As a male model and dancer in the Boston area, 23-year-old Jamal Stephens knows the open casting call circuit well. He’s auditioned for MTV’s reality shows ‘The Real World’ and ‘Becoming,’ where he hoped ‘to become’ Usher. And yesterday afternoon, along with an expected 300 other college-age students gathered at The Rack, Stephens hoped to become one of 12 cast members in an upcoming spring break reality movie.
The film, ‘Spring Break: The Reality Movie,’ will follow the lives of 12 college students as they partake in the spring break hot-spot of Cancun, Mexico.
According to Damon Furberg, a casting director for Bunim-Murray productions, the film, set to tape for nine days in March, is innovative in its premise.
‘This is the first time anyone has tried to take a reality concept to the theaters,’ Furberg said. ‘Think of it as a reality version of a teen movie like American Pie.’
‘Cancun is the number one fantasy destination for spring break,’ said producer Mary-Ellis Bunim in a press release. ‘We think it’s the perfect backdrop for our authentic stories to unfold.’
Boston was one of the last stops for the casting directors, included among, Athens, Ga., Tempe, Ariz., Burlington, Vt., and several other large state school areas. Around 1:00 p.m. yesterday, only 100 people had shown up for the auditions, a number that was low, but not unexpected, said Casting Director Stephen Blackhart.
‘Whenever you have a new project, you have a lower turnout,’ Blackhart said. ‘People get less revved up about it.’
As the various applicants awaited interviews and filled out 12-page long applications, many said they were unsure as to what they were auditioning for.
‘Honestly, I didn’t even know it was a reality movie,’ said Christos Magoufis, a theater arts major at University of Massachusetts Boston. ‘But anything you can do to get your name out there, your face, is good.’
Boston University students Sara Schiano and Megan Hoffman said they decided to audition on a whim, but hadn’t heard much about the film.
‘Maybe I’m interested in doing it,’ said Schiano, a junior in the College of Communication and the College of Arts and Sciences. ‘I’m undecided and need to know more about it. Right now everyone is checking out the competition and seeing who we’re going to be spilling our guts to.’
The group interviews consisted of about 10 to 12 people, with a generally higher ratio of males to females. After the applicants played a ‘party game’ to lighten up the mood and answer questions about themselves, they were then asked to act out skits or songs for the casting director.
‘I think they want conflict, definitely,’ said Kristin Hussey, 19. ‘I think they’re looking for people who don’t get along.’
However, Furberg said he and the other casting directors have various criteria in mind when conducting the interviews.
‘We always look for charismatic people with an interesting life and one unique thing about them,’ he said. ‘In this film, we’re looking for groups of people who already know each other. Maybe a father and son or a couple who broke up.’
‘I think when you’re reasonably savvy as a casting director, you’re able to pick out people who are trying to conform,’ Furberg said. ‘People who try to hard don’t get very far in the casting process.’
‘I saw a lot of pretty stereotypical answers,’ said Mike Vitka, a theater major at Salem State. ‘I don’t know if I would get chosen … but I’m hoping they’ll take a chance.’
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