A 20 Year Dream becomes reality! (Part One)
Nov 30, 2016 23:23:42 GMT -5
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Prizes, MarioGS, and 7 more like this
Post by Hirsk26 on Nov 30, 2016 23:23:42 GMT -5
I remember my mom telling me that I was watching Wheel of Fortune as soon as I came out of the womb. (Maybe a little TMI, but who cares?) I was hooked on the show for the longest time. I would watch the show twice a day on WLNY and WABC. Wheel was my getaway from the daily grind, and being on the spectrum didn't help either. Fast forward to around mid 2004. It was announced that Wheel would be taping a week of shows in Philadelphia that summer. So like the little 7 year old in me (considering I was 7...) I begged my parents to get me tickets. They just said "We'll see...". Sure enough, my father comes in contact with the now late director Mark Corwin and we get the VIP treatment.
Fast forward to Philly. Me and my family arrive at the formerly known Wachovia Center. We get our tickets, which had a gold star and VIP on the front, and we head to our seats. Unbeknownst to me, we had front row seats for the show. We saw 3 tapings that day and in between the second show, they called up people for pictures at the wheel. I remember being so excited that I ran up to the contestant area and tried my hardest to spin the wheel. First of all I was really short and the wheel was very heavy. My family ends up catching up with me and out of nowhere Pat Sajak walks up and gives me a lift to try and spin the damn thing. Then Vanna shows up and says hi, and we take pictures...lots of pictures. I end up at the puzzleboard and took pictures there. Then we sat for the last taping which was a very exciting one. I remind you that the theme was Teen Best Friend's week. The contestants who made it to the bonus round were Taylor and Vlada. They had a puzzle "Flip Flops" and you know what happens after. After the confetti rained down and tape stopped, some of the star confetti landed by my section so I start picking up as much as I could without getting in trouble. A few minutes later a crew member hands me some streamers and that just made my day. Once the audience cleared out, we were taken to the Wheelmobile and met up with Mark Corwin. I remember going inside the remote truck and seeing the control room. Lots of monitors, and lots of buttons. It was indeed a cool sight. About two days after the episode that Taylor and Vlada won aired, I received a letter from Mark Corwin. I was given a bonus round envelope from the show that was signed by Pat and Vanna that spelled out "CRUISE" and I remember going nuts. After that Mark and I became really good friends. We would always email each other about how to keep the show fresh. And then the bombshell...I was told by Mark that since I knew him, I couldn't be a contestant ever. So I was sad that I couldn't be on the show, but I was happy just to watch the show.
About a few years later, Wheel was doing shows at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. I contacted Mark to see if we could get tickets. Sure enough we got VIP gold star tickets again. So we get to the venue and we get to our seats (front row again) and we see 2 tapings. They called us up for pictures at the wheel again. It was easier to spin since I was taller and stronger (stronger may be an overstatement.) On the last picture me, my sister and her friend grabbed a spoke and spun at the same time. We get down to our seats and we see guys with drills and screwdrivers and I'm wondering what happened. A page comes down and tells us that we broke the pointer off the wheel. I'm embarrassed...
A few years go by and I stopped obsessively watching. I watched from time to time but I stopped being a crazy fan. The day came in 2013 when I found out that Mark had died and I was devastated. That man made me a fan for life and now he's gone. But at the same time, I could finally audition for the show since I didn't know anyone else who worked for the show.
In May of 2016, my friend Leaf was doing an audition for the show in Brooklyn, and me being the idiot that I am without doing research, I said I'd do it too. He then tells me it's a private audition...duh...So later that night, I'm on my phone and MarioGS or Rob makes a Facebook post saying that they're doing private auditions in Brooklyn, if you want to be a part of it, apply on the site now. So that's what I did. At 2 in the morning on my phone and in bed, I fill out my application. A few days later, I got an email from Wheel that I was invited to come for a private audition in Brooklyn.
So the audition day comes, I'm dressed in my Sunday best and I give it my all. A few weeks later I get the letter that I was going to be a contestant. I freaked out and made a Facebook LIVE post and streamed my reaction. Then during one of my classes, I get the tape date and it's history from there.
(Stay tuned for Part 2 of my story after my episode airs on 12/28)
Fast forward to Philly. Me and my family arrive at the formerly known Wachovia Center. We get our tickets, which had a gold star and VIP on the front, and we head to our seats. Unbeknownst to me, we had front row seats for the show. We saw 3 tapings that day and in between the second show, they called up people for pictures at the wheel. I remember being so excited that I ran up to the contestant area and tried my hardest to spin the wheel. First of all I was really short and the wheel was very heavy. My family ends up catching up with me and out of nowhere Pat Sajak walks up and gives me a lift to try and spin the damn thing. Then Vanna shows up and says hi, and we take pictures...lots of pictures. I end up at the puzzleboard and took pictures there. Then we sat for the last taping which was a very exciting one. I remind you that the theme was Teen Best Friend's week. The contestants who made it to the bonus round were Taylor and Vlada. They had a puzzle "Flip Flops" and you know what happens after. After the confetti rained down and tape stopped, some of the star confetti landed by my section so I start picking up as much as I could without getting in trouble. A few minutes later a crew member hands me some streamers and that just made my day. Once the audience cleared out, we were taken to the Wheelmobile and met up with Mark Corwin. I remember going inside the remote truck and seeing the control room. Lots of monitors, and lots of buttons. It was indeed a cool sight. About two days after the episode that Taylor and Vlada won aired, I received a letter from Mark Corwin. I was given a bonus round envelope from the show that was signed by Pat and Vanna that spelled out "CRUISE" and I remember going nuts. After that Mark and I became really good friends. We would always email each other about how to keep the show fresh. And then the bombshell...I was told by Mark that since I knew him, I couldn't be a contestant ever. So I was sad that I couldn't be on the show, but I was happy just to watch the show.
About a few years later, Wheel was doing shows at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. I contacted Mark to see if we could get tickets. Sure enough we got VIP gold star tickets again. So we get to the venue and we get to our seats (front row again) and we see 2 tapings. They called us up for pictures at the wheel again. It was easier to spin since I was taller and stronger (stronger may be an overstatement.) On the last picture me, my sister and her friend grabbed a spoke and spun at the same time. We get down to our seats and we see guys with drills and screwdrivers and I'm wondering what happened. A page comes down and tells us that we broke the pointer off the wheel. I'm embarrassed...
A few years go by and I stopped obsessively watching. I watched from time to time but I stopped being a crazy fan. The day came in 2013 when I found out that Mark had died and I was devastated. That man made me a fan for life and now he's gone. But at the same time, I could finally audition for the show since I didn't know anyone else who worked for the show.
In May of 2016, my friend Leaf was doing an audition for the show in Brooklyn, and me being the idiot that I am without doing research, I said I'd do it too. He then tells me it's a private audition...duh...So later that night, I'm on my phone and MarioGS or Rob makes a Facebook post saying that they're doing private auditions in Brooklyn, if you want to be a part of it, apply on the site now. So that's what I did. At 2 in the morning on my phone and in bed, I fill out my application. A few days later, I got an email from Wheel that I was invited to come for a private audition in Brooklyn.
So the audition day comes, I'm dressed in my Sunday best and I give it my all. A few weeks later I get the letter that I was going to be a contestant. I freaked out and made a Facebook LIVE post and streamed my reaction. Then during one of my classes, I get the tape date and it's history from there.
(Stay tuned for Part 2 of my story after my episode airs on 12/28)
