Local viewers of a national game show may notice a familiar face on their television screens today.
Madison Stevens was on vacation in June in Los Angeles when her mom told her about a chance to be on “Let’s Make a Deal.” With less than two hours until taping began, she needed to come up with a costume, a requirement of all contestants on the CBS show.
She quickly located a craft store and pieced together a costume of a bandaged up broken heart from construction paper, a homage to her dad who is on the waiting list for a heart transplant.
“It was the day before Father’s Day,” Stevens said. “My dad had a heart attack a couple of years ago. Luckily, they were able to save him. (But) he’s waiting for a heart transplant.”
Stevens’ father suffered the heart attack a few days before he was planning to retire from his job at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Indianapolis. Most people die of the type of heart attack he had, termed a “widow-maker,” but because he was able to get immediate medical attention, he survived, she said.
Stevens, 29, works in product strategy in the engine business department at Cummins’ headquarters in Columbus, and has lived in Greenwood for about two years, she said.
During the taping of the show, Stevens sat in the audience with more than 100 other people, most of whom hoped to get called down to the stage to play the game, and many of whom were aspiring actors, she said.
Here’s how the game works: Contestants are offered a valuable item, such as a television set or a few hundred dollars, and decide if they want to trade it in for a different unknown item. The risk is the contestant doesn’t know whether the item they’re trading for has a greater or lesser value than what they are originally offered.
Stevens’ favorite part of the experience was interacting with so many people, all dressed in costumes, with different stories as to why they were there, she said.
“Everyone is excited and hoping to get called. Looking at people’s costumes, a lot of them are colorful and decorative,” Stevens said.
Being on the stage was nerve-racking, but host Wayne Brady helped ease her anxiety, she said.
“I was very nervous, but you just try and be happy. They prompt you to be excited and not worry too much,” Stevens said. “(Brady) is really good at improv, so he’ll make jokes and carry the conversation if you’re nervous.”
Stevens isn’t interested in being an actress, and couldn’t say whether she walked away with a good deal. Viewers will have to watch the show today to find out.
She hopes the exposure she gets from the game show serves a higher purpose, getting an important message across to viewers as her dad continues to wait for a new heart, she said.
“I’m asking people to donate blood,” Stevens said. “It’s in such a low supply that anyone who can give blood is definitely needed.”
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Madison Stevens’ "Let’s Make a Deal" appearance will air at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. today on CBS.
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