LAWRENCE: Local woman to appear on ‘Wheel of Fortune’

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   Jeana Pulaski remembers vividly watching the “Wheel of Fortune” game show every day with her grandmother, Mary Russo, while she was growing up in Lawrence Township.
   ”We watched it all the time, ever since I was little,” Ms. Pulaski said. “I always enjoyed the show. We would yell at the TV all the time — ‘say the letter S.’ My roommate (in college) and I would watch it.”
   Next week, Ms. Pulaski’s family and friends — along with millions of Americans — will watch as she competes for her share of fame and fortune on the game show. The segment airs Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. on WPVI/Channel 6 and WABC/Channel 7.
   The 26-year-old Ms. Pulaski, whose day job is pastry chef at Monmouth University, edged out thousands of would-be contestants nationwide to land a berth on the show.
   Knowing that the show’s producers are always seeking contestants, the Lawrence resident signed up for it years ago — to no avail. But when she learned that open auditions were being held at a hotel in Atlantic City, she decided to try again.
   Ms. Pulaski and her family had planned to go to Atlantic City to celebrate her grandmother’s birthday anyway, so the timing was perfect, she said. That’s how Ms. Pulaski found herself waiting in line, along with thousands of other folks, on Sept. 8.
   Like her competitors, she was given a slip of paper on which she was asked to explain why she should be selected for the show. She wrote down her hobbies and other interests, and put it in a bin. Then, slips of paper were pulled out at random.
   ”Once your name was called, you had to go up on the stage,” she said. “You had to show your personality and that you were interesting. They picked you out if you were interesting and had a good personality.”
   A few weeks later, Ms. Pulaski received an email inviting her to take part in a second audition. The pool of 6,000 candidates at the Atlantic City open audition had been culled down to less than 100, she said. At that audition, the candidates played “Wheel of Fortune” and had to show off their personality as well as their diction — the ability to pronounce the letters and to speak loudly and clearly. They had to solve a puzzle and take a 5-minute-long timed test.
   ”They narrowed it down to 30 people,” she said. “Then, they interviewed us again. They don’t want someone who is boring on the show. They want someone who is exciting on the show, and out-going. They want to make sure they have the right person on the show. They want someone that people will want to watch at home.”
   A few days later, on Oct. 30, Ms. Pulaski said she received an email notifying her that she was one of the handful of people who had been chosen to appear on “Wheel of Fortune” — “in the pitch black,” during the middle of Hurricane Sandy. She was told that she had to make plans to fly to Culver City, Calif., in two weeks for the show to be taped.
   The Jan. 23 show was taped in the California studio on Nov. 16. It was one of six to be taped on that day. Her family — mother, grandmother, two aunts and her boyfriend — were in the audience watching as her episode was being taped. But first, the show’s producers allow the contestants to play a practice round before taping the show.
   ”(The practice round) is still not like being up there on the stage. It takes about 20 minutes to tape the show. It goes by really fast. It felt like five minutes. You have to wear special make-up. It gets very hot under the lights, and the studio is so small. It looks so huge on TV,” Ms. Pulaski said.
   There are a lot of things going on at once during the taping, she said, adding that “they make you smile and clap your hands and watch the TV. There are 10 things going on at once. You forget your main goal, which is to play the game.”
   ”I was more frightened at the audition than I was being taped on camera in the studio. If you do something wrong (in the audition), you could lose your chance to be on the show. They don’t want to make it easy. They want people who are good enough for the show,” she said.
   And what were the hosts — Pat Sajak and Vanna White — really like?
   ”They were awesome. Pat is very personable and witty, and he comes back with one-liners. He interviewed me. We met Vanna in the morning. We didn’t know who she was. She was casually dressed, and she didn’t have makeup on. She is as gorgeous without makeup (as she is with it). She’s very nice and very friendly,” Ms. Pulaski said.
   Ms. Pulaski said she was very excited to have been chosen to play on “Wheel of Fortune.” It can take years to get on the show, and yet it took less than eight weeks from the time she auditioned — along with 6,000 people in Atlantic City — to being offered a slot on the show. Only about 300 applicants are chosen every year, she said.
   Looking back, Ms. Pulaski said the experience was fun and “definitely” the experience of a lifetime.
   ”I never thought I would get on the show. It was always a dream that I would be on the show. It still feels like a dream,” she said.