Dozens of aspiring reality TV stars gathered around Cadillac Ranch at Tempe Marketplace on Saturday hoping to be chosen for the next season of MTV’s “The Real World.”
Airing since 1992, the reality TV series that documents the lives of young adult strangers living in a house together is now casting for its 26th season. The open casting call was held in Tempe because of its proximity to both ASU and UA.
“[Tempe is] one of our go-to cities where we always find great applicants,” said Aja Kimura, a casting director for the show. “We tend to find people in Tempe that are fun-loving yet ambitious.”
“The Real World” was created as a social experiment to see how a group of strangers, between 18 and 24 years old, act when placed in a house together.
The casting call took place to find roommates for the next season of the show, and the location has yet to be decided. Participants are on the show for one season and are paid a small stipend for their time.
Early childhood education junior Christina Rawlinson showed up for casting because a friend of hers was on the show a few seasons ago and she thought it would be a good experience.
“I want the opportunity to see other places outside of Arizona,” she said. “Without this experience I wouldn’t have the means to get out on my own.”
She added that she wants to go into acting one day and thinks this is a good opportunity to get her face out there.
Kimura said casting calls for “The Real World” take place in about 40 cities per season. But Tempe, with seven “Real World” participants since the show’s inception, has had more residents picked to be on the show than any other city.
“We consistently find more people that make it on the show in Tempe than we do in any other major city,” she said.
People hoping to be chosen for the show filled out applications and met with casting directors in a small group. While in the group, they had about five minutes to talk about their lives and explain what’s interesting about them.
Applicants were asked questions about their majors, jobs and relationship statuses, among other things.
The casting directors looked for anyone with a charismatic personality and a unique life story, Kimura said. Specifically, they wanted to find seven to eight diverse people who their audience could relate to.
Any applicants who impressed the casting directors were given a one-on-one interview Sunday.
Wayne Claypoole, a criminal justice sophomore, said he was trying out for the show for the experience of being on television.
“I want to show the world what real is,” he said.
Reach the reporter at danielle.legler@asu.edu
