The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
the b-side
‘World’ casts in A2
MTV’s ‘Real World’
looks for stars at
Charley’s
By ALLIE TAYLOR
Daily Arts Writer
“Real World,” MTV’s longest-
running reality program, will be
holding a casting call at Good Time
Charley’s on South University
Avenue from 10
a.m. to 5 p.m.
on
Wednes-
day,
Mar.
23.
Since
1992,
“Real
World”
showcases and
exposes
the
reality of how
people between
the ages of 21
and 25 interact
with each other
under
intense,
intimate
cir-
cumstances.
Each season, seven to eight people
live together under one roof for
three months, undergoing chal-
lenges, excursions and everyday
experiences that assess the integ-
rity and personality of each person.
The cast members begin as com-
plete strangers, often with extreme
differences in beliefs, lifestyles,
upbringings
and
personalities,
creating an intense and intriguing
environment.
The show follows these people
as they develop relationships with
each other and evolve as people.
Issues of sex, drugs, racism, par-
tying, love, pain and truth are
brought forth, leaving cast mem-
bers challenged, confronted and
vulnerable. Oftentimes, the cast
members find themselves in situ-
ations that test everything they
know to be true about themselves
and about the world around them.
Kailah Casillas, a cast member
of the upcoming 31st season “Real
World: Go Big or Go Home,” grew
up watching the show. In an inter-
view with The Michigan Daily,
Casillas said that being on the
show was different from what she
expected.
“It’s a lot harder,” Casillas said.
“I had the time of my life. But you
don’t realize how hard it is psy-
chologically, with all the cameras
... being away from home, being
in a new environment and having
to be very tolerant of other people
and their behaviors and lifestyles.
These people are culturally totally
different from me.”
Microphones and video camer-
as follow each cast member around
24/7.
“The only time we were allowed
to take our microphone off was to
shower and to sleep,” Casillas said.
“We were filmed 24 hours a day
and seven days a week.”
Reality TV shows are often
scrutinized for not being an accu-
rate portrayal of real life, and
questions arise regarding how
authentic the “reality” part truly
is. In “Real World,” however, the
show seems to stay true to its name
by refraining from interfering with
each cast member’s life. The cast
members are neither told what to
do, nor given any kind of instruc-
tion on how to act.
“God, I wish it were staged,”
Casillas said, when asked if any
part of the show was orchestrated.
“If it were staged, I would be able
to blame all of my crazy antics on
someone else. But, unfortunately,
those are actually the things that
I do.”
“We take pride in the fact that
we don’t coach the cast members,”
“Real World” casting director
Themi Chahales said in a separate
interview with the Daily. “We real-
ly let them bring their personalities
to us.”
When casting, Chahales looks
for characters: people with strong
personalities who aren’t afraid to
speak their minds, people from
diverse backgrounds, people who
are open and honest about their
daily experiences, people with
over-the-top
personalities
and
people who are dynamic.
“People like to think we’re look-
ing for a certain type of person, but
really, the characters come to us,”
Chahales said. “There’s an endless
amount of characters with an end-
less amount of stories. It’s not like
some of those other reality shows
that are really specific (with who
they cast). There’s not a specific
criteria for this show, and because
of that, I think it allows the cast-
ing of people to be endless. There’s
always 20-somethings that are fig-
uring out who they are.”
The show serves as a major
learning experience for everyone
involved. When diverse groups of
people are confined together for
three months, attitudes change
and mindsets open up. By the
end of the season, cast members
become different people.
“I left a changed person because
I saw what other people were going
through,” Casillas said. “I saw that
I need to be more open-minded. My
beliefs were so questioned because
everyone was so different from me.
People have it much harder than
I ever could have imagined. I left
there
completely
mind-fucked.
This experience made me think
about everything I had ever been
taught, and everything I ever
believed in. I never had to think
differently before this. When I got
there, and lived with a kid who was
pansexual, a girl who was from a
really, really rough part of St. Louis
and a girl who was adopted, I left
there being like: ‘Wow, who am I?’
