‘Real World’ to have Ind. tryouts

This Saturday, the longest-running television show in MTV’s history will take an Indianapolis detour to look for young adults, including IU students, to audition for the 24th season of “The Real World.”

Tim Fogleman, managing partner of Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery, said he expects 300 to 500 people to turn out for the audition at the downtown Indianapolis location. He said he believes the restaurant chain was chosen because of its fun atmosphere and its previous appearances in past seasons of “The Real World.”

Bronne Bruzgo, one of the cast mates on “The Real World: Cancun,” is originally from Yardley, Penn., and attended an open casting call at Penn State University, where he attended college.

“Me and my buddies just decided to go ... We had no real intention of actually making it ... We thought it would be funny to just mess with people,” Bruzgo said.

Damon Furberg, supervising casting director for Bunim/Murray Productions, has worked on MTV’s hit series since the Las Vegas season.

“It is not a scientific process on how locations are picked,” Furberg said. “We try not to go back to the same place too often ... otherwise you end up seeing the same people over and over again.”

He said the goal is to get people from all over the country in the 20 or so casting calls that occur per season.

In choosing a particular location, he said a large college-age population is a must.

“Eighteen to 24-year-olds  are our age group,” Furberg said. “Not too long ago we went to Bloomington, which went well. We decided, we like Indiana so we’ll give Indianapolis a try.”

Among other schools, Fogleman expects students from IU, IUPUI and Purdue to be among the audition crowd.

Furberg said the turnout for the audition varies from city to city.

“I’ve seen as many as 1,500 people show, to as few as 150, though a turnout of 300 to 500 people is the norm,” Furberg said.

Bruzgo described his experiences at the Penn State interviews.

“Everyone was given a paper and asked, among other things, to list the craziest thing you’ve ever done, the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever done and five words to describe yourself,” Bruzgo said.

A group discussion then followed with one of the casting directors.

“It is about people bringing their personality to the table,” Furberg said. “The audition process is very unscientific and rather intense.” 

He said that those who make it to a second interview will be notified within 24 hours of their original interviews at Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery. On-camera interviews follow and are taken back to the production offices and voted upon.

“It’s kind of a democratic process,” Furberg said.

Once the final stage is completed, a small group is taken to Los Angeles for an opportunity to meet the executives and the producers.

“I honestly was so shocked on how accurate the show was,” said Bruzgo, who is now trying to join the Marine Corps.

“If I could do it all over again, I would be there in a heartbeat ... It is 100 percent real; there are zero scripts ... you do your thing and they videotape you.”

To have a chance to be one of the seven or eight chosen for the 24th season, Bruzgo said to absolutely be yourself in the audition process and that you are never going to be able to put up a front for four months, so don’t try and start now.

“People think we have some kind of a checklist ... something very specific we are looking for, and honestly that couldn’t be further from the truth,” Furberg said. “Overall we are looking for the people that grab our attention. People have to be charismatic.”