My Oprah Debut

Today, J and I were guests of the Oprah Show.

I always daydreamed of being interviewed on the Oprah Show. Typically it was for a fabulous book that I wrote, or some long lost family member reunion!  In my daydream, I was on stage, one-on-one with The Great One, herself.

THE EXPERIENCE

The building is beautiful inside. Cameras are not allowed, so there are no photos to post. They checked in our coats, iPhones, and my book! (I carry a book everywhere so I can read while I wait.) We walked through a metal detector and went upstairs. While waiting to load into the studio, we met 2 fun older ladies. We so wish we had our cameras - there was a guy there that looked like Prince!! He was short and tiny, and eccentric, just like Prince.

Guests of the producers were seated first. They called a lot of people before calling us. When they called our name over the PA system, we went downstairs, into the studio and were seated in the back row of the center section. We did a high 5, because we realized we were not going to be interviewed in front of 40 million viewers! J enjoyed looking at the cameras, lights, and all that technical stuff. I enjoyed learning about it.

My lesson was cut short when a staffer asked our names. I told her and she escorted us to 2 seats in the FRONT ROW with our names printed on them!!! Soon, the producer I spoke to introduced herself. It was nice to meet her. We knew there was a pretty good chance we would not get on the show, because it was so packed full of content.

I should backtrack to say I saw an episode of the show and commented on it the next day, via the Oprah website. I didn't think it went through when I hit submit. Two days later, I got a call from an Oprah Show producer. The next thing we knew, we were shopping for outfits!

J sat next to 2 ladies from Ireland, who flew in the night before and were flying out the next day. On my right was a lady from Toronto!! 

The audience warm up staffer got everyone excited. It was during this time we shared what we went to the show to discuss - got a few laughs and Oprah heard us while backstage. I don't think the cameras were on at the time - but they could have been as we had to sign an additional waiver after the show. I didn't read it. I usually do and probably should have.

THE STAGE

The stage seemed smaller than on TV. But that is because they removed 2 pieces of stage and  added rows of chairs. Basically, we were sitting in the front round part where Oprah normally sits to interview her guests. The remaining stage was set back farther. There were some people on sofas on stage, around the host and guest chairs. We were in the first row of audience.

While waiting for the show to start, the crew was slip covering chairs and moving set pieces around. At one point someone said, "Remove the flowers." and the floral arrangement was gone. J was surprised at how much work was going on while we were sitting there. He said there was no way he could get away with setting up the room while people were sitting, waiting for church to start.

OPRAH

Soon, it was time for the show!! Out came Oprah Winfrey!  She walked out wearing her comfy slip on shoes and changed into the really expensive ones before the cameras turned on. We sat 10 feet from one of the most powerful women in the world! She made eye contact with us both. 

J commented on how real Oprah seemed in person. I had heard people talk about how much taller and beautiful she seems in person. Truly, she is just a lady who is so good at her job, she doesn't need to do multiple takes. She seemed very comfortable in her element but somewhat humble too. Oprah really relies on her people to do their jobs and make things happen. At showtime, she followed their lead.

The show was fun. While I can't say what the topic was, I will tell you we received take home gifts and I'm looking forward to doing the homework from the show. 

Oprah was so funny off camera! She wore diamond stud earrings and joked that the rappers have given diamond studs a bad name. The shoes she had on were beautiful and talked about how great they are - but she doesn't enjoy walking in them. They were NICE eye candy. Oprah made a number of topic related jokes but I can't say today. Check back on January 9th.

During a commercial break, we got to see Andre, her hairstylist, in real life. Andre was smaller than I had envisioned. I have his book!!

It was a wonderful experience attending the Oprah Show today.

500+ phone calls to the ticket reservation line.

1 connected friend who got me an October reservation.

(But that show cancelled, very rare)

In the end, it was 1 well worded e-mail that got us on the Show.

KUDOS

This blog entry is about Oprah, but I have to say I love my husband. J has made so many of my little dreams come true. While it was my e-mail that got us to the show, it was J being the wonderful husband, best friend, and lover he is that enabled me to have an e-mail to write. Thank you, My Love.