Are You Auditioning for Deal or No Deal?
Thursday June 25, 2009
Auditions are underway for the second season of the syndicated Deal or No Deal. Just as a refresher, the show has moved production to Connecticut, and applications are currently open.In a previous post about Deal moving to CT, there's been a discussion cropping up about the current audition process. Lots of people are getting their chances to wow the producers, so if you've been invited to audition, check it out. One reader in particular, Debbie, has already had her audition and has been very helpful in describing the process.
If you haven't yet applied, make sure to check out this post on the Deal or No Deal casting situation. The link to Craigslist is still active to pre-register for VIP audition status, or you can call 877-279-3663 for more details. Casting calls are being held in a few different cities. Here are the dates and locations:
- New York, June 27th, 10am-2pm
Warnock Dodge, 175 Route 10, East Hanover, NJ - Buffalo, July 18th, time and location TBD
- Pittsburgh, July 25th, time and location TBD
- Providence, August 2nd, time and location TBD
- Connecticut, August 20th, time and location TBD
Don't forget, we've got some Deal or No Deal casting advice for you, directly from Neal Konstantini, Deal's casting producer.
Good luck to all of you who have applied, and who are applying soon. We'd love to see lots of readers get the chance to open a case (and even win the million dollar prize!).
Update: The first few weeks of the taping schedule can be found at Hollywood Tickets, where you can also request free tickets to attend filming.
Photo courtesy NBC
Comments
I should be going to the New York/New Jersey audition this Saturday with my Dad. If you’d like I’ll tell you all about it after.
You bet we’d like to hear about it, Jason! Good luck!
Thanks Carrie
Well, I went on Saturday but things didn’t go as planned. We planned on being early but a number of factors made us late. So by the time we got it would have been about a 6 hour wait to get in and I wasn’t as prepared as I thought I was to wait that long. So we left. Sorry I couldn’t tell a more intresting story. Next time I will go alone to the casting call my Dad was the main reason why I decided to leave because he was impatient.
I went to the audition last Saturday in NJ and it ROCKED!! Arrived at 9:30 and waited in line for 5 hours. As long as you arrived before 2:00, they guarantee they will see you. We went in the car dealership in groups of 10. There were about 7 tables set up and in groups of 10 we ran to our table. We place our applications in front of us and one by one,we had 30 seconds to just start talking. That’s it! The casting person will ask a few of you to stick around so they can “ask a few more questions”. Then Neal the Casting Producer bounces over and asked the remaining 6 of us a few questions. 5 of us were asked to stay AGAIN!!! Then we went to a second table (round 3!!) and in groups of 10 again, you have 30 seconds to tell another casting person your story. I was asked along with one other person to stay AGAIN!!! We both made it 4 rounds-it was AWESOME! Of course, they close by saying “Okay-if we want you, we’ll call you.” It was worth standing in the line all those hours and getting rained on. WPLJ was there playing music and the dealership staff was great. They gave out water and peanuts and it was a wonderful experience. Now, you just sit back and wait!
After the audition, does anyone know what those letters/codes they write on the top of your paper mean??
I auditioned yesterday at Foxwood’s Casino in CT. I was probably one of the last 300 people to audition out of over 10,000. I got there at 2:45 and waited in line until 9:45pm. The producer came out a couple of times and spoke to the group of us to reassure us that everyone who was in line before 5pm was guaranteed an interview from a casting crew member, which motivated us to stay. If you came with someone or made friends with people in line (which my mother and I did because hey, what else are you going to do for 7 hours?) you could get out of line to go to the bathroom or eat. They had us first wait in a large ballroom, then in various hallways, and then in another ballroom. The line was unbelievable–like what you see on TV for American Idol. If you had someone saving your spot in line, you could sit down on the side where they had some folding chairs, or even on the floor, as many people did. The crowd was very enthusiastic whenever the producer came out to speak and it got a little crazy when people tried to compete for a spot as the producer’s most enthusiastic auditioner (a guarenteed interview with the producer). When we finally auditioned, they broke us up into groups of 10, based upon where you were standing in line. You were told prior to auditioning to be very happy, enthusiastic, and interesting…but to be yourself…and definately no sad stories! They had about 7 tables set up in a side room and your group of 10 was directed to stand infront of one where a casting crew member was sitting. We were told to place our applications infront of the crew member and to take turns talking about ourselves for 20 seconds. The crew member would then ask you a couple questions based upon what you said and move on to the next person. It was very intimate because the 10 people you were auditioning with were most likely the 10 people you were talking to in line, and everyone had to huddle around the table to hear one another, so it didn’t feel like you were put on the spot as much as we feared. While everyone was speaking, the crew member started jotting down letter/number codes on our applications. Then he asked only those, if any, that he liked to stay back so that he could ask more questions. In my group of 10, only 4 were asked to stay. Unfortunately, my Mom wasn’t one of them, but I was! My Mom watched on in the sidewings and said that some groups behind us didn’t have anyone stay for the next round, where others had a large amount asked to move on. The crew member then asked another couple of questions to the four of us and from there, he decided who moved onto the next round. Luckily, all 4 of us were asked to move on! We then waited for about 10 minutes in a very short line behind a curtain to speak to another 3 casting crew members, who grouped us again by 10. We did a similar audition, and then more codes were written down on our paper. They then told us to take 5 steps back, turn around, and wait a little bit while they decided on who moved to what I would guess is the interview with the producer. Only 3 our of the 10 of us were asked to stay, and I wasn’t one of them. They told us that hope was not lost though because they had our application and could call us up to 3 years from now, which is how long they waited before they called a contestant who made the show and won over $160,000! They also told us that they are looking for different types of people to fit different theme weeks, like mothers, college students, and people who won any kind of contest in the past, and that maybe those who were turned away yesterday just didn’t fit the theme they were auditioning for this year. I ran into 2 of the 3 people that were asked to stay to the next round and 1 of them told me they were asked another couple of questions and then not asked to stay again and another was given a business card and told to come back the next day for further interviewing. 2 of the 3 people who were asked to stay longer than me were very enthusiastic, had a lot of funny things to say (not that he rest of us didn’t, but what they said was maybe more memorable), and summarized themselves in a matter of 10 seconds. All in all, my experience was exhausting, exciting, interesting, and DEFINATELY a memorable one! The best part was actually making friends with some of the animated people in line. We’re rooting for one another, and I made one of them promise to give me 25% of his earnings if he makes the show, since we held his spot in line several times. He didn’t neccessarily agree, but I know where to find him!
