TEACHABLE Decisions
This all occurred in the spring of 2010, months before Oprah's new network was planned to premiere in January and her hand-picked lineup of programs to be revealed.
I quickly saw how massive this competition was. There were thousands of videos, many similar to mine, as well as herds of people showing up to the open auditions being held at Kohl's stores across the nation. I went to pandering myself to my social networks to get people to spread the word about voting for me and my idea on the site. My friend's responses were all wonderfully positive and supportive. They all thought it was an innovative and interesting idea and that I would be a great host. Many of them were learning about me and my passions in a whole new direction, and most importantly, they all said it was a show they would like to watch.
I spent any and all spare time clicking the "vote for TEACHABLE" button and asking my friends to do the same. About a week later I received an email from OWN requesting more information and contact details. Shortly after, I received a phone call from Mark Burnett Productions and the casting agency in charge of the OWN programming. This began a long and exciting string of communications, long interviews, hoops, more personality assessments, more details, photos, surveys, fences, and red tape. The process was arduous but rewarding to know that these people liked me and my idea enough to go through all of it. It gave me reassurance to know that the mega-producers, OPRAH's mega producers, thought TEACHABLE was a good and solid enough concept to contact me that early in the competition. I was thrilled, but had to keep my lips sealed while the rest of the competition and voting continued during the online portion.
I quickly became aware that they weren't simply casting for new shows or new ideas, but for a REALITY show for those chosen to COMPETE in the studio, for their own OWN show. My concept was not conducive to that. It's a travel show, it is about getting out of your comfort zone and exploring the world.
Plus, in the mean time, I had been offered a summer position in Spain. So with no guarantee from OWN, I told them that I would be taking the position unless they could give me a reason not to, but would gladly keep in contact or return if they needed me.
I may have sealed my own fate. But I didn't feel like sitting on the back burner was demonstrating what TEACHABLE is all about. I wanted to live TEACHABLE, so to Spain I went!
I spent any and all spare time clicking the "vote for TEACHABLE" button and asking my friends to do the same. About a week later I received an email from OWN requesting more information and contact details. Shortly after, I received a phone call from Mark Burnett Productions and the casting agency in charge of the OWN programming. This began a long and exciting string of communications, long interviews, hoops, more personality assessments, more details, photos, surveys, fences, and red tape. The process was arduous but rewarding to know that these people liked me and my idea enough to go through all of it. It gave me reassurance to know that the mega-producers, OPRAH's mega producers, thought TEACHABLE was a good and solid enough concept to contact me that early in the competition. I was thrilled, but had to keep my lips sealed while the rest of the competition and voting continued during the online portion.
I quickly became aware that they weren't simply casting for new shows or new ideas, but for a REALITY show for those chosen to COMPETE in the studio, for their own OWN show. My concept was not conducive to that. It's a travel show, it is about getting out of your comfort zone and exploring the world.
Plus, in the mean time, I had been offered a summer position in Spain. So with no guarantee from OWN, I told them that I would be taking the position unless they could give me a reason not to, but would gladly keep in contact or return if they needed me.
I may have sealed my own fate. But I didn't feel like sitting on the back burner was demonstrating what TEACHABLE is all about. I wanted to live TEACHABLE, so to Spain I went!