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Vail ‘Survivor’ auditions return for third year

Melanie Wong
Vail Daily
Potential survivors line up at Vail's International Bridge at last year's Survivor open casting call. The show returns to Vail this August in search of new contestants.
Special to the Daily |

VAIL — On Aug. 22, hundreds of Coloradans and people from the surrounding states will descend upon Vail for a chance to compete on CBS’s reality show “Survivor.”

This is the third year that Vail has played host to the open casting calls, which will be held on the International Bridge on the corner of East Meadow Drive and Willow Bridge Road.

Here’s how it works: Camera crews will be on hand to capture each contestant’s best 60 second video on “Why I Should Be on Survivor” to be considered for the show’s next season. Producers discourage costumes, since they want to learn more about the contestant’s personality.



The casting calls draw all sorts of “survivors,” from firefighters to breast cancer survivors to extreme athletes. A previous Survivor winner, Kim Spradlin, worked as a raft guide in Colorado, although she later moved to Texas. A number of other contestants on the show have also been from Colorado.

Must Be 21 and US Citizen



All applicants must be at least 21 years old, a United States citizen living in the U.S., and in good health. Show producers select candidates representing a cross-section of personalities, ethnicities, geographies and gender.

Casting participants are strongly encouraged to sign up beforehand at denver.cbslocal.com/survivor-open-call-vail, as hundreds of people are expected to show up. Walk-ins are accepted, but may be in for a long wait. Contestants at this casting call will be auditioning for next season’s Survivor, or could be asked to compete in other seasons down the road as well.

‘Outdoorsy, Adventurous People’

Casting organizers said that Vail, which is one of two currently scheduled casting calls in the country, makes a great backdrop for the auditions, partly because of the kind of outdoorsy, adventurous people the town draws, and partly because many people will travel and make a weekend in town of the auditions.

“Show producers look for people of all ages who are in excellent physical and mental health and who are ready to compete to outwit, outplay, outlast each other,” said CBS4 General Manager Walt DeHaven. “People in Vail love the outdoors, and it’s a great town to look for future castaways.”

For more information on the Vail auditions, call Amanda Gillie at 303-830-6412 or visit http://www.cbsdenver.com.

Assistant Managing Editor Melanie Wong can be reached at 970-748-2927 or at mwong@vaildaily.com. Follow her on Twitter @mwongvail.


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