Dancing and decked out in plastic Mardi Gras beads, former Real World Paris members pour two pitchers worth of Kool-Aid-red shots for the crowd below. Two men, with film cameras propped up on their shoulders stand to the side scanning the scene.
The Blue Gator, 63 N. Court St., and Ohio University students had their brush with reality show fame. On Friday and Saturday, MTV stopped in Athens on the Reality Bar Crawl College Tour.
The double-duty tour - packed into a rock star bus - has been traveling the country since October taking applications for future reality shows and filming the post-reality-show lives of Real World and Road Rules cast members.
Stopping at a different venue each night, the reality show stars bartend, sign autographs, answer questions and act as emcees for wet T-shirt contests, tour assistant Greg Heyne said.
We basically take over the bar. Rock it out
Heyne said.
The event has been drawing anywhere from 500 to 1,000 people, depending on the size of the venue.
OU senior Brenna Randel was one of about 30 people to try her luck at the Reality Casting Call - Fathem Entertainment's casting service. After paying a $12 application fee, she filled out a form with basic contact information. For her screen test, she held a clipboard with her name scribbled on it in black permanent marker, stood in front of a video camera and answered more questions.
Afterward, Randel was given a packet of more personal questions ranging from describe your ideal mate to how much experience do you have with rock climbing?
After she completes the application, the company will enter her information into a computer database and file her video, said Steffaine Griffin, the tour's casting manager.
A casting director, from a network that subscribes to the service, will decide what type of person he or she desires for a new reality TV show and give the description to the company. If, for example, the director wants a single, blond, 21-year-old woman with a fear of heights, the company will send the director the videotapes of the women who fit the descriptions. The director makes the final decision, Griffin said.
It is like a match making service for reality TV she said.
The director of the tour chose Athens because of OU's party school reputation. The Blue Gator's reputation preceded it also, as a good-sized venue with the ability to advertise events.
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Mallory Snyder and Jonny Sidlo get acquainted in front of the bright light of an MTV cameraman in the Blue Gator Friday night. MTV was shooting video for their Bar Crawl College Tour as well as holding auditions for future reality TV shows.
