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The Daily Northwestern

As the world turns in the typical lives of college students, one Communication freshman awaits her first soap opera appearance tomorrow.

But Megan Goldkamp said she doesn’t plan to watch her national debut — she’ll be too busy focusing on her Introduction to Shakespeare discussion section.

Goldkamp plays a college student in two episodes of “As the World Turns” that will air Friday and Monday at 1 p.m. on CBS. Her character, Dara, will reappear on the show Dec. 12 and 13.

Goldkamp said her private acting coach, Carrie Houk, encouraged her to audition for the show. The auditions took place in her hometown of St. Louis in early August. More than 400 others auditioned for three available parts.

“I was shocked when I got the part,” she said. “The (casting directors) were pretty nonchalant about (the offer). It was funny. I think they wanted my younger look, and I did have more acting experience than a lot of the people there.”

Prior to the audition, Goldkamp had appeared in student films, plays and a local commercial, as well as having taken private lessons.

Her appearance on the show, set at Webster University in St. Louis, is part of a subplot involving 10 colleges around the country and 40 students in speaking roles.

According to Alan Lucher, the show’s public relations manager, the road trip is a way to take the show out of its typical Brooklyn studio and bring it to its fans across the nation.

Goldkamp’s character, Dara, gets caught up in a love triangle between Aaron, Lucy and Allison. Aaron and Lucy are lovers going from town to town hiding out on college campuses, dodging family members and law enforcement officials. They are followed by Allison, a femme fatale hellbent on having Aaron for herself.

“Aaron and Lucy show up on a motorcycle, and I hit on Aaron the whole time,” Goldkamp said.

Dara and her friends help Aaron and Lucy escape to Indiana. One step behind the pair, Allison shows up on campus and, against all odds, bumps into Dara. At the time, Dara has a handkerchief Aaron dropped tied around her waist. Allison rips the handkerchief from Dara’s possession and continues pursuing the couple.

The college tour and the chase were scheduled to culminate at Tulane University in New Orleans. But the threat of hurricane Isadore chased the show back to St. Louis, giving Goldkamp a second appearance in December.

“(The relocation) gave us a chance to use the talent of students that we liked so much,” Lucher said. “Megan was extremely professional and really excited. She used the opportunity to watch and learn. It was fun to watch her mom enjoy Megan being a star for two days.”

Goldkamp’s mother is coming to Northwestern this weekend to support her daughter.

“It was very exciting, really interesting to see how they do the (filming) process,” Peggy Goldkamp said of her daughter’s experience. “They were so nice to Megan; they made it a good experience for her. It was neat that she got to come back a second time.”

After her work with the soap opera, Goldkamp was contacted by a New York talent agent, who is a friend of the show’s casting director. With the help of classmate Chris Sachs, a Communication freshman, she compiled an audition tape to send to the agent. If he likes the tape, he could set up auditions for her over Winter Break.

“I figure you only get one chance to break into the entertainment business,” said Goldkamp, who sees her soap opera debut as her window of opportunity.

Sachs expressed faith in Goldkamp’s talent, saying: “I believe Megan’s dedication, combined with her perseverance, will allow her to transcend from the world of college acting to that of professional acting.”

According to Goldkamp, her first glimpse at show business has not significantly altered the first month of her college experience.

“It has made my life a lot more exciting,” she said. “I get a lot more phone calls, but everything is still the same. I don’t like telling people about (the show) because I don’t really need the attention.”