Thousands Attend D.C. Tryout for Not-So-Tall Edition of 'Top Model'
By Valerie Strauss
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 8, 2009
The economy is shrinking, and so are the fashion models.
Several thousand "America's Next Top Model" wannabes poured into downtown Washington yesterday for a chance to be plucked from obscurity for the first cycle of the popular reality TV show to give a chance to short women -- well, shorter than the average model.
"D.C.'s off the chain," casting director Michelle Mock-Falcon happily wrote in a text message to the show's producers when she saw the line outside the Renaissance M Street Hotel, at New Hampshire Avenue and M Street NW. It wrapped around the block and back again, rivaling the turnout in New York.
Proving that nothing -- bank failures, real estate foreclosures or a stock market freefall -- can dampen the spirit of young people with a dream, women from the Washington region and beyond waited patiently for hours in one line, then a second, and yet another, to get into the secret chamber for their casting call.
On the winning end was a chance to live in a house with cameras chronicling every interaction with a bunch of strangers and constant critiquing from a panel of judges that includes a man who goes by "Miss Jay" as well as supermodel and entrepreneur Tyra Banks -- the real star of the show, which airs on the CW Network and locally on WDCW-TV (Channel 50).
"It is my dream," said Janee Johnson, 18, a high school senior from Baltimore who came with her mother, Renee. "I want it really bad."
"Modeling is my passion," said Chiquita Butler, 20, a student at Prince George's Community College. At 5-foot-3, she said she is glad that short women are getting a chance, to which Serena Warren, 26, of Wilmington, Del., shouted, "We're not short!" (She's 5-foot-5.)
In the world of high-fashion modeling, Butler and Warren would, indeed, be considered short. Most models are at least 5-foot-8, and more often a little taller. Banks, who show officials say is heavily involved in choosing contestants, is 5-foot-10. That's why, in the first 12 cycles of the show, all contestants were supposed to be at least 5-foot-7.
But in a world where old paradigms are crumbling, Banks decided to take on the modeling height taboo. The first 12 winners -- there are two cycles a year -- won under rules that required contestants to be 5-foot-7 or taller. For the season that will be filmed this summer and aired in the fall, the rules changed to 5-foot-7 or shorter.
No, show officials said, it was not a ratings ploy.
Yes, it was because Banks is often approached by height-challenged women who want a chance, too. Besides, said casting manager Lisi Alpert, supermodel Kate Moss is 5-foot-7. So is Bar Rafaeli, the Israeli supermodel on the cover of Sports Illustrated's latest swimsuit issue.
After all, contestants and officials said, the show -- which provides the winner with a big modeling contract -- isn't just a show.
"It gives people hopes and dreams and an escape from reality," Alpert said.
Yes, a reality show offers an escape from reality to women who arrived in tight jeans, bright red suede boots, black patent leather boots or barefoot, with babies in strollers and carrying backpacks, sleeping bags, cellphones, portfolios. They stood. And stood. And some of them chatted.
"They are all cute," said Jim Bryne, director of creative services for Channel 50. So cute that he intends to post photos of every hopeful on the station's Web site, http://www.dc50tv.com. This was the third time Channel 50 had sponsored a casting call for the show. A few contestants in past shows have come from this area, but none has won.
The application form went beyond the physical.
"What is the craziest thing you have ever done?" was one question. Apparently, these women were not particularly crazy in the grand scheme of crazy: "Coming here" was a common answer.
What does it take to win?
Mock-Falcon said it starts with the face -- something people can't do much about, short of cosmetic surgery.
"We look for a strong structure," she said. "That's not something they can prepare for. That's God-given."
The contestants were hoping that other things would help to pave their way.
"Focus, positive thinking and strut your stuff all the way," said Sierra Perry, 22, of Clinton.
Sasha Shaheen, 19 and 5-foot-1 1/2 , was brimming with hope -- and a plan. She is a nursing student and said she intends to stay with it.
"You can't model forever," she said.
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