Real World hits DC: Long-Running Series Makes Volunteering a Reality

"This is the true story ... of eight strangers ... picked to live in a house ... work together and have their lives taped ... to find out what happens ... when people stop being polite ... and start getting real ... The Real World."

For 23 seasons, each episode of The Real World began with virtually the same opening, breaking ground as one of the original "life in a fishbowl" series. A group of young adults were lumped into a fancy apartment or house and filmed 24/7.

The longest running program in MTV's history, The Real World D.C. spent this past summer filming in Washington, D.C., and cast members got involved with a number of charities during their stay in the nation's capital. The 23rd season of Real World premiered Dec. 30. "Obviously, coming to D.C., the intent on all their minds was to do something in terms of volunteering and we expected them to be taking part in that," said Jim Johnston, executive producer of Real World D.C.

"You've got to be confident of who you are as an organization to let camera crews in," Johnston said. "A lot of people are worried, 'What's the glare of the camera going to see?' Organizations have to be confident about who they are and what their goals are," he said.

In light of some Real World seasons devolving into one episode after another of debauchery and hot tub hook-ups, the potential exposure for a nonprofit on the show--positive or negative--was taken into the final calculation by many of the organizations.

"It's The Real World, and we obviously have to be a little concerned about some of the past episodes," said Andria Hollis, program director at Kid Power Inc. "If you examine some of the other shows, there's definitely some alcohol and sex and all those things that we don't choose our youth to be associated with," she said.

"We decided if we were going to have some involvement, we wanted to make sure whomever volunteered with us was a genuine, standup person," Hollis said, leading to an extensive interview with cast member Emily. "We chose really small, contained projects to do and it worked out really well for us. We're a small nonprofit, we could benefit from positive publicity as long as we were careful," she said.

Abby Levine, program manager for DC Vote, said most Americans don't know that Washington, D.C., does not have voting rights in Congress. "In the final calculation, the exposure they would give this issue ... was worth it," she said.

"We have always wanted to go to D.C., but wanted to do it on one of the seasons when we could shoot when the weather is good. More important, after the last presidential election it seemed young people were more engaged than ever on issues affecting the country, so the time seemed perfect," said Jon Murray, chairman of Bunim-Murray Productions and the co-creator and executive producer of The Real World series.

Service and volunteerism was most prominent during Real World Boston, the sixth season of the show, filmed in 1997. Cast members were set up to work in an afterschool program at East Boston Social Centers, volunteering two to three times a week with elementary school kids. "A couple of times there were some big storylines that came out of that," said Johnston, whose first season with the show was that year. That summer the cast took 10 kids from the afterschool program to the Presidents' Summit for America's Future in Philadelphia, which became a storyline for an entire episode. "That was kind of where the idea of service first began," he said.

The location of the Washington, D.C., house was well known--in the DuPont Circle neighborhood and just a block or two from the Hilton where President Ronald Reagan was shot--so nonprofits visited to offer cast members pamphlets and information. "Sometimes they would successfully talk them into volunteering for them," Johnston said.

Levine apparently was convincing enough, approaching the house with DC Vote T-shirts and bumper stickers and simply asking if they'd heard of the local cause. This season the producers "let cast members decide what to do, and followed their desires and interests, which was in part why my drop-by worked," she said.

DC Vote aims to educate and advocate for full representation in Congress for residents of Washington, D.C. With a staff of about six, DC Vote relies on about 30 core volunteers who help in the office, during advocacy days, or at festivals.

Some housemates helped with phone calls, data entry, and with manning the DC Vote booth at various festivals. Levine conceded that cast members weren't typical volunteers. "They were more like celebrities working with nonprofits than volunteers because of what they bring to the table in shining a light on an issue. That was the best way they could help," Levine said. In much the same way, a volunteer who's good at talking to people on the street would be better suited manning a booth at a festival. "Their strength was creating buzz around our issue and building excitement," she said.

"The cameras did bring a certain different atmosphere whenever they were here," Levine said. "People in the office were excited. You feel like you're on a television set," she said.

Although the cameras followed the cast all around the nation's capital, most of the volunteering will not make air, according to Johnston. The cast also volunteered at some point with Africa Action, Energy Action Coalition and Kid Power, Inc., which Johnston said might make it into an episode.

The most prominent storyline is likely to involve Human Rights Campaign (HRC). One of the roommates interned with HRC, which led to a meeting with a congressman and a march on the Capitol, culminating with the HRC dinner where President Barack Obama spoke, Johnston said.

It turned out to be memorable for the roommate, he said, "in figuring out who he is, and how he was going to live rest of his life."

You couldn't have asked for a better example of how you can get involved with something, said Johnston. "It was a passion project more than anything else, and a learning experience," he said.

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