Monday, June 8, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
My Big Brother 11 Open Casting Call Experience!
Hello everyone,
I wanted to share my experience at the Big Brother 11 Open Casting Call that occurred in NYC on April 5th, 2009. This was my second time auditioning and due to how late last year's audition went, I was much smarter this year. I arrived at about 10:15AM or so and met my friend who auditioned with me last year, Adam. He had arrived there before me, so as I got to the venue I called him and asked him where in the line he was. When I got there I found him right away and joined him in line. I looked at the turn-out thus far and it seemed to be a bit of a smaller crowd. Also, unlike last year, we all were gathered outside the building, and not in the lobby. My friend had began to talk to the people behind us in line before I got there, so when I arrived we all began to talk.
Standing in line behind us were two friendly guys. One was named Shaun and the other was named Joe. They hadn't come together, but we all became engrossed in conversation. Shaun was a fan of the show for the past 10 seasons, but Joe wasn't an avid viewer of the show. This was Joe's second time trying out, his first being in Season 9. He considered himself an aspiring actor, and even had an agent. Just the kind of person Big Brother is looking for, I'd suppose since almost every season there is an actor wannabe on the show, right? We all talked about the show, and our thoughts about past seasons.
Before long, it was almost time to go inside. The casting agents and those that worked for them made announcements to the crowd about what we needed to get in.(Personal information and such) Since my friend and I were familiar with what forms of identification and such that we needed, we were a lot more prepared than we were last year. My friend did need a copy of his Social Security card though,and luckily there was a place right across the street that we went to. It was so much easier than all the running around we did last year to find somewhere to get copies and such, so I was very grateful for that.
While waiting for 12 Noon to come, and talking to those in line with us, I felt a tap on my shoulder and my friend alerted me as to someone standing behind me. I turned around and standing there was 2 guys I was planning on meeting up with at the Casting Call from another Reality Forum we're both on. We introduced ourselves and discussed how long we'd been waiting and one of them mentioned that the NY turn-out was a bit bigger than the MA one. They were from CT and came out to the NY one the day after the Boston, MA one they went to. Then we said we'd catch up later and they went to go get a spot in line. When I had told the guys we became friendly with behind us in line that I had known the guys from a Reality TV site, one of the asked me if it was Joker's. I was pretty surprised about that.
About a half hour before the start time, which was 12 Noon, some people with cameras came out and panned the crowd. Some people began to do outlandish things to get the attention of the camera, such as lift their shirt and things of that nature. The guy who I was in line with, Joe, was good at impersonating celebrities and got the camera's attention by doing some of that. He also had mentioned to us that he had just auditioned for "America's Got Talent" and spoke with us about his experiences there.
A little before we all were ready to go in ( In groups of 20 apiece) my friend looked down the street and saw Alex from Big Brother 9 approaching. My friend stopped him and he spoke with us for a few minutes. He mentioned he was coming out to support his fellow New Yorkers. He also spoke about an event he's attending in May with other people from Big Brother that Kail from Big Brother 8 is coordinating. Alex also spoke with us on the whole process he went through to get on the show and was just encouraging all of us to make sure we did well.
After what seemed like no time at all, we began to get let in. We were in the first group this time, unlike last year where were seen a little before 7:00PM! We were told that we'd have to walk up 3 flights of stairs (despite there being an elevator in the building) so as to avoid chaos, I'd suppose. I jokingly said to the people we'd befriended that maybe it was an 'endurance' challenge. When we arrived upstairs a lady (who was not very nice, if you ask me) told us what we needed to bring inside with us. Some people didn't have completed applications with them (similar to last year) and she told them that they'd have to go inside, tell the people they didn't have what was required and then come back out, fill it out and re-wait with the people who'd been after them in line. I was just grateful I wasn't one of those people. We then began waiting until it was our turn. Another (nicer) woman came around and had us sign releases because there was another production company in the building and they needed clearance since we might appear in whatever they were shooting for.
