That’s a Wrap on Season 15!

This past season was a wild ride, to say the least. I stepped out of my comfort zone and gained a lot of prop experience this year, all while pregnant with my second baby!

Let’s Make A Deal has been in the process of moving studios for a few years now, with building permits and space arrangements pushing that date farther away, but this year, we finally started at our new stage in Glendale: Haven Studios.

We are splitting the building with The Price is Right, right in the middle with a small hallway separating two, back-to-back sets. Everyone stores their games and props in an off site warehouse, which means every week we need to wrap our games up and load them on a truck to travel down the street.

The space was not ideal, but the location was right down the street from my apartment, so I was optimistic. We came in and my prop master fought for a decent sized office with locking doors on the corner of the loading dock. Of course since we are the prop team, we know how to make use of vertical space and quickly filled the room with rows of 12 ft shelves. I set up my graphics table with everything I need, and I was set for a nice, uneventful season. So my husband and I planned to get pregnant with our second baby to have on the next hiatus.

However, this season was not as uneventful as I had hoped (doesn’t that always happen). A few weeks in to the season, my boss unfortunately lost her father and had to travel to her family in Ohio. I had yet to tell anyone at work that I was pregnant, but I suddenly had to step up and act as Prop Master for about a week.

I was so nervous for this responsibility at first, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well I worked in this position. I was able to communicate with producers and talent with such poise, attend meetings with the assistant director and stage crew, and I really surprised myself with how much knowledge I had absorbed from working this job the past three years. The more I trusted myself, the better I did, and the confidence boost that gave me helped me throughout the rest of the season!

A few weeks later, our on-set guy injured himself and had to stay home for four weeks. I was able to step up and, despite having mostly in-office experience, was able to seamlessly step into the role! Instead of reading ahead and prepping for future shows, I spent the month on-set, passing handheld props to talent and being there to receive them, as well as staging and moving games out to the floor (with some assistance from the grips on the big stuff, since I was five months pregnant!) This was definitely a different pace than what I am used to, but I actually enjoyed it so much! It’s fun to be in the lights on stage and surrounded by so many faces!

I’m proud of myself for taking so much uncertainty with ease this season, and I can’t wait to return for Season 16 next spring as a mom of 2!