Posted today, so no one thinks it is an April Fool's joke!
Recently, I saw a craiglist ad saying that Family Feud was holding auditions at the Foxwoods Casino in western CT. I have been obsessed with the show since the days of Richard Dawson and the black-stemmed Tootsie pops, so I was IN. Got my father, mother, sister and cousin Patrick on board. We arrived at 10 for the 11am auditions.
But I am glad we got
there early. There was already a long line when we arrived at the check in
spot. Lots of other groups of five people who looked alike were there. We
checked in and they assigned us to group B. We headed over to the ballroom
where we saw the set-up and knew we were going to play a practice game in front
of a pretty packed audience of other families. Then we started filling out the
forms.
We each needed an "interesting fact," which was tough. We're
all pretty boring. We also needed a
narrative to put down, something touching that would make them want to pick us
(you know, we saved cats with cancer from being turned into meat pies or
something) and we needed to say what we'd do with the money, and we had nothing
good there (I give us a C- on
the forms).
They tell us to hand in
the forms when done, and that we'll play in the order the forms are in. We get
ours in second. Then a half hour later when there is a big pile, some jerk
slides his form at the bottom so he'll go first (more on this jerk later). Some
people have trouble following directions and hand in the clipboard with the
form attached. I think they should be disqualified (ditto for the lady dressed
like a leprechaun. Seriously. I wanted to tell her that Let's Make a Deal
auditions were down the Monty Hall).
The PA guy comes up and
tells us how awesome Steve Harvey is and how we need to have a lot of energy.
His name is Bryce and he served as the moderator. He tells us the auditions
will consist of two rounds. We do the faceoff and if you win the first round
you play while the other team huddles for the steal. Then the second round you
switch roles no matter who wins the faceoff, as they want to see how much
energy you have while playing and while trying to steal. After two rounds you
go. If they like you, you get a card in the mail (no card if they reject you,
like Millionaire did. I thought that kinda sucked). Another big difference from
Millionaire? They pay your way: airfare, hotel and transportation to Atlanta,
which is all kinds of awesome.
Luckily the jerk-cheater's
family and another family are going first. Jerk and his clan have matching
shirts with FF logos on them and funny stuff on the back. I despise him even
more. Still, we get to watch how the first two families do, and we know we can
top their energy. We're up second against a family of older people from Mass.
We run up and we put our
names on the whiteboard and get our photo taken. We have a ton of energy. I
introduce everyone with a little flair (my awesome cousin Pat, super sister
Christine, etc). I win the first faceoff (Name a state where people have a
pronounced souther accent) with ALABAMA. Patrick says Georgia. My mother says
Mississippi (and spells it for the host). Dad guesses VA and gets a strike.
Chris says Texas. I say South Carolina and get a strike! Pat says Louisiana.
Mom guesses Florida for the third strike. The other team guesses North Carolina
and don't steal. (The other answers were Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas).
So the next faceoff
Patrick wins (name something a woman might wear that is red) with Dress. But
the other team gets to play anyway. They get bra and blouse, but stumbled (the
old guy tries to say thong but that is covered by "underwear") and they
strike out. We decide to do a "Whoa Steeves" (like a whoa Bundy) as
we turn around. We have all of the remaining answers (thanks to my mom) and
steal with lipstick. So we won both rounds and felt pretty darn good.
As we leave, the other
teams that are waiting congratulate us, so I think that is a good sign (that
they like us). I am cautiously optimistic. Even if we don't get called, we had
a good time, but I think we were energetic and charming and played well.
I’ll keep you posted if
we hear more, of course!
I have written extensively on the topic of GEEKS . And, recently, I have seen lots of discussion online about Geek Girls and "fake geek...
22 comments:
Did you here of anyone getting a 2nd "private audition" ? We were at MGM Foxwoods also and saw that some families were given a piece of paper, which they were directed to another room for another on-camera audition... Just curious...
Hm, if so, that means bad news for us, I think. When I auditioned for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, that was the exact process. If you passed the test and were charming enough in your audition they handed you a release to fill out and then taped you to see how you'd be on camera. If that's what was happening at Foxwoods, then I imagine I won't be getting a card any time soon. We were in the second group and left right after we were on, so we didn't see too much of the process... If you hear anything else, keep me posted, please!
