At the Downtown Sports Bar and Grill Saturday, Bunim /Murray Productions held an open casting call for MTV’s hit reality show “The Real World” season 27 hopefuls.
The auditions were held from 10 a.m . to 5 p.m . for budding reality stars over the age of 19 who were eager to share their stories with the world. Groups of potential new cast members were asked to fill out a questionnaire and subsequently interviewed by MTV casting directors.
The MTV series, “The Real World,” famously picks seven strangers to live and work together in a pre-determined city for roughly three months. For nearly 20 years, the quip of the show has been, “find out what happens when people stop being polite and start being real.”
Based on Saturday’s turn out, season 27 of the show could potentially house a Raleigh-based cast member. Robert Stapleton, co-owner of the Downtown Sports Bar and Grill, said between 200 and 300 people came out for the casting call.
“There was a pretty steady flow of people coming in all day,” Stapleton said.
According to Stapleton, the auditions brought out Raleigh’s more eccentric and eclectic scene. “I definitely saw some weird people come out. Or let’s just say… interesting people,” Stapleton said.
Raleigh resident, Ashleigh Bannow , went early to guarantee her spot in line for the auditions. Bannow said she was up at 7 a.m . to be ready and in line at 9 a.m .
“I wasn’t really sure how many people would show up so I didn’t want to take any chances by going late. Early bird gets the worm,” Bannow said. A self-proclaimed out-going girl who is eager to step into the world of reality T.V ., Bannow said she thinks she would be a real asset to “The Real World” cast. “Well I would certainly bring some spice to the show — that’s for sure. I think it would be a lot of fun,” Bannow said.
For the upcoming season, Bunim /Murray Productions searched for new “roommates” who have strong personalities and unusual life stories. The casting directors were primarily looking for applicants with diverse backgrounds who found challenges in living a normal life.
Parampreet Sekhon , a senior in mechanical engineering, said he went to the casting call to observe the hopeful applicants. Sekhon said he never planned to audition, but just wanted to see how the process worked and who would come out to audition.
“It was interesting to see how many people took [the auditions] very seriously,” Sekhon said. Of the mass of people that showed up, the mix of males and females was about equal. “I thought there would be a lot more girls than guys but that wasn’t the case. There were just as many guys as girls. I guess some guys really want to be famous too,” Sekhon said.
Past seasons of “The Real World” have taken cast members to various locations including New York, Miami, San Diego, Cancun, and even as far as Paris. Season 27’s location is yet to be determined.