MTV 'Real World' casting call in Ann Arbor attracts hopefuls
“All the past few seasons have been boring. I hope they would pick me to spice it up a little bit,” the 19-year-old from Detroit said. “I watched the show as a kid and knew once I got to the right age I would try out for it.”
The casting call is being held until 6 p.m. tonight at the Bistro Sports Bar and Grill, 4735 Washtenaw Ave. Ann Arbor is one of a number of places nationwide holding the auditions.
“The Real World” puts a group of young people in a house together for five months and broadcasts the results. Each season is in a different location; season 24’s locale has not yet been released.
There were around 30 people waiting to audition as the doors opened at 11 a.m., with more arriving by the minute. Each was given a form to fill out, then they waited, chatting nervously.
For Ann Arborite Delorian Davis, 22, Tuesday’s audition was his second for the show.
“I went to a casting call in Chicago last year. I made it to an on-camera interview. If I can make it that far I am pretty sure I can make it that far again,” he said.
So what does it take to get on “The Real World”?
“We want people who are interesting, who have a curiosity about the world and other people,” Kasha Foster, Los Angeles-based casting director, said. “But we also want to have people who don’t have the same experiences, so they can learn from each other and grow, and learn about themselves.”
Living five months under the eye of the TV lens, and having the most intimate details of their day-to-day lives made public, didn’t seem to be that big a deal to the young people auditioning for the show.
“People our age are pretty much used to cameras being around,” said Chris Chambers, 24, of Troy. “There’s that saying, live as if everything is going to be published.”
Foster agreed.
“We just live in different times … I think that in this age of MySpace and Facebook and Twitter people are not as private; people live their life in a much more public way. ‘The Real World’ they see as an extension of that,” she said.
Roger Greenwood, 20, from Taylor, showed up at 8 a.m. and said he was first to arrive.
“I want to be able to break the gay stereotype. I want to stand out for younger gay rights. Not only that, I feel that living in a house with six strangers is a really good way to find out about yourself,” he explained. “I think my chances are pretty good. I’m going to go in there with confidence and be myself.”
Brittany Tousignant of Dearborn Heights said her reasons for showing up at the casting call were similar.
“I’m 18, I want to experience something different, something new, and find out different things about myself I’m not quite sure about. I’m not shy and I am definitely not afraid of the camera,” she said.
According to Foster, those who will go on in the process will be notified quickly.
“If we want to move forward with someone we’ll let them know by the weekend,” she promised.
Although confidence seemed to be strong among the applicants, Sabrina Must, 23, from the Bloomfield Hills area, had one qualm. “I don’t know if I am crazy enough,” she said.
Roger LeLievre is a freelance writer who covers music for AnnArbor.com