Reality meets TV in ‘Spruce Street’

If your application for The Real World was rejected, you may still have a shot at fame.

Spruce Street is a scripted reality show presented by CastlePrillen Productions — a company founded by College sophomore and former Daily Pennsylvanian reporter Steven Allen.

The show premiered on Youtube on Oct. 4 and released its sixth episode last week. Since its launch, the show’s Facebook group has reached 260 “fans.” The show airs Sundays after 5 p.m. and receives anywhere from 100 to 500 hits per week.

Today marks the last day in the show’s story idea contest, which began Nov. 7. The entrant who submits the best idea wins the chance to guest star on the show. Submissions can be sent to castleprillenproductions@gmail.com.

Although the show is based on college life, Allen explained, “it’s really a show for everyone.”

He added that because each episode is fewer than five minutes, it’s comparable to a “study break.”

Allen, who created the show, wrote the first two episodes and has since added a few key components to the team.

He said he wanted to “get involved in the directing and performing aspect each week.”

The show features two college roommates in their sophomore year.

College sophomores Samantha Osborne and DeAnna Supplee play Cyndi Webster and Mae Addison, respectively.

The show’s third character, played by Wharton sophomore Glenn Williams, is the witty and rational Charlie Pitts. He often helps resolve conflicts between the show’s two female leads.

Osborne and Supplee, who both have impressive theater backgrounds, were handpicked by Allen because of their past experience and ability to convey the emotional highs and lows college roommates encounter.

“I’ve been doing some form of theater since the second grade,” Supplee said, “but this is the first time I have done anything for film.”

Williams, who acts as both writer and actor, is somewhat of an anomaly on the show as he has no prior acting or writing experience.

The show “gives us an opportunity to do something creative,” Williams said.

He added that the show is “for the person that didn’t know they had it in him or her,” and “gives them the opportunity to get their feet wet.”

Although the show is self-funded and has not encountered any financial restraints to date, Allen admitted that money will become a factor in potential expansion next year. But he said it must not disrupt the artistic quality of the production.

If the company does expand next year, Allen said he would look for a way to “fit money in effectively without it destroying any aspect of what we’re doing.”

This article has been corrected to reflect that the show follows two sophomore roommates, not freshmen.

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