MTV hopefuls line up for chance in the limelight

A crowd of hopefuls for MTV’s “Real World” displayed big personalities, tans and Boston pride on Saturday as they waited to make the cut for the next season.

Five hours after casting began for Season 27 of MTV’s “Real World,” there were more than 80 people still in line to have their shot at fame.

Most people in line said they had found out about the auditions through word-of-mouth or on Facebook, and rushed to Tommy Doyle’s Irish Pub and Restaurant in Cambridge to show their stuff.

The sunny day brought out over 500 applicants, all attired in their best leggings and Ed Hardy t-shirts. One participant even came with his own six-pack of energy drinks, while another boasted “win or lose, we still booze” on his t-shirt.

While most of the people in line looked like they could be the next MTV’s “Jersey Shore” character, Senior Casting Director Megan Sleeper said that they were looking for all types of participants.

“People think that we go into an audition saying we want this or that kind of person, but that’s not the case,” she said. “Not to sound cliché, but we look for people who are just real.”

The assortment of college students and post-graduates said they all had a special something that would set them apart from the pack. Salem State University senior Allison Kench said that the judges would choose her because of her personality and that “there will be drama with me in the house.”

To narrow down the applicants they had seen in the first four hours of casting, Sleeper and her crew divided the candidates into groups of ten.

From there, Sleeper said the casting crew threw out questions to “really just to let them talk” and see how they reacted in a group setting.

“That is what the show’s really all about,” she said.

After their audition, some people said they were confident that they would receive one of the coveted phone calls for a second interview.

For others, however, the party may have come to an end. One contestant came out from his audition and said, “I may not be on The Real World, but I’ll be famous someday!”

While the majority of participants will not make the cut, Sleeper said the big personalities she and her crew saw today are part of the reason why they continue to come back to Beantown.

“Boston has always been a good place for us to come and audition,” Sleeper said. “I’ve been casting for nine years and it never gets boring.”

Sleeper said there are still times when she finds it hard to believe that this is the show’s 27th season. But she said that what makes the show successful is “when you watch the ‘Real World,’ we mix people of different backgrounds together and everyone can find someone to relate to.”