This month, young women will have a chance to strut their stuff and work the catwalk at Canada’s Next Top Model’s first regional casting tour, in this, their third cycle.
CTV is holding casting calls in Vancouver, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal and Toronto for females who are between the ages of 18 to 23 and are at least five-foot-eight. They also need to be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada.
“Well, we thought about (the casting tour) in cycle one and cycle two when the show was younger. We just looked at the logistics of trying to do that and we felt it was a bit much to do,” says Sheila Hockin, executive producer of the show.
“Now that the show is going into its third cycle, we’re maturing a little bit.”
She says anyone can make it onto the show, but the competition is stiff.
This season’s applications have been moved online at model.ctv.ca and Hockin says they’ve already received double the applications from past seasons. On top of that, there will be the casting calls.
As for who they’re looking for, they are searching for a model who can make it far in the industry, she says.
“What we’re looking for ideally is a girl who does a great job of representing Canada as a Canadian model in this country, but who also has the physical qualities and the personal qualities that will take her into the international marketplace,” says Hockin.
“We’re looking for the next Evangelista.”
At the casting calls, she suggests girls to really put their personalities up front.
“I think that there’s not much anybody can do about their natural, physical being. It’s either photogenic or it’s not,” says Hockin.
“If you have to work a little bit harder to be outgoing then make that extra effort at the open casting call because you want to stand out, not as somebody you’re not, but as a strong version of yourself.”
She also suggests everybody to bring their best friends with them, but they could end up becoming your competition.
“Apparently that happens fairly frequently,” she says. “You know a friend or a sister will go out … and they’ll turn out to be the one that the model agency is interested in.”
As for the why the show has been so successful, Hockin says it’s because it’s a personal window into working in the fashion industry. “The series is trying to demonstrate it’s more than just being pretty,” she says. “It’s not unlike taking on a career as an actor. You have to have a certain confidence about yourself and determination to keep going, even if you don’t succeed in the beginning.”
Strike your pose
Open auditions will be held for Canada’s Next Top Model in:
• Vancouver on Jan. 16 at the Brentwood Town Centre.
• Edmonton on Jan. 18 at the West Edmonton Mall.
• Toronto on Jan. 23 at Fairview Mall (1800 Sheppard Ave. E.)
