“Hey Giuliana, did you see? Family Feud is coming to Canada!” my mom told me one evening. “NO WAY!” I replied, “we’re clearly auditioning!” And that’s how it began…
That evening, I made a few phone calls, and our team had come together: me, my mom, my dad, my aunt & my uncle. We did have a few others who wished they could be a part of the team, but we could be a maximum of five people (+ 1 backup) and some cousins were under the minimum legal age to play, which was 18 years old.
From there, we started planning our audition tape. It had to be BIG & BOLD, eye-catching & fun. And so, we took the classic ‘We Are Family’ by Sister Sledge, and changed up the lyrics to fit the occassion. We also made our own t-shirts & choreographed a dance. When explaining a bit about ourselves to the producers, we ensured that it was funny, and flowed nicely. Check out The Bevilacqua Family audition video below:
The day after I submitted our audition tape, I got an email from one of the Senior Producers of the show. They LOVED it, and were inviting us to Phase #2 of the audition process: an in-person audition at a hotel in Montreal. Well, let me just tell you that the intense rehearsals began. We were meeting up every weekend to practice our dance and of course, brush up on our Family Feud gaming skills. We also had my other aunt, Joanne, involved in this process, as our backup player.
At the in-person audition, we performed the same dance as we had in the video and it was AWESOME. The producers were cheering, as were the other 12 families present. We brought the energy, big time, so much so that I had to step out of the room for a solid ten minutes after to catch my breath and be able to walk again. I exerted every, single ounce of energy, as did my other family members. We also played one practice round of the game against another family. Not that it matters, but we won the round, which gave us even more confidence that we had killed it.
Now, the next step in the process: the wait for that call to see if we made it to the live show. It was only a three week wait, BUT, it felt like an eternity…until one day, my cell phone rang and displayed a number from Toronto. It was a call from one of the producers… “Hi! Can I speak to Giuliana please?” she said. “Yes, this is she!” I replied. “Hi Giuliana, I was just calling to let you know that your family has been selected to come to Toronto to play Family Feud Canada.” she proceeded to say. OMG, I have the chills just writing this out. I instantly started screaming, I couldn’t believe it!! “Are you really that surprised? Your family KILLED it!” she continued. I have one thing to say: I am incredibly thankful to have been working from home that Friday afternoon HAHA.
So that was it. The practices & get togethers HAD to continue…I mean, c’mon. We were flying to Toronto to film at the CBC Studios just 6 weeks later. We had to practice and get even more familiar with the types of questions that have been asked in the past, on the original Family Feud. It seems like it was a blink of an eye later, and we were on a flight to Toronto, to film for this national TV show.
Now, because it was announced to us that we were chosen to be one of the families for the show’s premiere week, win or lose, we would only be playing once. If we won, they would fly us back in the New Year to play again. We were thrilled. What an honour to be one of the families on the premiere week of the show!!
The experience was INCREDIBLE. We got to meet the other families who would be playing on the same weekend as us, had a greenroom and all. When we arrived to the studio, we listened to the producers give us a schedule of the day & the instructions to follow. We then all stepped foot ON SET – really, a surreal moment. I still don’t feel like it was real. When on set, all families did a practice round, which would determine the taping order and who would play against who. We got paired with the Mole family, a beautiful, super kind family from Winnipeg, Manitoba. It was incredible to play against them! 🙂 See some pictures & our episode below!
UGH, SO CLOSE. But, it’s okay, it’s okay! Good answers all around haha! We may not have won the $10,000, but we did win $5 for every point we got in the Fast Money, for a total of $960. Split in five, it’s not that much, but hey, it’s okay! The experience was incredible, and because we won the game, we were going to be invited BACK on the show. That’s when we got to fly back to Toronto in January, to play against the Lui Family from Toronto, ON. We were so bummed when we had to play against them because we had really vibed with them from the moment we met them, and wanted them to win. But, a game is a game and we had no choice haha! See below for our second Family Feud experience!
So there you have it! The Bevilacqua Family’s Family Feud Canada journey. It was absolutely incredible, thrilling & exciting to say the least. To be on national TV is one thing, but to be on national TV alongside your family is another. We are beyond thankful to Family Feud Canada for having selected us and for helping us create memories that will last a lifetime!
Family Feud Canada is now casting for Season 2! For more details, click here!
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VIEW ALSO: The Bevilacqua Family is featured in the Viewer’s Choices for Family Feud Canda’s first season!
And, I have to end off with a huge THANK YOU to Family Feud Canda’s host, Gerry Dee, who was hilarious and made us feel super comfortable throughout the duration of both tapings – you rock!
Disclaimer: Some of the pictures above belong to CBC