"I'll take Gilbert Gottfried for the win."
Seeking a chance to utter that phrase on national television, more than 50 Penn students auditioned Friday for a spot as a contestant on the hit syndicated television show "Hollywood Squares."
The show, which stars Whoopi Goldberg as the center square, features two contestants facing off in a game of human tic-tac-toe, with Hollywood heavyweights like Caroline Rhea serving as the squares on the board.
The Hollywood Squares recruiting team held two sessions at Irvine Auditorium, seeking enthusiastic and skillful players for the show's annual College Week.
As the audition began, casting agent Lauri Janover gave students tips on what it would take for them to make it to the big time.
"Number one, you need to have lots of energy, clap and smile a lot," Janover said. "Second, you need to know how to play tic-tac-toe really well. It sounds silly, but there really is a lot of strategy involved.
"And third, you need to be willing to give us 110 percent of you," she added.
Auditioning students ranged from show fanatics to people who claimed that they had never even seen Hollywood Squares.
All, however, were seeking the chance at stardom.
Engineering sophomore Bryce Neuman, a self-described game show junkie, said he came just to have some fun.
"I auditioned for `Who Wants to Be a Millionaire' in August, " Neuman said. "This just seems like something to do so you can tell your kids about it one day."
College freshman Mollie Weinstein-Gould admitted that she isn't a frequent viewer, but remembers watching when she was younger.
"I've seen the show before, and I know how it works, but I don't watch it regularly," Weinstein-Gould said. "I think I used to watch it at my grandmother's house in Florida."
The audition process included a short, but challenging trivia quiz that forced students to either agree or disagree with thought-provoking statements such as, "Thomas Edison produced the first Frankenstein movie."
Casting agents tallied the quiz results and cut the field of contestants in half, leaving 27 finalists vying for one promised spot on the show.
After a short forum on tic-tac-toe strategy, the students were put to the test and asked to play a simulated round of the game. To keep the mood light, Janover acted as different regular players from the show, including writer and comedian extraordinaire Bruce Vilanch.
After an exhausting round of trivia, the casting session was over, and students left the audition hoping that they had earned a spot on the popular show.
Although students will have to wait until November to learn their fates, College Contestant Coordinator Darren Bunkley said that win or lose, the day was a success.
"Doing the college search is always fun because we find that students are just there to have a good time," Bunkley said. "We're always looking for people who are full of energy and have a fire to play. Colleges are where we discover our best and most interesting contestants."
But Bunkley could only offer would-be contestants one piece of advice, an age-old Hollywood cliche.
"Don't call us -- we'll call you."