After about another 15 minutes or so, we reached the end of the chair line. (where we were sitting and continually moving down until it was our turn) Right before it was time for my friend and I to go in to audition, Alex came up to talk to those of us who were waiting to go in, and telling us about the process of how the casting directors go from city to city and hold auditions and that they watch ALL the tapes of those trying out. He also mentioned the timeline that it's most likely to get a call-back in. I was also asking him some questions about the process. He was very kind and, although I was not a big fan of his in his season, he was a lot more friendly in person, and much more so this year as opposed to last, in my opinion. Again, I was very surprised that I wasn't very nervous, because I tend to be an anxious person and public speaking isn't really my thing. My friend went in before me, and then the door opened and it was my turn. I waited in the corridor outside the room and handed one of the women my application and other papers and then I waited to be called. After about a minute and a half, the door opened and I went into the room. The man filming us was the same one as last year. When I entered the room, I took my bag off and stepped in front of the camera. He then proceeded to ask me some questions and I spoke a bit about myself and what would make me a good Houseguest, and before I knew it, I was all done. While in the room, I had mentioned that it was my second time auditioning, at which point the camera man said he'd remembered me, That made me feel good.
As I exited the room, to join my friend, who had began talking to the guy who had taken his shirt off for the camera panning the crowd outside earlier, Joe the guy behind us in line, asked me how it went and I told him my thoughts. Then it was his turn. We all said 'Good Luck' to each other and said bye to those still waiting and left. When we went downstairs, Jason and Jim the guys from the Reality Site we met, were waiting to be called in and we spoke to them for a bit. Then my friend, Adam and I saw someone else we knew in line and went over to say "Hello" to him.
Then my friend and I went to go have lunch. It was a little before 3:00PM at that time and I was really happy that we managed to get done so soon. We really smartened up from last year's experience. After lunch, we went back to the venue just to see if there was anyone we'd been speaking to coming out, and then, my friend and I headed home.
All in all, it was another wonderful experience. I would urge anyone who is a hardcore fan of the show to go out and audition if you can. Even if you think you'll never be picked, or that it's something that would put you too much outside your comfort zone, you really should do it. It's one of the most fun and exciting things I've done before and it really leaves you feeling good, self-confident and proud. Also, so many characters come every year (at least in NY) so, you'd be guaranteed to have a fun time meeting some new people.
I hope you all enjoyed reading my recap of my experience at this year's Big Brother 11 Open Casting Call! Here's to many more fun and exciting season's trying to get on my favorite Reality show!
I wanted to share my experience at the Big Brother 11 Open Casting Call that occurred in NYC on April 5th, 2009. This was my second time auditioning and due to how late last year's audition went, I was much smarter this year. I arrived at about 10:15AM or so and met my friend who auditioned with me last year, Adam. He had arrived there before me, so as I got to the venue I called him and asked him where in the line he was. When I got there I found him right away and joined him in line. I looked at the turn-out thus far and it seemed to be a bit of a smaller crowd. Also, unlike last year, we all were gathered outside the building, and not in the lobby. My friend had began to talk to the people behind us in line before I got there, so when I arrived we all began to talk.
Standing in line behind us were two friendly guys. One was named Shaun and the other was named Joe. They hadn't come together, but we all became engrossed in conversation. Shaun was a fan of the show for the past 10 seasons, but Joe wasn't an avid viewer of the show. This was Joe's second time trying out, his first being in Season 9. He considered himself an aspiring actor, and even had an agent. Just the kind of person Big Brother is looking for, I'd suppose since almost every season there is an actor wannabe on the show, right? We all talked about the show, and our thoughts about past seasons.
Before long, it was almost time to go inside. The casting agents and those that worked for them made announcements to the crowd about what we needed to get in.(Personal information and such) Since my friend and I were familiar with what forms of identification and such that we needed, we were a lot more prepared than we were last year. My friend did need a copy of his Social Security card though,and luckily there was a place right across the street that we went to. It was so much easier than all the running around we did last year to find somewhere to get copies and such, so I was very grateful for that.
While waiting for 12 Noon to come, and talking to those in line with us, I felt a tap on my shoulder and my friend alerted me as to someone standing behind me. I turned around and standing there was 2 guys I was planning on meeting up with at the Casting Call from another Reality Forum we're both on. We introduced ourselves and discussed how long we'd been waiting and one of them mentioned that the NY turn-out was a bit bigger than the MA one. They were from CT and came out to the NY one the day after the Boston, MA one they went to. Then we said we'd catch up later and they went to go get a spot in line. When I had told the guys we became friendly with behind us in line that I had known the guys from a Reality TV site, one of the asked me if it was Joker's. I was pretty surprised about that.
