The Log and the Chance

It’s Sunday, August 5, and I’m riding the train down to New York City for another try with The Chance.  Another audition.

Only this time, I’m not traveling alone.

For the first time since I started auditioning for this show, I’m actually auditioning with someone.

And would you believe it’s everybody’s favorite blog-snark, D357?

That sound you might have heard was four or five bloggers completely fainting and falling on the floor.  Go get them some cold water and wake them up.

D357 – also known as Dan – decided that after all the heckling he gave me for failing to get past The Chance, he would go down to New York with me and try out for the competition.

It was a special Sunday tryout, as the Chance would screen applicants at the Apollo Theater that day.

I’ve never been to the Apollo Theater – I’ve driven past it a couple of times when I didn’t get off the correct exit of the New York State Thruway and instead motored through Harlem on my way to downtown Manhattan – but this would be an opportunity for me to see the legendary arena. All we had to do was get off the train, pull a “Duke Ellington” (you know, catch the “A” train), and three stops later, there we were. 125th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue.

There was the Apollo Theater.  One of the greatest and most legendary entertainment venues in New York City.

And there was a long, long line in front of the entrance. Apparently hundreds of other people wanted to take their chance by trying out for the Chance.

Eventually we got inside the theater. And as we walked through the lobby, I saw it.

Right in the lobby – a big log. And, instinctively, I walked over to the log and quickly rubbed its bark with my hands.

“What are you doing?” Dan asked.

“I’m rubbing the log for good luck,” I replied, getting back in line.

“You must be nuts,” he remarked.

Eventually the tour guide at the Apollo explained the history of the lucky log – those who rub the log often perform well at the Apollo’s amateur talent nights; those who do not rub the log will get booed off the stage.

Hundreds of us were led to the red-upholstered chairs in the auditorium. We were each given our manila envelopes and scoresheets. I estimated there were at least 2,000 people in the building. Dan thought there might be less than 750. Either way, it’s still a monstrous number of applicants.

The curtain opens and some interns walk out to instruct us on how the test for The Chance works.  And on stage – I see the “real” Apollo log.  Apparently the one I rubbed in the lobby was a replica log.  Great.  I now have replica luck.

30 questions. Ten minutes. I’m designated as #410. Dan gets #414.

Begin … now.

Holy moley, the test had some tricky questions this time. But the answers came quickly. Dixie Highway. Skyway. My Way. Blue Heron. Yuri Gagarin. Telephone. Combat Drone. Game of Thrones.

Time’s up.

Now we wait.  With everyone else in the Apollo.  We all wait.

One of the interns asks if we have any questions.  No, he can’t tell us what the answer to #23 is.  No, he can’t tell us what the passing score is.

But then he lets something slip.  And what he said – completely changed my outlook toward The Chance.

Apparently The Chance’s pool of applicants is limited to approximately three hundred people a year.  Now if one factors in that tryouts can range from 300 to 1000 people at a time, and that there’s probably three to six tryouts per day, one can pass the test – but the opportunity to get one of those remaining spots is microscopic at best.  And once you figure that a person can stay in the applicant pool for up to a maximum of TWO YEARS –

And at that moment, I understood.  It wasn’t a case of “poor little me against The Chance” – it was really the equivalent of threading a sewing needle by throwing a javelin from 200 yards away. And even though I never got through previously… giving up isn’t an option any more.

Oh wait a second.  The interns are back.  Numbers are being called.  Dan and I make an agreement.  If one of us doesn’t get through to the next round, we will wait outside the Apollo in a designated meetup spot.  Somewhere safe.

410.  Hey, that’s my number.

414.  Hey, that’s Dan’s number!  Forget the meetup spot, we both got past the first round!

We then sat for a while in the upper balcony with the other test-passers. And then, a few at a time, we were each led to a small “green room” and interviewed by employees of the Chance.

Then it was a return trip back to the 518.

The next day, Dan called me on my cell phone.  “We’re both gonna get postcards o’ doom,” he said.

“Why do you think that?” I asked.

“Remember when that girl interviewed me?  She talked to me for thirty seconds and then said I’d get a postcard.”

“Yeah,” I replied.  “I had that too.”

“Well, do you remember that there were seven or eight other people sitting against the wall during the interview?”

“I didn’t notice,” I said.

“Yeah, well I did.  Apparently those people were going to get a second interview.  And THOSE are the people who can get on The Chance.  All these interns that interview us are doing is screening out the ones who passed the test and that they don’t want on the show.  Look, I read it all on this blog post!”

I read the link.  And at that moment, I realized two things.

(1) Getting on The Chance was even harder than I had imagined.

(2) Dan was now hooked.

“I’m going to be more prepared when we go down there again,” he said.  “Passing the test is easy, it’s the interview process that’s going to be hard.  And that’s what we have to get past.”

“You know it.”

“When are you going down again?”

“Don’t know yet,” I replied.  “I need to give it a little breather.”

“Okay,” he replied.  “The next time you go down there, I’m going with you.  Both of us.”

And then yesterday – barely ten days after our audition – and the same night as my discovery of going zero-for-4 at Altamont – well, I can’t say I received the postcard o’ doom.

This time it came as an e-mail.

Hello,

Thank you for your interest in being a contestant on “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.” You have not been selected to be a potential contestant. We appreciate your continued interest in the show and thank you for taking  the time to audition with us.

Game sponsor reservees the right to limit the number of times a person may attempt to qualify for the show to 5 times per year.

For official rules, please visit www.millionairetv.com

Sincerely,

Contestant Department

Who Wants to be a Millionaire

Valleycrest Productions, Ltd…

Geez, they can’t even spell the word “reserves” in their e-mail o’ doom? “Reservees”?

Third try this year.  Third rejection this year.  Damn it, August 14 is turning into a black, black day for me.  One bad thing after another.

Maybe rubbing that log didn’t get me on The Chance.

But it did bring something I hadn’t expected.

Now I’ve got a travel partner who wants to get on that show just as much as I do.  Who wants to pass that audition and be prepared for the next round.

And now that I know the microscopic, miniscule odds facing anyone trying for this goal…

I understand the challenge ahead.