Casting call has kids grinning
Anna Moylan nervously wandered into what must have seemed like a giant, empty room at the DuPage Children's Museum with one goal in mind.
The 11-year-old Naperville girl was directed to pick up a yellow paper bag and strolled in front of a camera.
"Do you like it," asked the woman behind the camera, as Anna peered inside the bag.
"Yeah," Anna nervously responded, apparently forgetting at that moment her crucial task -- to showcase her biggest and brightest smile.
Dozens of children spent Saturday afternoon displaying a wide range of toothy grins, wry smirks and thumbs-ups, all for a chance to become a holiday ambassador for Duracell.
Five winners of the nationwide search, which made a stop at the Naperville museum, will get a chance to meet actress Abigail Breslin and help distribute toys and batteries at a local hospital during the holidays.
At least one of the winners will be chosen from the Chicago area, organizers said.
Many of the contestants made their way to Saturday's casting call by way of a parent or other relative who came across the casting call ad.
"We're just doing this for fun," said Neveen Michael, as her 7-year-old daughter, Sophie, waited to get her face painted after her brief screen shot. "Everybody's always telling her she should get into" acting.
Seven-year-old Chad Sype of Naperville could have used a few pointers from his mother, Brita, on reacting in front of the camera when she learned a news reporter would be speaking to her son.
"Are you serious?" the Naperville woman asked as her face beamed with pride. "That's just brownie points for me. That's amazing."
And 10-year-old Austin Sellevold's mother, Denise, proceeded to run through her son's acting accomplishments -- including a few gigs at the Steel Beam Theatre in St. Charles -- as she waited for him to finish.
When asked whether she hoped the casting call could add to her son's budding resume, Denise Sellevold shyly nodded as she hugged her son.
"He appreciates it," she said. "Don't you?"