It really made me question all of my
beliefs.”
To the people who are consider-
ing going to the casting call, Casil-
las said, “Do it. This is something
you will never ever be able to expe-
rience anywhere else.”
As for advice to people who
want to be cast, both Chahales and
Casillas emphasized the impor-
tance of being yourself.
“You never know what these
casting directors are looking for,”
Casillas said. “Being open and hon-
est and being yourself is really the
key to being on ‘Real World.’”
Thursday, March 17, 2016 — 3B
MTV
This is like real-life Sims.
COMMUNITY CULTURE PREVIEW
‘Real
World’
Casting
Call
Wednesday 10
a.m. to 5 p.m.
Good Time
Charley’s
Free
A home state tourist
By MERIN MCDIVITT
Daily Arts Writer
Saturday:
9
a.m:
Before
you
do
anything, pick up some carrots
and curios at Eastern Market,
America’s oldest continuously
running farmer’s market. Long
before “local” was a buzzword,
the market was one of several in
the city, one in each direction:
Northern, Southern, Eastern
and Western. Be sure to try
some local coffee to kickstart
a busy day, and perhaps some
flowers,
particularly
if
it’s
around Flower Day on May 20,
one of the biggest flower shows
in the country.
11 a.m: Drop off your bags at
The Inn on Ferry Street. With
a prime location in Midtown on,
you guessed it, Ferry Street, the
historic hotel’s four renovated
Victorian homes ooze with old
world charm. In spring, the
inn gives you a perfect vantage
point to enjoy the blooming
green spaces scattered around
the urban jungle.
12 p.m: Head down the
street to a delicious lunch at
Maccabees at Midtown, a
perennial
favorite
bursting
with Detroiters and out-of-
towners alike. If you can wind
your way through the light rail
construction on Woodward to
find it, you’ll discover one of
Detroit architecture’s best kept
secrets: the Maccabee building,
an Art Deco treasure built
by the Jewish organization
Knights of the Maccabees in
the 1920s.
2
p.m:
Pop
across
the
street to spend the afternoon
exploring the city’s art scene
from
yesterday
and
today.
The
Detroit
Institute
of
Arts is the legendary home
of Picassos, Van Goghs, the
famous Rivera mural and one of
the finest collections of African
American contemporary art in
the country. Be sure to check
out the spring exhibition of
art from kids throughout the
Detroit Public Schools, featured
until Jun. 12. Then head down
Woodward a few blocks to
the
more
unconventional
Museum of Contemporary
Art Detroit, featuring avant
garde works from around the
world, including the fantastic
Detroit Affinities photography
series on display until April
24. Finally, catch the end of the
Detroit Historical Museum’s
exhibition
Fashion
D.Fined,
a look into the city’s lesser
known, but still significant
contributions to the world of
fashion.
6
p.m:
Exhausted
from
a
day
wandering
among
masterpieces?
There’s
no
better place to unwind than the
Whitney Mansion. A historic
1890s home built with the
city’s pre-industrial riches, the
Whitney is now one of Detroit’s
foremost restaurants. Expect a
classy atmosphere, top-notch
food and a seat in the mansion’s
exquisite interior, or even the
beautiful gardens if the night is
warm. If you’re in a slightly less
classy mood after dinner, you
can hit Midtown’s newfound
nightlife
down
the
street,
including the beloved Cafe
D’Mongo’s.
Sunday:
10 a.m: Before you check out
of the inn, scurry down the
street to a mysterious little
stone building called the Scarab
Club. Tucked away in the
Museum District, this discreet,
historic building is still home
to the city’s oldest association
of artists. With tours of its art
collection as well as painting
and sketching classes, the club
has produced some of the area’s
most prominent artists.
11 a.m: Then head over to Cliff
Bell’s famous jazzy brunch
downtown. One of Detroit’s
legendary jazz clubs, at night
Cliff Bell’s is full of speakeasy
charm.
But
every
Sunday,
their brunch, accompanied by
famous jazz musicians, is just
as popular in town.
