Michael Park Takes The Heat
Michael Park, who plays Officer Jack Snyder on the soap opera "As The World Turns," offered to take the burden from two young actors doing their live screen tests on The Early Show.
"Relax and put all the weight on my shoulders," he said. "They can't screw up today, but I can."
Friday was the final day of The Early Show's live "Soap Star Screen Test" series. This is a competition that will give two young actors the chance of a lifetime, to win a role on the daytime drama "As The World Turns."
Every day from April 21-25, a different star from the show has come by to help with the auditions.
Now, it's the audience's turn. You can VOTE for your favorite female performer followed by your favorite male performer in an online poll that closes at midnight on Saturday. The guy and gal with the most votes will appear on "As The World Turns" this summer.
But not before their debut - or encore - on The Early Show, where they will have a scene together Monday.
Before Friday's auditions, Park said it is not an easy job to do live screen tests. His advice to the soap star hopefuls is, "Just to be themselves because these guys are great. They've got great personalities," Students Rob Feinberg and Amy Culbertson played the parts of Cale and Alana on Friday.
All 10 of this week's screen test participants appeared on "As The World Turns" last fall when the show hit the road for their "Catch Us If You Can" college tour. Amy is an Ohio State senior who almost missed the chance to audition then when ATWT came to her campus.
"Two hundred people actually came out for the casting call," she said. And it was just a long line all day to get up to the table. And they actually cut people off and said probably you'll be an extra from this point on and just hand us a piece of paper and I thought maybe I'd get a chance to be an extra. I had no idea I would get a chance to actually have a part and speak," she said.
And she actually got to kiss Park in her scene.
Rob's scene, on the other hand, involved getting fired. In real life, he said, his mom has been his coach and his P.R. agent. Rob, a freshman at the University of Pittsburg, said his mom has been campaigning at his school for him, plastering signs with Rob's face all over campus.