Pitt students may light up soap screen

Two Pitt students got the news they’d been waiting for when their names were announced on… Two Pitt students got the news they’d been waiting for when their names were announced on CBS’s “The Early Show” last Tuesday morning.

Since auditioning in the William Pitt Union in late September, Bill Morse and Liz Vitalbo had been waiting to find out if they would be selected to audition for a role on the soap opera “Guiding Light.” Along with all the other viewers, the two learned from the announcement that they would audition live on an episode of the morning show this week.

When Vitalbo heard her name, she experienced the “biggest relief,” she said. Morse said that when he heard his name, he “spazzed out” and yelled so loud he could have woken up his entire apartment complex.

Morse’s celebration, though, was short lived – it lasted only 10 minutes. He still had to give a presentation two hours after he heard the news, and he had a paper to write and a test to study for.

According to Vitalbo, the combination of emotions she had during the day she heard the news made her feel like she “was hit by a truck” when she woke up the next morning. But Morse was quick to add that neither of them would complain about the emotional rush.

The two, who both went to Seton-LaSalle High School in the South Hills and beat out hundreds of other local college students for the audition opportunity, have shared the stage before in several performances, including a production of the musical “Grease.”

It was only after Morse happened to see Vitalbo on the day of the auditions that she learned about the “Soap Star Screen Test” auditions that won her a spot on “The Early Show.”

During the last few semesters, Morse has become a campus celebrity as one of the stars of The Creation Station’s “Lothrop, What, What” and “Headhunter.” He jokingly added that he appeared in the May 1998 edition of Playgirl, as well.

Vitalbo began acting when she was six years old and has continued by working with the Pittsburgh Musical Theater at the Byham Theater Downtown. She has also done some local modeling.

“I want [this] to be a big break,” Vitalbo told a man at her first interview.

“Look, I’ve been doing small acting for years,” she told him. “I need a kick in the ass.”

After their initial auditions at Pitt, Morse, Vitalbo and fewer than 20 other people – split between men and women – were called back later in the day. They all auditioned again with microphones and TV cameras. They were then told to watch the Nov. 4 episode of “The Early Show” when the finalists would be announced, following similar auditions at four other colleges. A man and woman from each audition site were selected to participate in the live auditions.

Two weeks ago, someone from CBS called them to make sure that if they won, they could come to New York City sometime next week.

Morse was in a psychology class when the representative called him. When he went to listen to the message, he accidentally deleted the phone number he needed to call back. Luckily, he remembered all but the last two digits, so he called every possible number until he finally got the right one.

After next week’s live auditions, there will be an online vote – at www.cbs.com – to determine the winner. The winner will get a guaranteed week contract with the soap opera, with an option for an extension. When “As the World Turns” held a similar contest, there were only about 10,000 votes total, Morse said.

Even if she doesn’t win, Vitalbo said this experience will be a great way to make connections in the business.

And though they aren’t quite stars yet, Morse took time from his interview to answer a call from his agent. And when Morse asked Vitalbo if food expenses were included in their all-inclusive trip to New York, she responded, “Yeah, they’d better.”

“I can’t say anything negative about [soap operas],” Morse added. “It’s where so many stars have started.”

The live auditions have Vitalbo a bit scared because, as she said, “Not only do you look like an ass, you look like an ass in front of a national audience.”

Vitalbo doesn’t think the casting directors were necessarily looking at acting ability during the earlier auditions – they were more interested in the character, personality and passion of the performers, she said. This time, though, she expects the American public to vote based on the acting ability of each person auditioning.

Morse, who is in his junior year, is looking toward his future – and that future doesn’t include a normal, traditional job behind a desk, he said.

After getting through all of his work for the week, Morse planned to go to the Pitt-Virginia Tech football game. Vitaldo said she was would be studying her script all week.

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that,” Morse said after hearing Vitaldo’s plans.

CBS sent the script to the 10 finalists overnight, according to Morse. He added that, though only about 2 and a half pages long, the script includes some tough lines.

One man and woman from the universities of Denver, Georgia, Miami and Northwestern University were selected as finalists.

Morse will fly to New York on Sunday night to appear on Monday’s “The Early Show,” while Vitaldo will appear on Tuesday’s show.

Both Morse and Vitaldo admitted that they were not big soap opera buffs.

That helps explain one of the situations Morse got into at his first audition. While waiting in line, he noticed an attractive woman and started talking to her. After a few minutes of what turned into flirting, she said she had to get back to work. After she left, someone standing near him in line excitedly asked, “How do you know Aubrey?”

Apparently, the woman he had been talking to was Aubrey Dollar, better known to “Guiding Light” fans as Marina Cooper.

“I was trying to hook up with Aubrey Dollar,” Morse said. “Maybe this will be my shot.”