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Students get a taste
of life as a soap star
BY MICHAEL PUCCI
ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
“American Idol” isn’t the only
talent competition America voted
for last week.
Two UNC students were
announced as runners-up Monday
in a nationwide search of college
students for multi-episode roles on
the CBS soap opera “The Young
and the Restless.”
Last week, sophomore Alexandra
Villarreal and Brandon Smith, a
graduate student in the
Department of Dramatic Art, per
formed screen tests along with eight
other contenders on “The Early
Show,” after which viewers voted on
their favorite male and female.
The search began on March 30,
when the soap opera held an open
pasting call at UNC-CH, as well as
at four other universities across the
country.
“It was basically a cattle call,”
Smith, 24, said. “A lot of kids were
going in, but there were so many of
us that the original audition was
actually a brief interview, which
usually isn’t typical.”
Villarreal heard about the audi
tions the day they were held, skip
ping her 11 a.m. class and rushing
home to print off a photograph.
“My mom basically raised me on
the show,” she said. “When I was a
baby, 1 would hear it. I’ve always
watched soaps. All my guy friends
tease me because I watch it.”
The 10 finalists were announced
May 14 on “The Early Show.” Soon
after, CBS e-mailed them the
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scripts, flew them up to New York
(Villarreal from her home in
Dayton, Ohio) and put them up at
The Pierre, a Four Seasons hotel.
“It was absolutely insane,” Smith
recalled of how quickly everything
came together. “I had no time to
rehearse with someone until the
morning of (my screen test).”
Last Monday, Villarreal por
trayed a sassy girl accusing a friend
(played by Emmy-nominated
actress Lauren Woodward) of
sleeping with her boyfriend.
“It was much different than my
normal personality,” she said. “I
usually don’t yell at people I
don’t have friends who sleep with
my boyfriend. It was cool to play
the bitch.”
Smith’s screen test came
Tuesday, when he acted with Greg
Rikaart in a heated scene in which
they argue over an electrocuted
girlfriend.
“It was exhilarating and fun, and
it was really nice to get to meet
some of the people working profes
sionally in the business,” Smith said.
For Villarreal, whose only prior
acting experiences were from small
theater classes and in front of her
mirror, the narrow loss didn’t
diminish the luster of her unex
pected opportunity.
“This has been amazing expo
sure for me,” she said. “I want to go
into TV news, so this has been per
fect.”
Contact theA&E Editor
at artsdesk@unc.edu.
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Edwards could sway race as VP
Senator could boost Kerry’s N.C. bid
BY MARK PUENTE
STAFF WRITER
John Kerry’s chances to carry
North Carolina in November’s
presidential election might
increase if Sen. John Edwards, D-
N.C., is his vice presidential candi
date, according to a recent poll.
In a Mason-Dixon poll, spon
sored by WRAL-TV, 46 percent of
North Carolinians asked said they
would vote for President Bush
even if Edwards were on Kerry’s
ticket. Kerry, a Democratic senator
from Massachusetts, still won 45
percent of the vote making the
race dead even.
But without Edwards on a theo
retical Democratic ticket, Bush
garnered 45 percent to Kerry’s 41
percent.
Independent Ralph Nader
received 3 percent, and 8 percent
of voters were undecided.
But experts say a Kerry-
Edwards ticket still might not
unseat Bush in the state.
“It may help, but it might not be
enough,” said Jack Fleer, professor
emeritus of political science at
Wake Forest University.
North Carolina, a traditional
Republican stronghold, is not con
sidered a key battleground state for
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either candidate. Its electoral votes
have not gone to a Democratic
presidential candidate since
Jimmy Carter took the state in
1976.
The candidates’ behavior echoes
these sentiments, as neither cam
paign has run any television ads
here.
However, Edwards ran a formi
dable presidential campaign that
sparked a great deal of interest,
particularly in his home state.
And since poll results show
that Bush’s support has weak
ened, it might push Kerry to
closely consider his campaign
strategy less than six months
before the election.
Ferrel Guillory, director of
UNC’s Program on Southern
Politics, Media and Public Life,
said the poll numbers combined
with Edwards’ energizing of the
Democratic Party could provide
the group with some motivation.
“It suggests doesn’t guaran
tee, it only suggests the
Democrats have a chance to win
North Carolina.”
At the same time, he added,
“You have got to say that Bush is
the front-runner in this state. He
won last time.”
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Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards (center) could
help John Kerry win North Carolinians' votes in the presidential race.
Fleer said he is leery of the poll
because it was taken at the height of
the Iraqi prison abuse scandal. He
said that people are willing to
respond to pollsters’ questions but
that how they respond in November
is different.
“The Republicans have the
advantage. It’s Bush’s to lose,” Fleer
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said.
Still, he added, “It is going to be
an extraordinarily close election.
Events in October and November
will determine what happens on
Election Day.”
Contact the State & National
Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
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