Outside of Cahn Auditorium on Tuesday morning, hundreds of students waited in line for their shot at the spotlight — or “Guiding Light,” as the case may be.
The soap opera CBS calls “the longest-running drama ever” descended on Northwestern for an open casting call, attracting a horde of aspiring young actors. The reward for those chosen? A ticket to New York — er, rather, the highly fictional Midwestern town of Springfield, where residents confront obscene amounts of “heartbreak, happiness, and the twists and turns of life.”
Potential cast members have much melodramatic tradition to live up to. The show debuted on the radio in 1937, and has been a sudsy staple of CBS’ television afternoons since 1952. And just last year, Megan Goldcamp, an NU student at the time, was invited to attend a screen test for “As the World Turns,” another CBS soap.
And so, from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., they waited.
“I’m a little rusty and haven’t gone to one of these in a while,” said Music junior Mackenzie Thomas, who auditioned for soap operas and commercials when she was younger. “But I’ll do anything to get my break.”
NU is one of five colleges nationwide chosen for the “GL” visit, and was selected as a site for an open casting call because of its large theater department, according to Alan Locher, a member of the casting team. “We visited 10 schools last year [for “As the World Turns”] and decided to go with a different variety this year,” he said.
The team has already met with students at the University of Georgia, University of Miami, and the University of Pittsburgh, and will travel to the University of Denver Oct. 1.
“By visiting colleges, it brings us to you guys,” said casting director Rob Decina. “It streamlines the process of casting and takes some of the mystery out of it.”
Five crew members from CBS News’ “The Early Show” taped parts of the Cahn call to be shown on Nov. 4, when the show’s finalists will be revealed in New York. During the week of Nov. 10, two NU students, 1 male and 1 female, will perform a screen test with a “Guiding Light” cast member. Viewers can then use the CBS website to vote for the two of the ten finalists they believe should earn a spot on the show.
Students were asked to fill out a form with their basic information, as well as general appearance stats like height, weight and hair and eye color. Potential soap superstars were asked to submit photographs of themselves, and Polaroids were taken if they failed to bring one with them.
Inside Cahn, students waited in line to meet briefly with Decina. He sat on the stage and asked the students basic questions as they stood by themselves under spotlights. He frequently inquired where students were from and what they were majoring in, as well as “Do you have a cell phone number in case we need to reach you immediately for a callback this afternoon?” Twenty students, 10 women and 10 men, were invited back to go over scenes later in the day.
“I’m thrilled to come to Northwestern,” Decina said. “We’ve had a good turnout. The students here are very ambitious.”
Weinberg sophomore Ashley Pasen decided to attend the call half an hour before she went. “I thought, ‘I’m kind of dressed up and I’ll go see what it’s about,'” Pasen said. “The interview was friendly but brief, which was kind of disconcerting, but there are so many people at these things.”
Also at the casting call was Marty West, who has played Shayne Lewis on the show for eight months. “I love everything about it,” said West, who auditioned for the part at a regular audition. “It’s fulfilling to get paid for doing something I love, and acting-wise I’m growing a lot.”
Adrian Conzalez, a Communication junior, said, “There’s nothing to lose. It’s a soap opera, but it could still be a good experience.”