1 p.m: While Detroit may
be better known for its urban
grit and downtown hipsters
than it is for natural beauty,
there’s plenty to be found along
the Detroit Riverfront, the
gorgeous public walkway along
the river that will eventually
connect large swaths of the
city. If you stroll along it
long
enough,
you’ll
come
across plenty of landmarks,
from the Joe Louis Fist, the
famous statue on West Grand
Boulevard
commemorating
the local boxing hero, to the
Underground
Railroad
Monument, a stirring tribute
to the city’s role as the end of
the
Underground
Railroad,
which
then
transported
escaped slaves across the river
to freedom in Canada. If you
continue even further, you’ll
pass the Renaissance Center,
headquarters
to
General
Motors, and you can even stop
by Belle Isle, the beloved park
in the middle of the river that
was designed by Frederick Law
Olmstead, the same famous
designer who created Central
Park.
5 p.m: You’ve had quite
the afternoon. Before leaving
town, head down the freeway
to
Southwest
Detroit.
At
Mexicantown Bakery, you can
pick up some churros, tres leches
and other traditional sweets for
the road. Just down the street
go to Lupita’s Taquería, a
favorite among everyone from
locals to Canadians visiting
from over the border, for a
phenomenal bowl of pozole or
some top notch tacos. Finally,
grab a coffee or dessert a
few blocks over at Café con
Leche or its ice cream-themed
neighbor La Michoacana. It’s
time to go, but now that you’ve
had a taste of what the city has
to offer, you’ll be back soon
enough.
H
ow does a musical
gain a following?
How does it keep it?
On the surface, there’s really
nothing
relatable
about
a
musical.
People
rarely just
break out
into song
and dance
about
some-
thing
they’re
thinking or talking about. It’s
not realistic. Yet so many musi-
cals have gained our support.
Why in the world do we love
them so much?
I went over to Google to
do a little research on which
musicals were considered the
best of Broadway. I realized
quickly that a lot of Google sites
claim to know the top ten best
musicals — and they all list a
different top ten. I decided
instead to look at the longest
running musicals. Here they
are, according to Wikipedia:
“The Phantom Of the Opera,”
“Chicago,” “The Lion King,”
“Cats,”
“Les
Misérables,”
“A Chorus Line,” “Mamma
Mia,” “Beauty and the Beast,”
“Wicked”
and
“Rent.”
All
of these productions get at
something that we want in a
musical. Here is a breakdown
of the major components these
musicals are built upon:
The first: the story. Though
people often want a story that
is relatable to their own lives,
interest towards a musical isn’t
usually lost if the relatability
is. “The Lion King” does not
directly correlate to events that
take place in our daily lives,
and it doesn’t have to. We love
it, and frankly, that’s enough. A
story of love, of growing up, of
finding one’s place in the world
— these are aspects of a musical
that produce an audience’s
devotion. All of these musicals
in
some
way
or
another
comment on the parts of a story
that make us want more.
The second: the music. Since
the musical scores within all
these shows are all different
and unique, there isn’t one
universal component that I can
say leads to a musical’s success.
The songs become popular
and loved when people start to
attach real emotions to them.
There is something in the lyrics
and music that has to hook an
audience and for these “longest
running musicals,” people have
stayed hooked for years.
The third: the cast. The
original cast of a musical is
often credited with a huge
portion of why a musical is so
successful. And that makes
sense.
The
relationships
between characters and the
emotions
behind
them
are
brought out through the cast. If
people see those relationships
and characters as genuine, they
naturally “root” for them. Thus,
the musical gains a following.
The question at the heart of
any musical is this: why should
we care? When these musicals
answer that question, people
remain loyal. The heart of the
story, the music, the people —
it has to get us to a place where
we care. We need something
that speaks to the truth of
what is in our world today. We
crave that from entertainment.
If people watch a musical
that is upbeat and lively, they
might react saying, “yeah, that
was fun.” Or reversely, with a
drama, “that was sad.” We need
something
more,
something
gained or something learned. I
think the musicals listed above
get us there.
