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Finally, in a quiet corner on the third floor, I find a sign on a door that says, “Jeopardy! tryouts. Doors open promptly at 10:00 a.m.” Milling around are other people like me–well scrubbed and reasonably well dressed and a little embarrassed to be here. I hunker down on the floor to wait.
I ask her what the author’s most important advice for tryouts was.
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“Sit down front where they can see you,” she says, “and do what they tell you to do.” She says the written test is really hard–all $800 and $1,000 questions. She’s taken it a couple of times but hasn’t passed.
“OK,” he says good-naturedly. “This is television, folks. When we say good morning, we need you to show some enthusiasm. Now, let’s try it again. Good morning!”
It’s a relief when it’s over. We pass our papers to the center, and the people from the show go out to grade them. While we’re waiting we fill out our pink information sheets with little tidbits that Alex could use to interview us between rounds. For most of us it’s just busywork, because most of us are going home after this.
“Six months!” we respond, enthusiastically.
