Lisa Johnston grew up watching “Jeopardy!” The whole family loved the show, especially Johnston’s grandmother, who dreamed of being a contestant.
“Her sister lived in California, so she used to say, ’Someday I’ll go on “Jeopardy!” and we’ll go out to California, and I’ll visit my sister, and I’ll take you with me,’” Johnston, a lifelong East Boston resident, recalled in an interview Monday.
Johnston’s Aunt Judy would often watch with them, and though she was a bigger fan of “Wheel of Fortune,” she too dreamed of a family trip to California and appearing as contestants on those beloved shows.
Johnston’s grandmother died while she was in high school, before she could fulfill her dream, and her aunt is now gone as well. But Johnston was able to make that family dream come true for them recently, as she traveled to Los Angeles to appear on “Jeopardy!” wearing a bracelet that had belonged to her grandmother and been passed down to Aunt Judy before her death.
Johnston, a teacher at Sacred Heart School in Roslindale, isn’t allowed to say how well she performed in the special teachers’ tournament that begins airing this week, but she hinted that her supporters should plan to tune in again after her first appearance on the game show this Friday.
Johnston had tried out for the show three times before finally getting a callback in May of last year, when the show’s contestant coordinators came to Boston for auditions. It was a stressful process, Johnston said, just learning to use the buzzer system properly and facing the stress of having to answer questions with all eyes on her and only a few seconds to respond.
Having completed the auditions, Johnston then had to wait and see if she would be invited to appear on the show, a wait that can last as long as 18 months. Fortunately for her, a teachers’ tournament on the show last year had been popular, and the show was ready to do another. After a follow-up call last August and another in October, she was confirmed as a contestant.
In late January, Johnston traveled with 14 other teachers and one alternate to shoot the tournament in Los Angeles. It was an unforgettable experience — but a surprisingly brief one. Though each half-hour episode takes around 45 minutes to shoot, it feels like much less, she said.