I think I felt like I was waiting to be on or at a taping of The Oprah Show my whole adult life and this past week I was fortunate enough to be there. Thanks to some fab new friends at a local Seattle company (of course I had to move to Seattle to finally get a hook-up to get on the show), my husband and I were in the audience for what Sally, Oprah’s cracker jack audience supervisor, billed as “two Oprah shows for the price of one.”
At 9:00 a.m. CST there was a satellite feed interview with Howie Mandel being taped to air the day after we were there (May 10), and then after Oprah changed her clothes, the real show was taped to air on some unknown future date.
Apparently, unless you are there as a result of responding to a specific show topic via the web site, the topic of the show is a closely guarded secret until about 15 minutes before the taping begins. And, while our show turned out to feature some celebrities, unfortunately, the subject of the show was depression. No, not nearly as awful as unwittingly being there for a show on child predators or Darfur, but very difficult and somber, none-the-less. I know that bringing info about tough topics is part of Oprah’s mission, but it turned out to be a very unexpected eye-opener for me in terms of being much more specific in what I wish for and how I’d like it to manifest.
Please don’t get me wrong, I am glad Oprah’s bringing the symptoms, stats (19 or 35 million in the U.S.), and info on this very common and debilitating illness to the masses, but seeing as we’re somewhat over-educated on this topic already, we sadly couldn’t wait to leave the studio. We still have no idea as to when it will air and maybe that’s just as well.
So, yes, be careful of not only what you wish for, but also HOW you envision it. I intend to envision myself on the show in the future sitting in one of the front rows, or possibly on the stage, with a big ole smile on my face the whole time, and not the serious, empathetic face I was moved to maintain. Lesson gratefully learned.