W2WFall2021 - 16

FEATURE
What Is Kirsten Haas Appeared
on JEOPARDY!©
Photos of Savannah Guthrie and Kirsten Haas on set courtesy of Jeopardy Productions, Inc.
JEOPARDY!©
is a registered trademark of Jeopardy Productions, Inc.
My 50th birthday was June 23, 2021 but
June 24 was The Day. The Day I appeared
on (cue music): JEOPARDY©
!
A fan of JEOPARDY! since college (circa early-1990s), my quest
to get on the show started in 2010 when my husband encouraged
me to register for the online test. Here's the thing: you take the
online test but you don't get results back.
You get an email saying, " YOU DID IT! " and then, you wait.
I waited. Nothing happened. You can only take the online test
once a test cycle so I continued to register each time I was eligible.
August 2014, I got THE invitation:
Congratulations! You have been selected for a follow-up
appointment at an upcoming Jeopardy! contestant search for the
Philadelphia area, exclusively for those who successfully passed the
online test. This is the next step in becoming a Jeopardy! contestant.
I drove to Philadelphia for a morning of JEOPARDY! testing,
meeting the production staff and on-camera practice rounds. I
was officially in the contestant pool for 18 months. Thank you for
your time, we'll call you.
Four years of online test taking passed before I was invited to the
auditions in Washington, D.C., March 2018. I was in a group
with a woman who had been trying to get on the show since they
first offered the contestant test: What is 1984? Thank you for
your time, we'll call you.
January 2020: Online test taken. November 7, 2020, I get the
invitation to join a ZOOM audition
JEOPARDY! host since 1984, he passed away on November 8,
2020 after a 20-month battle with pancreatic cancer. Who is Alex
Trebek?
Auditions were rescheduled for later in November and then
three weeks later, I participated in ZOOM auditions including a
practice round with other candidates and a short interview with
contestant producer Corina Nasu. Thank you for your time, we'll
call you.
To quote Tom Petty, " The waiting is the hardest part, " but three
times a charm. On February 26, 2021, contestant producer John
Barra texts to ask if I had time later that day for a phone call to
discuss my show application. A few hours later, I had a date in
Culver City for March 24 to be a contestant on...JEOPARDY!!!!
The three weeks leading up to my taping passed quickly. On
March 24, I reported to Sony Picture Studios at 7 AM that
morning with a few changes of clothing (they tape the entire week
of shows in one day). I received a PPE kit containing a face mask,
hand sanitizer and a powder pouf (for de-shining). Camped out in
the Wheel of Fortune studio (I did not see The Wheel), I chatted
with my fellow contestants, not knowing which ones would
become my competition.
I took a written test (to warm up my brain) and played a practice
round on the set (it is a lot smaller in person than it appears on
screen). The guest host was announced: Savannah Guthrie!
16 Women2Women | Fall 2021
W2WFall2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of W2WFall2021
