the most exhausting part. I waited next to a woman and her sons, who had flown out from Iowa. She was so boring and I'm smiling and asking her questions about her minivan as if I was interested. It was almost painful. When I would try and interject something about myself she would look straight forward and not respond. So I'm pretty sure she thought I was just as boring. Imagine?!
So after more waiting, they take your cellphone away and give you a ticket to pick it up after the taping (another long line to wait in after the fact). Smart watches are to be left in your car, so don't bring one. You go through metal detectors twice so forget putting it in your pocket. Then you are seated, and contemporary pop music is being blasted to get everyone hyped up. I was seated next to a toothless, long gray haired, bearded senior in a ball cap and puffy jacket. He looked like he might be homeless. He said it was his 8th time being in the audience.
The studio is much smaller than it looks on TV. Monitors are on the ceiling so you can see what's happening on stage. Mostly the view is blocked by 5 cameras. One woman gives you signals when to stand, when to clap, when to make more noise, when to help contestants with bidding and when to be quiet.
The best part of the taping is Drew Carey who pretty much riffs off the contestants during the commercial breaks. He is naturally funny. He asked one person what they did for a living (I couldn't see them). Then pretending to smoke a cigarette he says "So you're a buyer? Hey, we're all buyers. Welcome to America bitch". It was hilarious to see him being more himself than he is when the cameras are rolling. Drew and the announcer George Grey have some pretty good banter, mostly lost on the majority of the audience. George said he's getting married in May to a woman ( I thought he was gay) that had been in the audience during a taping. She happened to be at a bar he likes and they ended up drinking together and became friends and the rest is history.
The next day I wore my hair differently, changed my glasses and tried to get more banter going with Dan. When he asked me what I did I said I had just quit my job as a removal technician for an after care center. He was ready to move on and I said "Do you know what that is?" He was already so done with me but said "No". So I said "It's picking up dead bodies, and after 10 and half hours I had to quit". This did not help my chances one iota.
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