by: Erica Ehm
It was the biggest Life Class audience for Oprah yet and it was here in Toronto. Over 8,500 women of all ages, shapes and colours waited in line for hours to be part of the audience for Oprah's travelling Life Class television series on the OWN Network. And me. Joining Oprah onstage was her spiritual swat team: Bishop Jackes, Iyanla Vanzant, Deepak Chopra, and Tony Robbins. The room was electric with passion—it was like a revival meeting to pray at the alter of Oprah. I have to admit, I felt a little disconnected.
I am a big fan of Oprah, but less excited about the self-help movement. Spiritual and motivational speakers don't always sit well with me, especially when they pull religion into the mix. And that's what it felt like during the Life Lesson's warm-up to me. Even though I wasn't moved by the "Hallelujahs," tears and hugging your neighbour parts, my heart did start to race when Oprah—really OPRAH!!—came out onstage in a "tweetable" bright orange dress thirty rows in front of me. I wanted to run up to her and say "Finally we meet. I have so much to ask you about building a media empire."
Unfortunately Oprah had a show to shoot, so our heart-to-heart chat was put on hold. So, instead of getting it straight from the master, I watched the master at work. Remember, I used to do live interviews for over a decade. But watching Oprah sparkle onstage, bring out the best of her guests, and run the show with quiet strength was nothing short of impressive. While others around me were waiting for self-help nuggets about Gratitude like Tony Robbins', "A bad experience in the past can make you a better person in the future," I was waiting to watch Oprah when the cameras stopping rolling.
That's when I felt a thrill. In the first commercial break, when Oprah bent over to take off her leopard stilettos and joke with the audience that she'd had enough of wearing those killer shoes, I felt like she was talking to us as if we're girlfriends. Later on, she told all 8,500 of us she wore size 11 shoes. BFF! In another break, after an emotional discussion with an audience member who had lost her husband to cancer, Oprah teared up. How is it she still gets emotionally moved from hearing similar stories of loss from strangers? It's her amazing way of connecting and listening to those around her.
"You raised us!" yelled two twenty-year-old sisters from the audience. During the break, Oprah walked over to listen to the girls explain how they've been watching her show since they were eleven. The reality that THEY. WERE. TALKING. TO. OPRAH. dawned on them simultaneously and they both started wailing. Oprah calmed them down by suggesting they both stop crying and enjoy the moment. "You don't want to look back on this and think you blew it," she advised. "Live in the present and take it in." Sage advice. I was in awe. Seriously. The girls composed themselves and Oprah glided away.
That's when things became extremely exciting. Oprah was walking in my direction. I saw her "tweetable" orange dress move towards me, her security guards fiercely protecting her as she made her way through the giddy audience. Closer and closer she came, until she was eight rows away. And. She. Stopped.
The audience was going wild. Oprah was amongst us. Women started shrieking, many whipped out their cell phones to capture this life changing moment. Even men's voices were yelling Oprah's name. Not me. I was frozen, mesmerized by how relaxed she was in the crowd. "I see you," Oprah shouts out to us. "I know you exist."
Our face-to-face didn't happen. Shocking but true. But I was touched by the power of Oprah today. Someday we will meet. And when we do, I will live in that moment and take it in.
by: Kelly Medd
Did you hear that whoosh? That was the sound of Oprah leaving our air space with her pockets full of Canadian money. Last night, at the second taping of Oprah’s Lifeclass which aired live from the Toronto Convention Center, 8500 people learned the importance of forgiveness. The topic was spot-on considering the audience seemed none too pleased by the time we hit the auditorium.
In line for the first couple of hours patience was a necessity. Blocks and blocks of women chatted, got to know each other and had great fun staring down judgemental men who had to do things, “more important than Oprah.” We terrified them. It was fun.
Approaching the third hour, the sun occasionally ducked behind clouds, rain threatened, shoes came off and we huddled to escape the wind.
Going into the fourth hour and way past 3:15pm when the doors were supposed to open, all politeness went out the window.
This crowd had no forgiveness.
Finally the doors opened. Do you remember the pushing and shoving of a general admission concert? Well, this was a toned down, better dressed version. In body we moved fast and efficiently but in our heads we were maniacs and ready to throw down at the first sign of trouble.
The front section was full. It was painfully obvious no matter how long we had waited we weren’t going to see Oprah—we were going to watch her on big monitors. So my friend and I claimed seats and watched the insanity unfold.
At 5pm Deepak Chopra began as people were still being herded in. The live taping part was to begin at 8pm, which meant they had three hours to get through four amazing, inspirational speakers. Under the best circumstances I have an issue understanding Deepak, so after trying to hear him over the echoing sound of hundreds of high heels across cement, I gave up. Inner peace couldn’t have been further away.
After everyone had settled, Iyanla Vanzant swept into the room and there was a noticeable shift. I admit I had no idea who she was, but now I want to know more. She instantly won everyone over. Her energy was undeniable, her message clear and articulated through a smile that took up the entire room. When she left we missed her.
Tony Robbins continued the momentum and literally made the audience closer by having us do some body language exercises. Whenever I see Tony Robbins and his chest beating intensity I’m reminded of The Hulk and I imagine him just ripping off his shirt. Yes, he’s over the top, but the man knows what he’s doing.
By now I’m going into the seventh hour of my Oprah experience. No food or drinks were allowed inside so needless to say I was starving. I slipped into the concession area with the rest of the people awkwardly standing around inhaling food because there wasn’t a chair to be found. Ten hours from start to finish and they can’t put out some chairs in the eating area?
Finally, I’m back burping up sushi just in time for Bishop Jackes to make me pregnant. He says we all have a baby inside us dying to get out. The baby represents our dreams but in order to give birth to our possibilities we must endure some pain. He ended his speech with us all holding hands and pushing to birth our babies. You really had to be there.
Finally the time came. The energy was electric. Chants of Oprah vibrated off the walls. I know you’ve all seen her show and the experience was just like you’ve imagined. It was interesting to see her interact with her producer during the commercial breaks. She was charming, engaging and professional. She kept telling the back she was coming to see us. “I’m going to need a car to get me back there.”
We all laughed. Silly Oprah.
When it was all over, I waited patiently for people to file out because I knew my blistered feet wouldn’t move me as fast as I would like. I searched the expressions of the crowd as they moved toward the exits. No longer were their faces painted with frustration over long line ups, no food, bad seats and missing their chance to touch Oprah. They seemed content, tired and dare I say...forgiving.
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