When my turn came, walking back
out was similar to that morning, but
this time everything was more real,
helped by announcer Johnny Gilbert
saying my name!
My game went by in a blur. Notable
things I do remember – getting a Daily
Double and talking with Alex Trebek
about the Don Quixote course I’d taken.
I finished in second place, but
wouldn’t know if it was enough to move
on to the next round until the next game
taped. I sat in the audience for the final
game. I didn’t advance, but I had a great
time. I continue to watch Jeopardy! and
love being part of the show’s big nerdy
family of former contestants.
Allison Holley is the Teen Librarian
at Shaker Library. SL
WWW.SHAKER .LIFE | WINTER 2020 71
Scene
in Shaker
The Blur of Jeopardy!
By Allison Holley
I’ve been a fan of Jeopardy! for a long time. I correctly answered my first Final
Jeopardy when I was nine and began to watch the show regularly in middle school.
As I picked up on the patterns of clues and common categories, I gradually got more
and more answers right with each episode. My parents often told me that it was only
a matter of time before I ended up on the show. I would usually laugh it off and roll
my eyes. Yeah, maybe. Someday.
I decided to take the online test my senior year at Lawrence University, my last
chance for the College Championship. The test went well, and it was a pleasant shock
when I got an email two weeks later inviting me to an in-person audition in Chicago.
The audition was on a Saturday in early November. Everyone took another
50-question quiz and we played some mock Jeopardy! Though I felt confident, I
knew that there had been auditions of roughly the same size in three other cities and
my odds of making it through were slim, especially since I attended a small college
that didn’t have much name recognition. I decided to think of it as a good experience
and as practice for any future tries to get on the show.
What I didn’t expect was a phone call in early December from Culver City,
California. I had been selected for the tournament and filming would take place over
two days in early January! I had about a month to get through episodes stockpiled
on my parents’ DVR before I’d be flown out for the tournament.
The first day of taping, everyone met early in the hotel lobby before getting on a
bus to the studio. Being on the set was surreal, since it was a place I’d seen countless
times in my living room. After promotional pictures and some practice rounds so
we could get comfortable using the buzzer, we were ushered back to the green room
where we learned who was selected for Monday’s game.
A week’s worth of games are shot in a single day, with a lunch break between
“Wednesday” and “Thursday.” Because the tournament has wild card positions for
high scoring non-winners, everyone not playing was sequestered to the green room
to wait until the game ended. This meant a lot of waiting (we had board games and
movies and lunch brought to us) – plenty of time for nerves to build up.
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