I have a Jeopardy! audition next month...

[medicated]

Has anyone been to one recently? What should I expect? Any hints?

As it happens, I proposed to my girlfriend (now fiancée, heh) on Saturday. The email saying that I had an audition came about an hour after that. It's been a hell of a Victoria Day weekend

[Robot Arm]

Congratulations. A word of advice. When you play the mock game, and they do the little interview portion, the last question is "what would you do with the money if you won it?" If you want to be on the show, don't say "hookers and blow."

Trust me.

[Voyager]

And being newly engaged gives you an excellent answer to that question.
I did mine after the test on the set back 15 years ago.
Some hints
Don't stutter. A guy in my set who did passed the test several times and never got on.
Be high energy but not too high energy. Tape yourself and see if you come across as hesitant and kind of boring. If you seem that way (and you need to push it a bit to counteract the deadening effects of the camera) push it up a notch. But don't jump up or down or anything or else they'll send you to the Wheel of Fortune audition next door.
They had us play a sample game. Remember to put the answer in the form of a question if they do.
If you get on, practice button pushing. That was my weak point.
Hope you have fun.

[Damuri Ajashi]

Originally Posted by Voyager

If you get on, practice button pushing. That was my weak point.
Hope you have fun.

That's everyone's weak point.

[medicated]

What makes the button so tricky? Nerves?

[Mahaloth]

Quite a few Dopers have been on Jeopardy. You may want to direct your questions via PM to those folks.

Here is the thread where they are listed.

[MilTan]

Originally Posted by medicated

What makes the button so tricky? Nerves?

Timing. You can't buzz in before Alex is done reading the "answer" and the off-screen producer activates the buzzers. Because you often know the "question" well before that point, the game is often just a race to see who can time their button press best.

[notfrommensa]

Re Button Pushing:

IIRC, One contestant said the reaction time from Brain to Thumb is longer than the Brain to the index finger.

If true, I would practice with your index finger and not your thumb.

Good luck

And dittoing RobotArm's advice about Hookers.



(I don't have a cite)

[BuzzSaw101]

I auditioned on May 8 in Boston, but my experience was a little different.

I was in the 11:30 a.m. audition with about 20 or so people. After we filled out an application, they moved us into a conference room. We take our seats and the talent coordinators start to give us some details about the game and show.

About 5 minutes into it, the power at the hotel went out. The power was out in the entire neighborhood. So they moved us to the hallway where there was emergency lights. They gave us a sheet of paper with 50 lines on it. One of the talent coordinators read out the 50 questions. Since we couldn't play the mock game without power, they asked if we could reschedule or come back to a later audition at 3 p.m. Since my flight left at 7:30 (I flew in from South Carolina) I came back at 3.

There was about 10 of us who came back. They took the 3:00 p.m. group into the conference room so they could give them the test. The rest of us from the earlier session hung out in the hallway with one of the talent coordinators, which was very interesting. We the other group was finished with the tests, we were led into the room to play the mock game.

They brought as up first, three at a time, so we could leave after we were done. They don't keep score during the mock game and all three got anequal chance to answer a few questions. They then ask about one of the stories we wrote down and asked what we will do with the money we won. That was about it.

They told us about 400 people get on the show for the year and they will start calling people in June. They also said you don't have to wait by the phone, they will keep calling. And this is the best time of the year to get an audition since the new season hasn't started yet and all the spots are open.

(I hope this makes sense. I just finished an 11-hour shift and my brain is fried)

[UnclePacMan]

Hi there! First time lurker, first time poster. Medicated, are you referring to the Adult auditions or the College auditions (hey, college students can get engaged too, right?) Anyway, the reason I ask this is because I took the College Online Test (I passed) in April and am still waiting for an e-mail from the show. I'm hoping it didn't get lost somewhere in my spam. Does anyone else know if they started sending out e-mails for College auditions?

[medicated]

Originally Posted by UnclePacMan

Hi there! First time lurker, first time poster. Medicated, are you referring to the Adult auditions or the College auditions (hey, college students can get engaged too, right?) Anyway, the reason I ask this is because I took the College Online Test (I passed) in April and am still waiting for an e-mail from the show. I'm hoping it didn't get lost somewhere in my spam. Does anyone else know if they started sending out e-mails for College auditions?

It was for the adult auditions. Good luck

[Sigmagirl]

Originally Posted by Robot Arm

Congratulations. A word of advice. When you play the mock game, and they do the little interview portion, the last question is "what would you do with the money if you won it?" If you want to be on the show, don't say "hookers and blow."

Trust me.

Yes, and don't just say "travel." If you really do plan to spend the money on travel, come up with a hook, like "I want to research my family history in Liechtenstein" or -- well, you already have a great story, like "I got engaged the same day I was invited to audition, so I want to take a European/Tahitian/whatever honeymoon." You can always change your mind later; the goal is to get them to remember you.

Also: whatever happens, keep the game moving. If you fuck up a question, GO ON. Don't smack yourself in the head; don't question the ruling, just choose another question and go. Holding up the game is a cardinal sin, perhaps second only to "Trying to Be Funnier than Trebek."

[medicated]

Oh, I have a ready answer to what I'd like to do with the money. I proposed to my now fiancée a few hours before the audition email came in. Lots of expenses coming up, heh.

[It's Not Rocket Surgery!]

Originally Posted by Sigmagirl

Yes, and don't just say "travel." If you really do plan to spend the money on travel, come up with a hook, like "I want to research my family history in Liechtenstein" or -- well, you already have a great story, like "I got engaged the same day I was invited to audition, so I want to take a European/Tahitian/whatever honeymoon." You can always change your mind later; the goal is to get them to remember you.

At my audition, EVERY OTHER PERSON said they would spend the money on some form of travel. So I didn't. I said I would buy a horse instead.

Of course, they haven't called yet (I auditioned in July and am in the pool until the end of the year), so maybe I should have gone with travel.

[Zsofia]

Just relax and have a good time! You'll meet plenty of nice people and you'll have a blast. Don't worry about anything else. Hell, I aced the written test but didn't do great on the mock game and I think I was kind of stammery and boring on the interview, but I got on the show on the second try.