As you may know, I am an Oprah fan. A huge fan.
When I admitted this like a confession to a friend (A non-Oprah-watching friend) named Tyler, he said, “Yeah. Own it!”
How did he know that Oprah’s new network is called OWN? 🙂
Five years ago, I saw an episode that really changed the way I thought about my role as a mother and wife. Ayelet Walman was on Oprah with her controversial essay of loving her husband more than her children. In 2010, I wrote about my resonance to this essay and her appearance on Oprah in my Ultimate Fan entry.
I had been watching Oprah for a year on TiVo and this episode made me think, “Maybe I could sit in the audience!” I scoured the internet for a blog post (remember blogs were really taking off then) and I couldn’t find anything. I went off the perception that tickets were really hard to get.
They aren’t really that difficult to come by, especially if you’re in the Midwest. However, you do have to invest a little bit of thought in your entry. I have written into the show several times and these are the three shows I attended:
~ The first, October 5, 2005 w/my mom and we went as an invited audience member and fan of the author Elizabeth Gilbert and her new memoir “Eat, Pray, Love”. There was so much good info that came from this interview, on the fly, they turned this into 2 episodes. I loved it when Oprah said to the audience, “I just think we need to have different outfits on, since this will be airing later in the season…and it is my show, so I guess I can decide that.”
~ The second, February 13, 2008 w/my friend Megan and we went for an unknown topic, truly last-minute seats. When we arrived, it was How to Look Good Naked w/Carson Kressley. He really gave women the confidence to live in their own (naked) truth. It was interesting to say the least!
~ The third and final (because it IS the last season) was September 9, 2010. I wrote into the website in response to their quest for Oprah’s “Ultimate Fans”. I got called. My friend Lisa and I went. Everyone in the audience won a trip to Au-stra-lia!!!” Here’s my post on that day.
THIS is the blog post I was looking for 5 years ago, I just decided to write it myself. 🙂
Given to audience members to show that we have been processed after our big trip winnings. There was a lot of paperwork. One more reason I'm glad I took my friend Lisa, she is an attorney!
I get asked a lot “How did you get tickets?” I explain in detail and as the listener starts to drift off, I realize they were just making polite conversation.
IF YOU REALLY DO want to know, here we go…
You can apply to several show topics, but attend only once per season.
General tickets-by-phone have all been assigned, at this point your only chance are “last minute tickets”. That’s all I ever got anyway, and they were great!
– TOP TIP: Check the “last minute” audience reservations link DAILY. For real, there are times where travel to Chicago is not ideal, but the “show must go on” and tickets will be more abundant in January and February. Be honest, don’t say you live in the Chicago area if you don’t just to get tickets. That makes you just a liar and not an ultimate fan. (Hmmm, you’re not a liar if you see a topic, rush out buy the book, read it and respond w/a fresh opinion, that just makes you efficient and devoted, right?)
– If a topic speaks to you, then take the time to apply and fill out the form. Consider this, producers of the show are tasked with filling the audience. 300-seat audience is NOT that big. They don’t want any sch-moe off the street, they want people really revved up by the topic and that will be excited (on cue helps!)
– When you fill out the form, treat it like an adult essay contest. Don’t worry about grammar or the informal-ness. Just pay attention to details like restating the questions in your answer. For instance, “what show really made an impact on you.” You would want to restate with “The show that made a huge impact on me…” Producers read literally thousands of these forms on hot and current topics, just by simply showing that you are thoughtful in your answers and direct and genuine can really pay off…with tickets and in life and parenting, etc.
– Fill out more than one web form for last-minute tickets, go ahead fill out 10 (if the topics are important to you). You have a much greater chance if your responses are authentic. Did I mention they read thousands of these? The first form you fill out, your palms will sweat, you’ll re-read it a hundred times, you’ll copy your text over and reword to make the maximum character requirement…I know, I’ve done all these things! But treat this like a gourmet crock-pot meal after a long day at work. “Set it and forget it!” Ok, you do have to do a little work to be heard and read, BUT just put it out there, give it your best and move on to other things in your life you CAN control.
– Answer your phone. If someone from the 312-633-1000, it’s Harpo calling and that want to talk to you further. Don’t freak out! It’s very likely they will be offering you tickets to the show. Maybe you plus a guest, maybe you plus 3 guests. Their process has changed over the years and maybe the topic is not as “hot” as others. Who knows, but definitely answer your phone. They might leave a message. Also, if your story is very compelling, a producer might call to ‘dig deeper’ perhaps they are considering you to be a guest or in a panel of guests. If you are feeling like your answers are NOT super compelling all of a sudden, at least try to get tickets out of it. The producers are usually sincere and glad you took the time to write/talk to them further.
Good luck!
I hope you enjoy this! I hope you get audience tickets! I hope you like or love the show topic! Please post back if you go and if this was helpful!
P.S. Since I know many of you are persistent, determined and die-hard like me, I’ll post in a few days about “Now that I have tickets, what should I expect?” Because I KNOW some of you really will attend this last season.
Bite Sized By Carrie 