Calli Johns, a sophomore business marketing major at Walsh College in North Canton, Ohio, and a 2011 Butler High School graduate, will appear as a contestant on an episode airing at 10 a.m. Wednesday on KDKA, Channel 2.

Although Johns signed a nondisclosure agreement that prevents her from saying before the show airs whether she took home the Big Deal of the Day or got Zonked, she was able to talk about her television appearance in general.

“It was over Christmas break. My family was on vacation in Los Angeles,” said Johns, so she and her boyfriend, Seth Kelosky of Renfrew, “got online and got tickets.”

“We were just looking for any show we could go to. We got tickets and drove to L.A.,” Johns said.

“Let's Make a Deal” is taped at Sunset Bronson Studios in Hollywood, said Megan Barker, a show publicist. In its lifetime, the show has been on three networks, in syndication and had nighttime versions.

“Let's Make a Deal” first aired in 1963. It was created by Stefan Hatos and Monty Hall, who served as the host for many years. It started airing on CBS in 2009 with its new host, Wayne Brady, said Barker.

It's tradition for contestants to dress in costumes. Johns said people were dressed as Santa Claus, cowboys, spacemen, a Venus flytrap, babies and all branches of the military.

Johns dressed as a mustard container, and Kelosky dressed as a hot dog.

Once at the studio, Johns said, “Everyone was in line in their costumes, and the producers came out and each audience member had to give a spiel about where they were from and what they did and why they would make the best candidate for 'Let's Make a Deal.'”

When the time came for Johns to make her pitch, “I said that I am going to school working really hard and that I am really enthusiastic. I said it would be a lot of fun. You have to give a 30-second speech to these people. Enthusiasm, that's what they said about me, that I had enthusiasm and great communication skills,” she said.

“We were there for six hours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., we did not expect it to take that long,” said Johns. It took 90 minutes to interview the audience members before they were ushered into the studio and another 45 minutes for the producers to get the audience seated to their satisfaction.

“They were stuffing people in everywhere, mixing people up,” Johns said.

The producers spread contestants throughout the audience. However, she said, they put those who seem to be enjoying themselves and dancing and in good costumes towards the front because it looks better on TV.

Barker said the studio holds about 210 people and on average there are about 12 contestants per show.

Johns said the actual taping took another 90 minutes.

“They had to do retakes and make sure everything was right,” she said, and there were pauses for commercial breaks.

“Wayne Brady was pretty funny and always trying to make people laugh, to keep up the enthusiasm,” Johns said.

“We also got to talk with (announcer) Jonathan Mangum during the breaks and the producers would run out and be dancing with us,” she said.

“It was an adrenaline rush and it was like a workout itself, but it was exciting because you never knew what was going to happen or who was going to win the next prize,” John said.

“The best is people's faces when they get called on. People can't even talk. It was awesome,” she said.

Johns said when she was picked she was dumbstruck.

“It was like I couldn't talk. I was shaking and jumping up and down,” she said.

Regardless of what was behind what door, Johns will be back at school this week. She said she is going to have her friends come over for a viewing party.

<B>WHO: </B>Calli Johns of Fenelton<B>WHAT: </B>Appearing as a contestant on “Let's Make a Deal”<B>WHEN: </B>10 a.m. Wednesday<B>WHERE: </B>KDKA Channel 2