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

