You could call it "Let's make a 'Deal.'"

That's what they're doing, enthusiastic hour after enthusiastic hour, at Sonalysts studios in Waterford: filming episodes of "Deal or No Deal."

The major lure for the producers to move the syndicated daytime game show from California to Connecticut was tax credits, along with the Sonalysts facility itself and its proximity to New York City and the Big Apple's film-industry labor force.

But a side benefit is the audiences.

During a break in filming on Thursday, host Howie Mandel said, "In L.A., you can go to a taping anywhere, anytime, and I don't know if I'm using the right word, but it can be jaded. Here, everybody is so excited to come to a taping and see the show. The energy here is a lot more electric than usual."

This is the first week of taping here, and Mandel said he hasn't been out and around southeastern Connecticut, at least "not this time. But I've been here a lot. I worked at the Mohegan Sun all the time, so I'm out and about.

"You know what I'm trying to get on? I want to get on a nuclear submarine. ... Every time I come here, I never have time, and the guy told me to call him next time. So that's my dream."

Now, not only was the production moved from Culver City, Calif., to here, but so was the actual, physical set, which makes it all a bit surreal for Mandel.

He describes the experience this way: "You can imagine if you're in your house, and you're really comfortable and you're a homebody and then they pick up your house one day and they drop it. It's like 'The Wizard of Oz.' Then you go outside. If you walk outside at Culver City versus walking outside here, this is a lot nicer. It's beautiful. ... (On set), I can't tell that I'm someplace different. But walking through the door, I'm in a whole new world."

The actual taping of "Deal or No Deal" runs like the proverbial well-oiled machine - no wasted time here. The "Deal" people keep the audience fired up, with one guy waving a towel above his head to signal the crowd to get all fired up when the show returns from a commercial break.

Sometimes during downtime, club-happy music pulsates over the sound system. In commercial breaks, workers come out to blot a contestant's brow and polish the front of his briefcase.

As soon as the action starts up again, the audience is focused, cheering and yelling the obligatory advice or either "No deal!" or "Take the deal!"

(Audience members are so ardent that a gaggle of them waited a couple of hours outside, under a tent that provided little relief from the humidity, until they could get in, since their original show slot had been overbooked.)

For those not in the game-show know, "Deal" works this way: There are a whole range of monetary totals hidden inside 22 briefcases. A contestant selects one briefcase but doesn't know what dollar figure it holds. He then selects, one by one, other cases and gets to see what their totals are. He tries to figure what the odds are that his original briefcase holds, say, the top prize of $500,000 ... or the groan-inducing low total of one cent.

And then the show's mysterious banker periodically offers the contestant various dollar figures to end the game - and the question is, should he take that deal?

There's apparently a whole showbiz science to audience prepping. Among the rules for "Deal or No Deal" crowds: Do not wear clothing with logos. Do not cross your arms - not good body language.

Odera Taylor of Mystic was part of a group from the Garde Arts Center who went to "Deal" on Wednesday (Jeanne Sigel, who is the Garde's director of development, has been helping the "Deal" company get groups for the audience).

Taylor said, "They showed us the proper way to clap. If you didn't clap high enough, the camera can't see you clapping."

Steve Sigel, the Garde's executive director, was there, too, and he said, "One of the things they tell you is, whether you think it or not, the cameras are looking at you all the time. ... The audience was well-rehearsed. They applauded on cue. When they laughed, they laughed with sincerity."

They mix and match where people sit. Sigel was behind three people wearing pink, but those folks were separated so the camera wouldn't catch a clump of pink shirts all together in the crowd. You're not supposed to wear shorts, but, if you do, you won't get seated in the front row.

"It was a nice, memorable experience," Taylor said. "I was surprised because it was so much fun. I truly enjoyed myself. The person sitting next to me really enjoyed themselves, and we just laughed a lot."

Among the locals populating Thursday's "Deal" audience was Marcia Harriman of East Lyme. She works as a waitress at Pizza Grille in Mystic, and some of the show's crew had come to the restaurant. Her daughter is now working as a junior production assistant for the company that recruits audiences for "Deal."

Describing seeing a taping for the first time on Thursday, Harriman said, "Oh, my god, the excitement is just unbelievable. And Howie is so personable and down to earth."

Steve Sigel said, "It was nice to go to a TV set in Waterford. The facilities are just as impressive in Waterford as they are anywhere else. I hope word gets around the industry that Sonalysts and this community are a great place to shoot these kinds of things."

To get free tickets to be in the audience for "Deal or No Deal," e-mail jampackedtvshows.com and put "Deal or No Deal" in the subject line.

k.dorsey@theday.com