Surely the size of the collective ego in this room could shatter car windows 10 blocks away.
Still, it’s hard to tell if people are excited or nervous, though at the moment I attribute that to Botox.
Yes, the circus has come to town. Otherwise known as reality TV.
Casting directors held court in Chicago on Saturday to find candidates for ABC’s upcoming show “Are You Hot? The Search for America’s Sexiest People.”
So on the kind of cheerful weekend morning usually reserved for lazy brunches and slouchy jeans, a couple of hundred people mill around in full club regalia at Kaleidoscope, a River West boite.
It may be 30 degrees outside, but inside everyone is hot. Or thinks so.
I prepare for Texas-size ‘tudes.
Tanya Martinez, 22, is slender with dark cropped hair and flashing eyes. She sewed a revealing top constructed entirely from her ex-boyfriend’s clothes. Suspenders fasten in place a button-down shirtfront with the sleeves and back removed, a la Jennifer Beals in “Flashdance.”
Martinez, who works as a waitress at the W hotels, clutches an application form.
Question No. 18: “Do you think you’re hot and why?”
“I’m Brazilian and Puerto Rican, what else do you need to know?” she says, laughing. “Actually, I just came to see what it’s all about.”
In another corner of the room, Eric Scharlow, a ringer for Brad Pitt, adjusts his straw hat and wife-beater T-shirt.
“I don’t think I’m that big a deal,” says the blue-eyed 23 year-old. “I was a finalist for ‘Temptation Island 2,’ but I wasn’t cocky enough.”
But everyone today is willing to front a little for the chance to spend a few weeks in Los Angeles to shoot the show, win up to $100,000 and earn national exposure.
I expected chilly stares, pouty lips and insufferable self-regard. Not at all.
These beauties may be decked out to rival any music awards show, but the atmosphere is more like groupies lined up for tickets.
Jen Kennelly, 23, wears a cropped white blouse and low-slung jeans that reveal a fluttering pink crystal belly ring.
Question No. 20: “What is your sexiest attribute/body part?”
“People say I have a contagious smile,” offers the friendly accountant.
These questions are uncomfortable to answer, points out Harold Swift, 33, a PhD student.
“The scary part for me is I don’t want to come off as vain. …This show might be a curse for whoever wins,” Swift says.
The afternoon promises to last another three hours, but people chat pleasantly, occasionally interrupted for directions.
“If you have it, I want to see it!” shouts casting director Neal Konstantini.
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Konstantini worked on “The Bachelor” and “Survivor.”
“Do you have it?” I ask.
“This show has reduced me to nothing,” he admits.
But somehow he knows what he’s looking for today.
“Everybody thinks they have an idea of what’s sexy, but they’re wrong.”
Stacey Engelberg, 24, is a kindergarten teacher who supplements her income with modeling. She wonders what type will make the final cut.
“I bet they’ll choose five slutted-out girls and then five girls next door,” Engelberg says.
She grins.
“I’m the I-don’t-know-what-I’m-doing-here type.”
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E-mail Alison at [email protected].