‘Beauty’ Seeks Harvard Geeks

Harvard men looking to become the next Alan D. “Scooter” Zackheim ’06, the winner of last season’s “Beauty and the Geek,” will have their chance when casting directors from the hit show hold a Boston casting call during reading period.

Looking for “intellectually endowed but socially inept men who can turn a shopper into a scholar” and “beautiful, sexy, social-savvy women who can turn a geek into a stud,” the show pairs male and females contestants and puts them through a slough of intellectual and interpersonal challenges, according to the casting director’s press release.

The couple that most effectively combines their strengths wins. Last season’s champions won $250,000.

Hosting the casting call in Boston was a natural choice, according to casting director Kristina V. Gorolevich.

The city’s proximity to many Ivy League schools makes it a hotbed for finding perfect contestants for the show, Gorolevich said.

“Harvard is obviously the cream of the crop,” Gorolevich said.

“We’re looking for not just extremely intelligent men, but with an interesting edge also,” she added, mentioning the many eccentric extracurriculars some students were in, such as paper-rock-scissors competitions.

When asked if she was interested in seeing any Harvard beauties, Gorovelich asked, hesitantly, “Have you ever seen the show?”

She added Harvard may have “some girls who are slightly clueless with regards to street smarts” who may be viable contestants.

The session calls for men and women aged 21 to 30.

“If we found someone 18 or over who’s amazing,” Gorovelich said, “we might let them in.”

As alcohol is consumed on the show, such a contestant would have to be barred from certain activities, Gorovelich explained.

The open casting call will be held on May 12 at the Felt Nightclub on 533 Washington Street.

—Staff writer Alexander B. Cohn can he reached at abcohn@fas.harvard.edu.