Modern controversy behind
popular musicals on Broadway
today comes from a worry
that many popular musicals
are only successful because
they are tied to a well-known
film, book or character, which
has
“commercialized”
the
Broadway stage. These debates
make it difficult to distinguish
if there are specific elements
that make a musical successful
or if it is simply a result of the
audience’s recognition of a
familiar story, with praise that
follows when it’s brought to the
stage.
I
think
by
dwelling
on
concerns like these, we lose
what
makes
a
musical
so
magical. The reason that these
musicals have gained support
and praise is because a story
(whether it comes from a book
or movie or not), a musical score
and a talented cast have come
together and brought these
elements to life. The audience is
captivated by what they see in
front of them, and they’re taken
to a different place — a different
world. They leave the show in
awe of what they witnessed and
eager for more.
If a musical has produced
reactions like these, it deserves
a following.
Kadian is trying to get tickets
for ‘Hamilton.’ To donate,
email bkadian@umich.edu.
COMMUNITY CULTURE COLUMN
What we love about
musicals
BAILEY
KADIAN
We need
something that
speaks truth.
By ARIANNA ASSAF
Daily Arts Writer
What do you get when you give
a weapons developer, a street art-
ist and a derivatives trader a stage
name? Art.
Meet Autograf, three artists in
their own right who turned loft
party DJing into the career path
of their dreams. Jake Carpenter,
Louis Kha and Mikul Wing com-
prise a Chicago-based DJ/pro-
ducer/artist trio, currently taking
the dance music scene by a tropical
house storm. After catching them
at a festival over New Year’s, I got
a chance to see them again when
they stopped at Populux as part of
their three-month Metaphysical
tour, which will culminate in New
Orleans at the Buku Music + Art
Project.
Maybe it’s because I’m writing
this on a beach listening to Dream
(thank you, indulgent affordanc-
es of college lifestyle and Spring
Break), but thinking back on last
Saturday gives the feeling of sway-
ing in a hammock to the beat of
twinkly piano lines. Though their
style is certainly more laid back
than some other electronic art-
ists, the show still buzzed with
energy and excitement. I can tell
you from personal experience
that it’s not quite fit for a booze
cruise, but that’s OK. The boys of
Autograf aren’t exactly going for
the debauchery of an all-you-can-
drink vibe.
Though they all have differ-
ent artistic and educational back-
grounds,
the
music
certainly
comes together nicely. Wing, the
street artist (who unfortunately,
was absent due to a bad case of
strep throat) had a few galleries in
Chicago, and Kha the derivatives
trader, studied economics at the
University of Virginia in Arlington.
Carpenter, who went to Colum-
bus College of Art and Design for
metal sculpture, worked for the
Department of Defense as weap-
ons developer, also doing research
and development and underwater
robotics.
The fact that all three were indi-
vidually involved with music made
coming together as Autograf natu-
ral.
“My mom made me take piano
lessons for ten years,” Carpenter
said of the start of his music edu-
cation. “I did drum lessons for five
years. In high school I played in the
jazz band and marching band, but
I didn’t do any art until the end of
high school/start of college. It was
just recently that I started doing
art again with music.”
Kha, on the other hand, picked
up music as a hobby and assumes
he would still be in economics had
production not taken over.
“I feel like most people are put
on a path at an early age, a lot of
times they kinda stay on that path,”
he said. “For me, I jumped around
… a lot of people have idealistic
dreams when they’re young and if
you don’t pursue it, a lot of times
you forget about it. I was just for-
tunate enough to pursue it and be
successful with it.”
That idealistic dream has taken
shape in the form of a thriving
endeavor to create music and per-
form live. Detroit was treated to
a gorgeous set — complete with
Carpenter on drums — that had
Populux holding on to every note.
From start to finish, whether play-
ing their most well-known hits like
“Dream” and “Metaphysical,” or
spinning out some nuanced noises
that can’t quite be categorized, we
were in it. Based on what I’ve seen
and heard, it appears fans of the
trio can only continue to grow in
dedication and numbers.
Autograf brings its
tropical house sound
NO FILTER