‘Survivor’ auditions bring out the deceptive, treacherous and friendly

IDAHO FALLS — From a distance, the 50-plus people waiting in line for “Survivor” auditions appeared calm and average.

Get up close, though, and the scene goes a little crazy.

“I love the crazy people. I just love psycho and crazy,” local Kaden Severn said.

The young man was shaking with anticipation for his upcoming two-minute video audition. He was among a large group of eastern Idaho hopefuls who tried out for the CBS reality show Friday. Show producers held the tryouts at Bish’s RV in Idaho Falls.

Severn has waited anxiously to try out for “Survivor,” a show he has watched avidly since he was a kid. Having just reached the qualifying age of 18, he feels ready, especially to deal with the politics inherent in a show where contestants must not only survive, but also vote each other off.

“You have to kick people off and still be friends,” he said, adding that he loves that element of the show.

Not everyone shared his quiet, friendly approach, though.

“I’m the old lady of the group, and I’m going to kick their butts!” shouted Hank Alexander with a sort of vicious enthusiasm.

Many contestants believe that to succeed on “Survivor,” a delicate balance must be struck between being treacherous and friendly/likable.

Hopeful Erin Tingey said she’s good at making friends, but also calls herself “innocently deceptive.”

“That’s my thing,” she said. “I just think I could get out there and make friends and break friends.”

Tingey is not the only one claiming deceptive abilities. Up the line a bit was Christi Reed, who was excited and smiled sweetly while shading herself from the sun with her 7-year-old daughter’s “Frozen” (the Disney movie) umbrella.

“It’s a game where you can be cunning and deceiving and cut people’s throats and smile the whole way through it,” Reed said. “This is me. This is my cup of tea.”

Besides being deceptive and conniving, it is equally vital to know when others are being such. It’s a skill that makes Steve Liebenthal feel confident in his chances. He says he knows when people are being deceptive and also when they’re being weak.

“I know how to take advantage of those situations,” Liebenthal said.

For contestants the social aspect is, at the very least, half the battle. In fact, it’s so much a focus of the show that even a hardcore survivalist like Jeff Zausch finds it a challenge.

Zausch is currently starring in the Discovery Channel survival show “Naked and Afraid: XL”, where 12 contestants are dropped naked into a deadly and remote bit of Columbia and have to survive for 40 days.

Zausch was also standing in line to audition (wearing far less clothing than everyone else), saying that although the survival part wouldn’t be a problem for him, the social aspect could be a challenge.

“Dealing with the people — that’s all new,” he said. “(But) I’m ready.”

For more information about “Survivor,” visit the website here.

EastIdahoNews.com Intern Mike Moran contributed to this article.

Photos Courtesy Stephen Rockefeller