By Heidi Konow & Khamille Labbe, Contributing Writers
A year and a half after betting her soul as Rusty Charlie in Saint Leo University’s “Guys and Dolls,” Emily Kochanski is getting a chance to “bet her life” on a new reboot of the 1947 Groucho Marx series of the same name.
Originally a radio show that eventually moved to television, “You Bet Your Life” has gone through three other revivals since it wrapped in the 1960s before the current iteration, rebooted by Jay Leno and Kevin Eubanks. In this new version, as well as in older versions, teams of two answer trivia questions for a monetary reward, which they can then choose to bet in classic “double or nothing” format.
This is an early screen appearance for aspiring actress Kochanski, who has gotten plenty of stage experience during her time at Saint Leo, where she appeared in shows such as “Guys and Dolls” and “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” and in her local community theatre, where she has been acting since the age of seven.
Kochanski found out about “You Bet Your Life” via a casting call on a website she had signed up for.
“What the heck, it’s a foot in the door, it’s something different, and it would be a really cool experience,” said Kochanski, reflecting on her experience on the show and why she decided to get involved.
Landing a role on “You Bet Your Life” was not a one-and-done audition process. There were multiple steps for Kochanski to go through and several months of waiting before she got the call that she was going to be flying out West to Los Angeles to film.
For Kochanski, being on a game show is different from acting on stage: there is no script, multiple angles to pay attention to, and a lot more moving parts. She stated it was a little intimidating, and as excited as she was, she couldn’t help but feel nervous when being on the show.
“They’re filming you from multiple different angles and multiple takes if you mess up a line,” she said.
However, Kochanski’s degree in English with a Dramaturgy specialization and her experience as a Simulation Specialist helped her to hone her skills as a performer. Being a Simulation Specialist allowed Kochanski to model a range of scenarios to enhance learning in various classrooms using different avatars.
For example, when working with students studying social work, Kochanski’s role involved acting like a teenager who had gotten pregnant and abandoned by her parents and boyfriend. She had to create a script and background story to support the social work students’ training requirements. Kochanski admits some students even cried during her portrayal of this role.
“Even though they’re not looking at you, they’re getting a genuine interaction for their education,” she said.
For other aspiring actors, Kochanski’s advice is to always “be yourself.”
“Never try to hide who you are, stay true yourself, because there’s always going to be somebody out there who likes something about who you are,” she said. “Never try to be something you’re not.”
Kochanski does not know when her episode of “You Bet Your Life” will air, but she does know it will air at midnight–it might be something to set the DVR for or, if you are willing to make a bet, staying up to watch it in real-time.
