College edition of ‘America’s Next Top Model’ brings auditions to Columbus

In hopes of fulfilling their lifelong dreams of becoming successful models, some women in Columbus stood in line for hours for a chance to be a contestant on the college edition of The CW Television Network’s hit show “America’s Next Top Model.”

More than 500 women between the ages of 18-27 gathered at Polaris Fashion Place Saturday to show off their looks and modeling skills.

Among the applicants were Ohio State students and twin sisters Dana and Grace Langshaw, third-years in strategic communication.

The twins said they were no strangers to the modeling world, and auditioning for “ANTM” would mean taking their careers to the next level.

“Dana actually plays guitar and we both sing so we kind of have (a) musical aspect to us,” Grace Langshaw said. “We’re also beginning actresses. We just got cast in a film that we tried out for in Cleveland.”

Dana Langshaw said the “ANTM” casting associates contacted her and her sister to audition for the show.

“They told me they were doing a college edition and they liked my look and my measurements and weight,” Dana Langshaw said.

“So he said, ‘Please come out and audition.’ So we listened to him and here we are.”

Tlaloc Villarreal, a casting associate for “ANTM,” said the turnout of applicants far exceeded his expectations.

“It went great actually,” Villarreal said. “It was a huge turnout — a bigger turnout than we expected coming to Columbus.”

With the large turnout, Villarreal said there were a few girls that stood out more than others, but ultimately, the decision belongs to the producers of the show, including Tyra Banks.

“There’s always a good number that stand out in every city that we go to,” Villarreal said. “But for the most part, we just wanted to see everybody and take a look at everyone (and) see their personalities.”

Aside from filling out an application and submitting three head shots to associate producers, applicants were videotaped while casting associates interviewed them.

Applicants were also asked to pose for the camera and demonstrate their catwalk skills.

Villarreal said there isn’t a specific look or trait that ANTM producers are looking for in contestants.

“We’re never looking for one specific thing,” Villarreal said. “We’re looking for a look obviously, but we’re also looking for big personalities and girls that are very competitive and have a reason for wanting to be on the show.”

Villarreal said the next step in the auditioning process involves producers watching the audition tapes. Then the chosen girls will be contacted for another round of interviews.

Katiann Scherer, a second-year in horse science, said she thought some of the questions on the application seemed a bit odd.

“(They asked us) a bunch of different questions asking us about our relationships with our parents, to what we would like on our perfect date,” Scherer said. “So it was kind of all broad.”

Scherer also said the on-camera interviewing was a bit “nerve-wracking” for her, but overall she thought she did well.

“I got a little nervous and I said my home phone number instead of my cell phone number,” Scherer said. “Hopefully that’s not a big deal, but other than that I think I did good.”

Laura Waring, a second-year in mathematics, said it was her friends that persuaded her to audition for “ANTM.”

“I have been watching ‘America’s Next Top Model’ forever and all my friends are saying I should try out and that’s why I’m here,” Waring said.

Waring said that as a child she felt subconscious about her looks, but that all changed once she got older.

“I was really subconscious when I was little, so I didn’t want to do anything that would bring attention to myself,” Waring said. “But when I got older, I started embracing it.”