See my reply below.
Stumbled onto your blog...we also tried out at Foxwoodsfor the Feud. Have you heard anything? It's been too weeks and I'm not optimist :( although our family thought we did really well. Ugh!
Well, they did say that we were the last stop on their tour, which covered a lot of places. I didn't expect to hear back from them for quite a while. Two weeks is nothing, I think. Though I am annoyed we don't get a "no thanks" card. But I'd stay cautiously optimistic for now!
Our family auditioned also and happened to get that 2nd interview...but still have not heard anything. We were very optimistic when we left but now after 3 weeks we are not so hopeful...
Well, if you got that second interview, that has to be a good sign (though not a guarantee). Again, I think they have a lot of families to look at from all their stops on their trip, so I'd say be patient!
I think this obvious discrimination against comic book families must be stopped. Let's put an end to this discrimination right now! Paging Dr. Wertheimer!
Agreed! The Richards family was rejected, too, and they are a bunch of geniuses!
How long did the audition last? My family is trying out this weekend and I'm not sure if I will be able to make my plans for later.
The audition itself is pretty short, but it depends on how quickly you get called up. You have to get there early and register. Then they have you fill out forms and hand those in. They call you up in the order they receive the forms, so if you put yours in late, you have to wait for all the families ahead of you to play. We were one of the first families to compete, and were out of there in about an hour.
So Im confused....if you get on the show itself you have to get yourself to California to be on the show?!? I thought the whole thing was being done where the auditions are. BUMMER!!!!!!
I think it tapes in Atlanta now, actually. But this is just an audition to see if your family gets in the contestant pool. If so, you'll be notified as to when you would need to go down to record the episodes. Hope that helps!
My family auditioned and we were one of the families that got the private "2nd look" .. they said only 1% of the people who auditioned got the 2nd look. It was exciting! We are still very very nervous .. it's not a done deal until the deal is done! We're waiting and hoping!!
Nice. I found that when I auditioned for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, that was the key point -- impressing the producers on an individual basis. Hope to see you on the show!
What exactly did you all put in your email to get an audition? Last year, my family and I made this awesome PowerPoint and sent it in to audition, but never heard back. We included pictures and everything. We were sure We'd get an opportunity to try out but nothing! :'-(
We didn't have to put anything in! We just emailed them and they replied with the rules and the available times! Which city are you auditioning in?
Rich Steeves did your family get the chance of being on the feud if so how was it.
I was just wondering the same thing. We tried out this past Jan. in Austin. We got to the 2nd interview and were told we would get a postcard within 3 weeks if we were chosen. We thought we rocked it and had several other families say so. However, as 3 weeks and 1 day rolled around, I was losing faith, until the mail came that day with the postcard. It said we were selected as "potential contestants" and would get a phone call if we were selected. Fast forward ten days and we get an email with possible dates, asking to let them know any we couldn't make, still the "this does not guarantee you a spot on the show" disclaimer. We decided we would go any dates and cancel any other plans. It was then another 5-6 weeks before we heard back and were given our show date and asked for all our legal information, for booking airlines and hotels. We replied, then a phone call came going over everything and now we wait for our show date. We were told there is a final interview the day of taping and that if you don't show the same enthusiasm/ charm/ whatever you did to get picked in the first place, that you won't be on the show. I'm excited to go and will bring my A game!
The lady from Austin, when are you taping? We tried out in march, got the second interview, got the postcard two weeks later, got a call a few days later with a date and we told them we couldn't make it, then sent our availability via email (that was about 3 weeks ago) and we still haven't heard back! Do you think we'll get assigned a new taping date, or did we miss our chance?!
All taping for this season is in Atlanta. The show pays for your travel and lodging. Our family auditioned live 2 weeks and we got a postcard in the mail today, saying we had been selected as potential contestants and we will be getting a phone call soon!
My family did try outs May 8 and we received a post card on May 14,2013 saying we were potential, and we would be put in the active files. I am hoping we receive a phone call for the show soon.
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