About a half hour before the start time, which was 12 Noon, some people with cameras came out and panned the crowd. Some people began to do outlandish things to get the attention of the camera, such as lift their shirt and things of that nature. The guy who I was in line with, Joe, was good at impersonating celebrities and got the camera's attention by doing some of that. He also had mentioned to us that he had just auditioned for "America's Got Talent" and spoke with us about his experiences there.
A little before we all were ready to go in ( In groups of 20 apiece) my friend looked down the street and saw Alex from Big Brother 9 approaching. My friend stopped him and he spoke with us for a few minutes. He mentioned he was coming out to support his fellow New Yorkers. He also spoke about an event he's attending in May with other people from Big Brother that Kail from Big Brother 8 is coordinating. Alex also spoke with us on the whole process he went through to get on the show and was just encouraging all of us to make sure we did well.
After what seemed like no time at all, we began to get let in. We were in the first group this time, unlike last year where were seen a little before 7:00PM! We were told that we'd have to walk up 3 flights of stairs (despite there being an elevator in the building) so as to avoid chaos, I'd suppose. I jokingly said to the people we'd befriended that maybe it was an 'endurance' challenge. When we arrived upstairs a lady (who was not very nice, if you ask me) told us what we needed to bring inside with us. Some people didn't have completed applications with them (similar to last year) and she told them that they'd have to go inside, tell the people they didn't have what was required and then come back out, fill it out and re-wait with the people who'd been after them in line. I was just grateful I wasn't one of those people. We then began waiting until it was our turn. Another (nicer) woman came around and had us sign releases because there was another production company in the building and they needed clearance since we might appear in whatever they were shooting for.
After about another 15 minutes or so, we reached the end of the chair line. (where we were sitting and continually moving down until it was our turn) Right before it was time for my friend and I to go in to audition, Alex came up to talk to those of us who were waiting to go in, and telling us about the process of how the casting directors go from city to city and hold auditions and that they watch ALL the tapes of those trying out. He also mentioned the timeline that it's most likely to get a call-back in. I was also asking him some questions about the process. He was very kind and, although I was not a big fan of his in his season, he was a lot more friendly in person, and much more so this year as opposed to last, in my opinion. Again, I was very surprised that I wasn't very nervous, because I tend to be an anxious person and public speaking isn't really my thing. My friend went in before me, and then the door opened and it was my turn. I waited in the corridor outside the room and handed one of the women my application and other papers and then I waited to be called. After about a minute and a half, the door opened and I went into the room. The man filming us was the same one as last year. When I entered the room, I took my bag off and stepped in front of the camera. He then proceeded to ask me some questions and I spoke a bit about myself and what would make me a good Houseguest, and before I knew it, I was all done. While in the room, I had mentioned that it was my second time auditioning, at which point the camera man said he'd remembered me, That made me feel good.
As I exited the room, to join my friend, who had began talking to the guy who had taken his shirt off for the camera panning the crowd outside earlier, Joe the guy behind us in line, asked me how it went and I told him my thoughts. Then it was his turn. We all said 'Good Luck' to each other and said bye to those still waiting and left. When we went downstairs, Jason and Jim the guys from the Reality Site we met, were waiting to be called in and we spoke to them for a bit. Then my friend, Adam and I saw someone else we knew in line and went over to say "Hello" to him.
Then my friend and I went to go have lunch. It was a little before 3:00PM at that time and I was really happy that we managed to get done so soon. We really smartened up from last year's experience. After lunch, we went back to the venue just to see if there was anyone we'd been speaking to coming out, and then, my friend and I headed home.
All in all, it was another wonderful experience. I would urge anyone who is a hardcore fan of the show to go out and audition if you can. Even if you think you'll never be picked, or that it's something that would put you too much outside your comfort zone, you really should do it. It's one of the most fun and exciting things I've done before and it really leaves you feeling good, self-confident and proud. Also, so many characters come every year (at least in NY) so, you'd be guaranteed to have a fun time meeting some new people.
I hope you all enjoyed reading my recap of my experience at this year's Big Brother 11 Open Casting Call! Here's to many more fun and exciting season's trying to get on my favorite Reality show!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Monday, September 15, 2008
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