Hallie Christensen nearly appeared on “Wheel of Fortune” unable to see the famous letter board. On the morning of the taping, Christensen, a sophomore at BYU, could not locate her glasses.
Eventually, she got into the studio’s shuttle empty-handed. Right before the taping began, her mom and aunt found her glasses and ran them to her.
Last summer Christensen followed the “Wheelmobile” to Boise where contestant searches were being held. Waiting in the July heat, the Christensen family patiently endured the selection process.
Ani Amirkhanian, “Wheel of Fortune’s” public relations specialist, said the show searches for energetic, enthusiastic participants from across the country. The application process is a combination of skill and luck.
Each applicant provided their name, e-mail and an interesting fact on pieces of paper. A few names were randomly drawn and those selected were asked to go on stage and play a short game.
“At the end of the three hours, all I had to show for it was a very pink sunburn,” Christensen said.
A few days later, she received an e-mail informing her that although she was not selected at the audition, she was still invited to a call-back.
Surrounded by approximately 100 contending participants, Christensen completed as many puzzles as possible in a short amount of time.
Next, she was required to play a mock round and spin an imaginary wheel. Participants were judged on their confidence, stage presence and skill. After the
final call-back, Christensen said she waited three weeks until she finally learned she was accepted for spring break college week.
After being accepted, Christensen was told she would be contacted within the next 18 months to appear on the show, so she continued to wait.
“Finally, in February, I received a phone call from ‘Wheel of Fortune,’ asking me to arrive in Los Angeles less than two weeks later,” Christensen said. “I quickly found a flight for my mom, my aunt and I.”
Christensen joined 20 other college students from across the nation. To determine what order the students would play, they each drew balls with numbers on them.
“While we were reading through contracts, Vanna White walked in the room to say hi,” Christensen said. “She was very sweet, very gracious, but kind of shy. That surprised me a little.”
During the taping, Christensen felt excitement and nervousness.
“It was difficult to keep track of what we were supposed to be doing,” Christensen said. “We had a certain camera to look at while going to commercial break, a different camera when we came back from commercial break, a TV screen with all our winnings, a used letter board, the wheel and the puzzle screen. All while we were trying to remain calm, not let stage fright get the better of us and solve puzzles.”
“Wheel of Fortune” is in its 26th season and is the No.1 syndicated game show, according to their Web site. With more than 46 million viewers a week, the show attracts a larger audience than most prime time shows. Next season’s taping will begin in July and air in September.
Christensen’s episode will air May 25 at 7 p.m. on KJZZ.
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Copyright Brigham Young University 21 May 2009
