Montanans take part in "The Real World" casting call. Reality television hopefuls auditioned for a chance to appear on the 24th season of MTV's "The Real World" as casting directors spent Wednesday in Missoula.
Young adults ages 18 to 24 showed up for the open casting call at The Press Box sports bar Wednesday hoping they had what "The Real World" was looking for.
After filling out an application, each participant met with the casting director, Jessica Thompson in groups of about 10 for an interview conversation. Thompson said it's important to give people in smaller towns a chance at the gig.
"This season we really tried to expand to a lot of cities we haven't touched," Thompson said, "to make sure we get the diversity we're looking for. Different stories of people that may not get the chance to try out, especially in a small town like Missoula."
Hannah Kooistra, an anthropology student at the University of Montana, waited at a table for assistants to call her name for the group interview. She said she always wanted to be on the show and when she read about the casting call, she arranged to try out.
"It's right here at The Press Box; just a little drive away," Kooistra said. "Plus I don't know what I am going to do with my life after college."
Kooistra's strategy for standing out: act normal.
"I think it's important to have a big personality and be confident with something like this."
It's Thompson's first time to Montana and she said she's impressed with Western Montana's selection.
"I'm glad to be here," Thompson said. "I like coming to small towns and getting that small feel. People who are real, and people who are in it for the experience."
Thompson plans to read all the applications Wednesday night after the interviews. She'll conduct phone interviews for the first round of casting in the next couple of weeks.
(from October 27, 2009)
Montana young adults with a craving to appear in one of the original realty TV shows should keep their calendar open for next Wednesday. That's when producers of the The Real World show on MTV will stop in Missoula for an open casting call.
The Real World made its debut in 1992, one of the first hits as MTV began to transition away from playing videos. It's not only MTV's longest-running show, but also considered to be one of the pioneers of the realty television style dominating television in recent years. Next Wednesday, producers with Bunim/Murray Productions will be stopping in Missoula for an open casting call to find people between the ages of 18-and-24 who would like to appear on The Real World 24.
The show won't be filmed in Missoula and the stop here is one of half-a-dozen stops show recruiters will be staging next week. The local casting call will take place between 11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Wednesday at the Press Box Sports Bar on East Broadway.
More details from the producer's website:
http://www.bunim-murray.com/index.phpsession=casting&id=6