It sounds like the auditions were a great success! Thanks everyone for all the details on the experience. I really hope you all make it on the show, and if you do, please post so I can root for you!
If you have time, there’s a page where those who have auditioned can leave their best tips/advice for others who might be auditioning for the show in the future:
Deal or No Deal Casting Call Tips
Please consider adding your best advice there, and thank you!
I auditioned at Foxwoods yesterday too!! it was exhausting BUT such a fantastic experience!! I actually was one of the people who camped out overnight and was like #20 in line but looking back I really don’t think anyone needs to do that. I found out after, like Kelley said, they will see everyone as long as they were there before 5:00 pm. We drove 4 1/2 hours to be there so we wanted to get done early because we had a long drive home ahead of us. Not that it was that far and it was a fun ride but we just knew we didn’t want to be driving late at night especially with no sleep. We waited in line for 12 hours!! And it was exactly like Kelley had explained. I went with my boyfriend and we met the greatest people. We all really bonded and when you finally do go in front of casting member you all feel so comfortable because you know eachother by then and are all rooting for one another. I think you still feel nervous but not as much if we were all strangers. Everyone sounded so good and so funny but no one was held back. I honestly thought it was because they weren’t doing that this time. That there were alot of people so they were just going to do call back after looking over apps etc but after reading Kelley’s comment I know defferent now. I was hoping so much that one of us would get held back. We were the 1st group to be sent in. Anyway, it was an awesome time. I loved the poeple we met and made friends with (we even got eachother’s numbers) and I thought Neil, the producer, was very Chrasmatic and handled this HUGE crowd very well. I hope to still get considered. What do you think the chances are if you didn’t get held back of still maybe being considered? And I would LOVE to know too what the codes meant that the casting guy wrote down on the top of our applications. If anyone can tell me I”d really appreciate it!! Mine said something like D 124 something like that! Do you remember what yours said Kelley or Courtney?
Well congratulations Kelley for going so far and best of luck to you and everyone who tried out. Even though I didn’t sleep for 2 days it was one of the best experiences.
Courtney or Kelley…do you know what your code was? I want to see if it was like mine. I am trying to figure out what it was. If remember it can you let me know? Thanks!!
You know, I have a question.
The reason for the move to Connecticut was a tax break. I just don’t quite get what taxes are incurred in TV production. The ad costs should be taxed by the home state of the company and you can’t exactly collect sales tax on tickets since they tend to be free for TV shows, so will somebody explain this?
I went to CT too on the 20th. Got on line at 645am. I think we were about 200 people in. I wish I had a better experience than I did. I practiced for hours what I was going to say of why I should be on the show only to find out 10 mins before going in they wanted to know about you. Neil comes on and said that there are 800 people in this room and 5000 more outside so your odds on getting on the show were slim to none. After waiting 7 hrs I really didnt want to hear that. He said to be very energetic and smiling. At our table I talked so fast in 20 secs I couldnt believe it, the producer couldnt either and asked my friend if I always have that kind of energy. She said yes. Everyone else at my table had no energy. One person did, but not as much as me. The producer only like one person from our table because she was a grandmother of 4 and she looked young, but she had no energy. I think it would have been different if I was at a different table. I am not trying to sound selfish that I deserve to get a call back, im just saying it wasnt what Neil said and to kill our hopes of getting on before getting in didnt help either. I did have fun and did meet nice people and actually thought to get back on line again! but we just gambled & went home
I would have back in line with you Marla!
Even though we wouldn’t have been seen again till like 10:00 pm if not later haha. I loved my expereince but I left out some things I wanted to say but they were on my application so I am hoping they do look at it!! I hope they call us! You never know! Stay positive!
Hi, Howie How are you? I have always wanted to be on your show. Have had a very difficult time in life. I am going through a divorce and mager medical issues. I wanted to know how to be a contestand on your show. I watch your show when its on. You have a wonderful show, and I really enjoy watching it.
Thanks for your time.
Debra