Michelle got in touch with me after my APB on the blog the day of her second appearance! Thus, I was able to do a Q&A with her! Thanks again, Michelle, and I’m always happy to hear from contestants!
Andy: So, did you convince your sister to watch the contestant interviews on your second show?
Michelle: My sister-in-law is the one who watches the show–I was really just teasing her because I wanted an excuse to give her a shout out. She’s a religious watcher. I’m sure she had no real problem watching me the second night! She was tickled about me mentioning her.
Andy: Tell us about your journey to the show. How many times did you try out? Also, Josh Frumkin mentioned in one of the comments that you were the alternate contestant one week. How much did you think that helped (if at all) being the alternate?
Michelle: My journey to the show was pretty fast–I took the online test for the second time in January, and I got an email in May inviting me to Culver City for an audition. I drove up for the day and took the written test, did the mock game and interview. I thought I did OK on the test, and it was a thrill just to be there. I never thought I would get any further than that and I was just fine with it! It was great to be in the room with such interesting, worldly people.
In early August, I got a phone call from Corina, one of the contestant coordinators, inviting me to come to Sony Studios in late August to maybe tape the show. Each week they have alternates scheduled just in case someone doesn’t show up, has an emergency, etc. I am considered “local” to LA even though I live in San Diego because it is only a 2 hour drive and I wouldn’t have to fly into town. She explained that I would be one of two “locals” who would be in the drawing for the final (5th) game played on Wednesday afternoon. If I didn’t happen to be drawn for the show I would be invited back for a concrete spot later on. I gladly agreed!
That first visit definitely helped me–I got to have the experience of coming to the studio, getting makeup, talking with the contestant coordinators about all sorts of details…and to go on the set and play with the buzzer. The second visit up was much less stressful because it was familiar to me. I wasn’t as caught up in the thrill of seeing the set and playing with the real buzzer behind the real podium.
Obviously, I wasn’t the one who was drawn for that final game (it was Rebecca Neese, who played against the formidable Josh Frumkin and Noah Rachels). I was definitely disappointed, but I knew I would be coming back up and just had to be patient. Indeed, I got another call inviting me up to play on October 23.
Andy: Any advice you might like to give to future contestants?
Michelle: Advice for future contestants – – go for it! Don’t think too hard–don’t second guess yourself. It moves so fast you hardly have time to think anyway. I was really focused on the game during the first one, just sort of locked into the rhythm of it. I honestly couldn’t remember most of what happened until I saw it aired.
Andy: Talk us through your thought process on the final Daily Double you hit (the pronoun one).
Michelle: Thought process on the pronoun — I had never heard the quote so I just took a stab at something that sounded plausible. By that point in the game I knew I had tanked so I just sort of put it all out there. Didn’t have much to lose. Joshua was a machine on that second board and they really weren’t my categories!
Andy: Do you have any regrets about your time on the show?
Michelle: I don’t have any regrets, just great memories of a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Sure, I wish I had not lost my mojo on that second game or that I had run a category with a little more gravitas than “songs for my cat”….but I wouldn’t change a moment.
Andy: Did you stick around in the audience after you lost? Did you have anyone in the audience with you?
Michelle: After I lost, my husband and I left the studio, picked up our baby girl, who was 8 months old at the time (almost a year old now) and headed back to San Diego. It was great, actually, we had plenty of time to take a leisurely drive down the coast and enjoy a beautiful sunset to cap off an awesome day!
Andy: Thanks once again, Michelle, for answering these questions!
Michelle: Thanks for the thoughtful questions!
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Check back in tomorrow, where I’ll be posting my pre-Tournament of Champions interview with 9-time champion Jason Keller! And thanks again to Michelle for answering these questions!