Survivor casting call stops in town
Posted by The Skyliner on February 4th, 2009Elizabeth Wood
Staff Writer
CBS’ hit reality show Survivor held a casting call at Sunrift Adventures in Travelers Rest on Wednesday, Jan. 21.
“It was great. There were only a few other places that did casting calls in the nation; Boston, Gainesville, Dallas and Los Angeles,” Matt Craft, marketing manager at Sunrift Adventures, said. “We started moving the line at 10 that morning until 2, but kept shooting until 6 for those who had gotten in line before 2. People even showed up to start standing in line as early as 10:30 a.m. the previous day.”
Contestants pitched tents and cots Tuesday in order to sleep outside for the next day’s events.
North Greenville’s Micah Sepko, instructor of sport management, attended the tryouts.
Survivor hopeful, Coach Micah Sepko, recently auditioned for the hit tv series at Sunrift Adventure outdoor store in Traveler's Rest. (File Photo).
“I tried out because I have always wanted to try out for Survivor, especially since I headed up a Survivor series at North Greenville University a few years back. And my wife finally convinced me to try out,” Sepko said.
In order to try out for Survivor, those interested had to fill out an application packet as well as stand in front of a CBS camera to explain why they should be a contestant on the show. There were three auditioning areas where groups consisting of five to 10 people would be brought one at a time.
One man who was trying out had driven all the way from Maine for his eleventh Survivor tryout.
“I had to get a number and then stand in the line for 4 hours in very cold weather,” Sepko said. “We estimate that there were over 614 actual auditions, but there was close to 1000 supporters consisting of family members, community members and friends to help support those who were auditioning. We even gave out free donuts, pizza and other refreshments to all of our contestants and bystanders,” Craft said.
Some of those auditioning chose to stand out from the crowd.
“There was a guy dressed up as the Statue of Liberty. He was trying to look like the American Idol figure. In a lot of ways, this audition did remind me of American Idol,” Sepko said.
Craft saw a 45-year-old woman hopping around and making monkey noises to the camera, people who sang for the camera, a lady in a space suit, people who were removing clothing articles during auditions and even a grandmotherly type who wore nothing but a bathing suit, cowboy boots, and a tool belt.
There were also those who cried their way through the audition. They pleaded with the judges for one more chance by giving personal details of financial need, sickness, death and many other types of misfortunes.
“There were many criers,” Craft said.
Overall, the Survivor tryouts in Travelers Rest, South Carolina were very successful. The upstate should be proud to have such an exciting event take place.
Tags: Spring 2009, Vol. 108 - Issue 2