#wheelmobile

Here's the first part of three part review on the Wheel of Fortune audition process. First is the Wheelmobile event, which led me to be a contestant on the show this past February. I'll write a blog on the Wheelmobile Event, one on the final audition and one on actually taping the show.

When I attended the Wheelmobile event last October in Nashville, I had no idea I'd actually get on "Wheel of Fortune" as a contestant. My friend Kelli and I went to see what it was all about. On our lunch breaks we watch Wheel reruns on the GSN. So when I found out they were coming to Nashville looking for contestants I told her we had to go. We made a deal, if either one of us was chosen to be a contestant the other one would go with to the taping.

I'm not the most enthusiastic person. I'm shy, quiet and reserved until you really get to know me. When I told my Mom I was going to tryout for Wheel of Fortune she told me, "But you don't have the personality for it." I said "I know, I'm going to work on that." I found a  Wheelmobile event video on YouTube and watched it to know what to expect and I also did some googling online about it. I practiced in the mirror calling out letters, smiling, clapping, annunciating. I found the "Buy A Vowel" message board and read what they had to say as well. To be honest, I have to give them a lot of credit for being on the show, I followed their directions to a tee.

For the event I dressed up like if I was going to be on the show. I wore a black dress and my Mamaw Freeman's purple broach for good luck. She passed away years ago and loved Wheel of Fortune. 

The event was held on a Sunday afternoon from 12-3. We got there early and filled out a blue piece of paper with the regular details and interesting things about ourselves. I made sure to write I had seen John Mayer 120+ times in concert! They would have 3 shows for the day, the blue pieces of paper were for the 12 p.m. show and if your name didn't get called you could fill out another colored piece of paper to participate in the other shows for the day.

The Wheelmobile Event had a fake Pat and Vanna, a puzzle board, and a traveling wheel (someone else spins that). We watched a few games before it  happened, "Karri Freeman from Hermitage, TN" was announced, I looked at my friend, screamed and threw my purse at her and ran up to the designated area.

The audition process starts as soon as your name gets called. After my initial reaction I tried to remain calm and upbeat. I had practiced what I was going to say when Fake Pat asked about me. He liked the John Mayer shows and kept making reference throughout the process so I assumed it was a good sign. There were 6 of us on stage, a Wheelmobile Even person would spin, we'd call out a letter, have 3 seconds to solve before it was the next person's turn. I called out smart letters/vowels that were in the puzzle, spoke loud and clear, smiled and clapped. I didn't solve the puzzle, but thought it went well. You could solve a puzzle and not get chosen for the next audition process. Your name may not have been called and you could still get picked just from filling out the form.