angela24, there were a number of parts of my personality that I felt could be used as a sensation. I'm a believer that you don't have to resort to tasteless flaunting or fisticuffs in order to entertain.
They pull out eight at a time from the head of the queue and talk with you all individually, but invite everyone as a group, to interact; so while they are asking someone else some questions, I can butt in with questions or oppinions of my own. There doesn't seem to be a time limit as such; or it didn't feel like that.
Firstly, I'm transsexual. The housemates this year, thanks to last year, are going to be playing "hunt the TS" the moment they walk through the door, and would probably respond to the person in a hostile manner and/or ask tons of questions.
Now, I transitioned when I was in my late teens/early twenties (I'm 35 now) and used to support TS people when society was very much different. Talking people down from suicide, etc. on a dedicated phone line, or answering questions of partners/parents/etc. who wre faced with the situation and needed comfort, information, hope and a friendly voice to give them a bearing.
I also transitioned at a tough time and despite having a good heart, I had to develop a thick hide.
So ... to begin with, I could easily handle the questions (the public are always a curious bunch and the way I tell things, would probably listen intently) and I could handle any antagonism.
However ... the ace up the sleeve was that I'm a submissive and I serve a Master in a BDSM relationship. The dynamics of that relationship would have provided endless discussion in the house (it provoked a lot of discussion and bent a few brains during stage 1)... but I wouldn't have had it revealed for the first four or five weeks-ish so that they get to know me, rather than jump to conclusions.
The press, however, would have picked it up from the get go, as I've got web sites that explain the whole thing, and the public would probably have been on the edge of their seats, initially, thinking, "there's a pervert in the house and the other housemates don't know it!" ... well, until they get to know me, however. But my skeletons are always out of the closet, hence I have little to fear. So long as I could have get through the first two nominations (about four weeks) then the public would have had time to see me and debate the issue and would be able to see me as an honest and worthwhile person ... so I wouldn't be scared about negative reaction when I came out.
If you want to know more about me, then check out the two sites ...
www.msknight.com and
www.realbondage.co.uk for a considerable amount of detail about my life and what makes me tick.
... plus I'm a minor published author and photographer... I've also been a truck driver, and a baker, I've walked through Munich's financial district topless, I've been run over by a car while I was driving it, I caused a shortage of doughnuts in Yorkshire (I blew up the ring donut machine in the bakery)
... I'm quite inventive and would use kitchen things to create games; they've got all the material in there to write with; they can create playing cards, dice, spinners, they could even have a game of Twister in there if they knew what to use. Imagine that; naked mud twister!
... plus I'm a humourist. I "spark" off other people and am always looking for the honest laugh, even some of the corny ones are good. Just ask my work colleagues; when I go to fix their computers, even if they haven't seen me for a few months, I'm always greeted with a smile and a warm welcome.
... add to that I'm actually a likable person, (which is probably what screwed my applicaiton up!) and I'm also used to working under CCTV (when you're in I.T. there does tend to be a lot of it around now; all our buildings are heaviliy monitored) and you have a personality which I believe could have given the public a lot to watch.
... also given the BDSM side of my life, I'm also in to bondage; I'm comfortable with my body and have few hang ups left. That's not to say that I'd run round naked at the drop of a scarf (ahem) but I have a little taste about what I bare and when! There was also the possibility of having a Japanese bondage demonstration in the house ... past the watershed, of course ... if I managed to stay in the house long enough and the other house mates had warmed to me and were curious about bondage to the extent that they wanted to try it ... given the usual manner of housemates, I judged that they would be up for trying it, as there is no nudity involved and it is a very slow and emotional process. Bondage (rope art) of live humans has already been displayed, in public, in London galleries, during the day!
But I couldn't compress that down to sixty seconds. Despite having been filmed by TV crews from France, French Canada and U.K. (If you ever watched the late night TV show Taboo at the start of 2004, I was on that. It nearly cost me my job at the time) I just couldn't perform. It wasn't the cameras; I'm used to those, it was the sixty seconds; I just couldn't compress it. Plus I was exhausted from just moving house.
So, angela, that's what got me past the first stage, plus I was able to support my own position and arguments, and also question, query and even interogate the others on their own lives. ... Well, I THINK that's what did it. I don't actually know their brief. I was also asked to high kick in the Cardiff audition (don't ask - I was wearing leather jeans and an ankle length leather jacket at the time - they probably wanted to see if my face would go red if I managed to split my trousers!)
You won't be seeing me in the house, but I wish any and all of you the best of luck if you decide to go for the auditions.
My advice is still as before. Have something interesting to say about yourself; show your third dimension. Humour alone won't get you past it; You need to have depth. You have to be alive, curious; a person worth watching.
I also used an old technique of interpersonal relations; I made sure I shook the interviewers hand! (thanks to early events in my life, I'm highly attuned to visual and audio and can read Non Verbal Communication like reading a book. I'm a difficult person to lie to. Plus I love interpersonal communication and would get a real buzz out of being in such a psychological game like Big Brother.)
Michelle.
Last edited by msknight : 04-03-2005 at 07:51