Eboni Lovell, an Ashland resident and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s marketing and sales manager, won $22,801 on “Wheel of Fortune” on April 4. And she had fun doing it.

A “Wheel” watcher since childhood, she decided to apply after a friend she met in 2019, on another game show, “Beat Shazam,” encouraged her to apply. Lovell’s “Wheel” winnings include a trip to the Aspen Food & Wine Classic in June. She plans to apply some of her cash winnings to a combination of travel and paying bills.

The winnings, other than trips that have a set date, come about 120 days after the broadcast.

Lovell applied online to play. She described the process that followed.

“They do a background check, as with any employment. If they’re interested, they contact you and you do a fake game on Zoom, checking your personality, to see if you are entertaining.”

Lovell said she felt confident in her chances of playing and winning.

“I thought I could do pretty good. I’m pretty decent with word games, although I didn’t feel that confident in my Zoom audition, as I didn’t solve all of them. I don’t think I expected to win so much as I wanted to win, so you never know!”

Once selected, Lovell said, “prospective players receive a clothing directive, including step-by-step hand holding, wearing certain colors, approval of clothing by their wardrobe department. If they want you to be a candidate they let you know, saying, ‘We’re filling these dates or you can suggest a date in the future.’”

“Wheel of Fortune” is filmed at Sony Studios in Culver City, California. The actual day of play begins early as 6 or 7 a.m., Lovell said.

A full day’s work

“The day is packed. You go in, they check you in, they go over the rules, you’re there all day. They provide food, they provide makeup and review the rules,” she said.

“The contestants get to know each other. We’re in the room all day together. A lot of the day is just spent putting on makeup and getting dressed. You meet with everybody; there are many other contestants, because they film more than one episode in a day.

“They do feed you because we’re there all day. They have makeup artists and hair people. It’s not a big makeover. They add to your makeup and make sure your hair looks good. They have a video you watch with all the rules.”

Those rules for contestants include saying “only the words on the board,” Lovell said. “For example, when you’re solving the puzzle, don’t add any ‘ahs or ums.’ They walk you through how to ask for your letters. You say, ‘I’d like a T,’ or just ‘T.’ And keep it short and brief on those, keeping your guesses as short as possible. Because it’s obviously a time-sensitive show. And then they go over all the categories of the possibilities for puzzles. They record on average four shows a day.”

New shows to conquer

Going forward, Lovell is interested in further game show opportunities.

“I would like to go on ‘The Floor’ and I would love to be on ‘Pop Culture Jeopardy.’”

When not on watching “Wheel of Fortune” she is the marketing and sales manager at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, where she started in March 2024. She moved to Ashland that year.

A “Wheel of Fortune” watcher since childhood, Lovell’s other interests include “travel whenever I have time and money. And I have a little dog named Preston, doing all the dog things. And, of course, going to plays at Oregon Shakespeare. I am new to Ashland, a great community, great people”

“Wheel” contestants are told not to disclose whether they won money until their episode airs, typically two months after taping.

“You cannot say a word about what you won, even to family,” Lovell said. “They’re not gonna come and get you, but they don’t want you to publicly share, right? And why would you want to share spoilers?

“I don’t think I expected to win so much as I wanted. You never know what other people’s level of expertise is compared to yours” on some topics. “You know, for me, if it was like, you know, gardening tips, I would totally lose.”

Gorgeous Vanna, silly Ryan

Lovell enjoyed meeting Ryan Seacrest and Vanna White.

“They were both very, very amazing,” Lovell said. “Vanna came in while we were still prepping for the day and getting everything taken care of. She was just in her sweats but she’s gorgeous regardless. She just popped in and said hello and good luck, I’ll see you later, nice to meet you and then just popped out. Ryan is very funny and gracious. He’s a character, really silly in between the takes. He’s kind of silly on camera, too. Nothing but positive vibes from both of them.”

Lovell has maintained contact with the other contestants who appeared with her.

“They take you out on the stage where you’ll be playing the game and the wheel.” she said. “But we’re in the room all day together, and it’s actually cool. We get to watch each other’s episodes as they’re filmed, which is really fun. The other two players on my show, we exchanged social media information.”

Lovell’s advice to prospective contestants is “No. 1: Go for it. Bring your top energy. If you think you’re being cheesy, have fun!”

Although it is a competition, Lovell said, “Wheel” has “a fun atmosphere.”

“Be a big smiley personality and have fun. ‘Wheel of Fortune’ is one of those shows where you’re competing against each other, but you’re really not, because everyone wins what they win. There are some shows where winner takes all.

“It’s a really fun atmosphere. Everyone roots for everybody. Just go and have a great time.”

Debora Gordon is a writer, artist, educator and nonviolence activist who moved to Ashland from Oakland, California. Email her at debora.ashlandnews@gmail.com. This article first appeared at Ashland.news.