#1
Posted: 10/8/05 at 11:43am
My wife and I are in NYC for the week and last night (Friday, 10/7) we went to see Spelling Bee and I was chosen as a speller! I figured I’d put my name in as a lark knowing that they prefer people from big groups. Go figure, they picked me! LOL Possible spoilers here so read at your own risk!
Let’s see, here’s what I remember. I noticed the first interviewer as we headed down the stairs to the theatre and he was just standing and waiting, people just passing him by and him not saying anything to them. When we went by he immediately asked me if I was interested in spelling. I told the interviewer flat out I can’t spell! And I can’t. I suck at spelling. The only reason anything in this post is spelled right is my spellchecker and that doesn’t always get all my mistakes. My second grade teacher flat out told me so. Maybe they liked that! He asked where we were from, can I spell, what I do for a living, etc. Then he sent me to a second interviewer who asked more questions. He asked me what made us come to see Spelling Bee. I told the truth, the Tony performance was the best of the 4 that night and the only one that made us say “We have to see that!” I guess I was what they were looking for. I went onstage with 2 women, one maybe 40 and one maybe 25 plus a cute little 8 year old girl. So if you’re looking for a demographic, I’m a 40 year old male going grey with a goatee.
The four of us were given directions about how to enter and exit the stage and what was going to go on. Most important, no matter what the word, you always ask for a definition and a sentence. We were given a pin that says “Spelling Bee Finalist”. They told us we could sell it on e-bay or something! LOL. We then headed back to our seats and waited to be called on stage with our entry forms. Oh yeah, and I went to the bathroom and made sure to zip my fly and not pee on myself!
Our names are called and we headed onstage toward the desk. We get a few instructions and hand over our entry form. I was given number 4 and was escorted to the top row of the bleachers sitting between Chip Tolentino (Jose Llana) and Leaf Coneybear (Jesse Tyler Ferguson). Such a strange experience being on this side looking out at the audience, all you can really think about is “Don’t screw up! Don’t trip! Definition THEN sentence.”
I think I was the third of the audience members to head to the mic. The first one eliminated was the 40 year old woman. When I was called, the joke that Rona Lisa Peretti (Lisa Howard) used for my walk to the mic cracked me up. I had on a black Tommy Bahama type shirt on with Docker pants. She said something to the effect of “He is in morning for the passing of summer by wearing his black Hawaiian shirt.” I had to get hold of myself I was laughing so hard. My word was ‘Mexicans” and thank God I spelled it right! The little girl went up to the mic next and got “cow”. Definition? “It’s a cow.” Sentence? “Spell cow.” Of course this sets the real cast members off in a frenzy!
My second trip up was my last. My comment from Rona Lisa Peretti was just as good. My last name is “Schneider” so she said “Mr. Schneider is wearing his goatee as homage to Schneider, the janitor on ‘One Day at a Time’.” My word was “kumkum” which means the red mark on the forehead fashionable for woman from India. I spelled it “koomkoom”. Oh well. As a consolation prize, I received my juice box from Mitch Mahoney (Derrick Baskin) and 2 big hugs! They sang the Goodbye song to me as I walked off stage to take my seat with the rest of the audience.
The little girl was the final audience member to remain on stage. The word she was given was actually very hard but she spelled it correctly. I don’t think they expected that. I’m pretty sure they wanted her out on that word. As she sat down, she was immediately called back up to spell an even more challenging word. The word began with an X but she started with a Z. She was dinged out immediately.
The cast members tell you what to do all the while. They let you know when to stay seated, when the bleachers are going to move, when to come with them for a silly side step dance and then to hold hands with the other audience participants and jump up and down. When the bleachers would move they would hold their hand on our backs so we don’t tip over!
I had a great time! Can I join Equity now? LOL
Let’s see, here’s what I remember. I noticed the first interviewer as we headed down the stairs to the theatre and he was just standing and waiting, people just passing him by and him not saying anything to them. When we went by he immediately asked me if I was interested in spelling. I told the interviewer flat out I can’t spell! And I can’t. I suck at spelling. The only reason anything in this post is spelled right is my spellchecker and that doesn’t always get all my mistakes. My second grade teacher flat out told me so. Maybe they liked that! He asked where we were from, can I spell, what I do for a living, etc. Then he sent me to a second interviewer who asked more questions. He asked me what made us come to see Spelling Bee. I told the truth, the Tony performance was the best of the 4 that night and the only one that made us say “We have to see that!” I guess I was what they were looking for. I went onstage with 2 women, one maybe 40 and one maybe 25 plus a cute little 8 year old girl. So if you’re looking for a demographic, I’m a 40 year old male going grey with a goatee.
The four of us were given directions about how to enter and exit the stage and what was going to go on. Most important, no matter what the word, you always ask for a definition and a sentence. We were given a pin that says “Spelling Bee Finalist”. They told us we could sell it on e-bay or something! LOL. We then headed back to our seats and waited to be called on stage with our entry forms. Oh yeah, and I went to the bathroom and made sure to zip my fly and not pee on myself!
Our names are called and we headed onstage toward the desk. We get a few instructions and hand over our entry form. I was given number 4 and was escorted to the top row of the bleachers sitting between Chip Tolentino (Jose Llana) and Leaf Coneybear (Jesse Tyler Ferguson). Such a strange experience being on this side looking out at the audience, all you can really think about is “Don’t screw up! Don’t trip! Definition THEN sentence.”
I think I was the third of the audience members to head to the mic. The first one eliminated was the 40 year old woman. When I was called, the joke that Rona Lisa Peretti (Lisa Howard) used for my walk to the mic cracked me up. I had on a black Tommy Bahama type shirt on with Docker pants. She said something to the effect of “He is in morning for the passing of summer by wearing his black Hawaiian shirt.” I had to get hold of myself I was laughing so hard. My word was ‘Mexicans” and thank God I spelled it right! The little girl went up to the mic next and got “cow”. Definition? “It’s a cow.” Sentence? “Spell cow.” Of course this sets the real cast members off in a frenzy!
My second trip up was my last. My comment from Rona Lisa Peretti was just as good. My last name is “Schneider” so she said “Mr. Schneider is wearing his goatee as homage to Schneider, the janitor on ‘One Day at a Time’.” My word was “kumkum” which means the red mark on the forehead fashionable for woman from India. I spelled it “koomkoom”. Oh well. As a consolation prize, I received my juice box from Mitch Mahoney (Derrick Baskin) and 2 big hugs! They sang the Goodbye song to me as I walked off stage to take my seat with the rest of the audience.
The little girl was the final audience member to remain on stage. The word she was given was actually very hard but she spelled it correctly. I don’t think they expected that. I’m pretty sure they wanted her out on that word. As she sat down, she was immediately called back up to spell an even more challenging word. The word began with an X but she started with a Z. She was dinged out immediately.
The cast members tell you what to do all the while. They let you know when to stay seated, when the bleachers are going to move, when to come with them for a silly side step dance and then to hold hands with the other audience participants and jump up and down. When the bleachers would move they would hold their hand on our backs so we don’t tip over!
I had a great time! Can I join Equity now? LOL
Cake or death?
!
