Wright State senior Brandy Zapata, was crowned Dayton’s CW star. Zapata, Assistant Speaker of the House in WSU’s student government, and a mass communications major, won the competition, making her the face and voice of Dayton’s famous television network.
Since Zapata won the competition, her life has become a turbulent roller coaster. Daily, she faces a large amount of interviews, meetings, performances and plugs for the CW.
The Guardian was fortunate enough to sit down and speak with the humble, new star.
The Guardian: Do you have any interesting hobbies, Brandy?
Zapata: I love singing, dancing, and acting. Recently, I’ve been dancing in jazz, hip-hop, tap, and clogging.
The Guardian: Why did you apply to be Dayton CW’s next star?
Zapata: I knew someone that was a semi-finalist, last year – the CW’s first competition. She seemed to have a lot of fun. I also thought it’d be a really cool opportunity to work with the CW. I thought to myself, if the CW does this again, it’d be worth a shot. I’d have nothing to lose. Once I saw the advertisement for the audition and saw that I had nothing to do that Saturday, I was there.
The Guardian: What caught your attention about the competition?
Zapata: Well, the winner would get to basically be a spokesperson for the CW – it’ll be such an amazing experience! The winner gets to be the face of Dayton, they’lll get to be on online and TV, and they’ll get to be offered an internship with Dayton’s CW. Since I’m graduating in June, and the internship lasts a year, it seemed like a fabulous opportunity.
The Guardian: Wow. The competition seems like a great way to get your foot in the door! Describe what auditioning was like.
Zapata: I had to start by filling out a form describing myself, what I’m interested in, experiences on camera and my experiences in video editing. In the actual audition, they asked the entrants how much they knew about the CW and why we thought we’d make a good star for the station. They actually had me sing… which I was not prepared for.
The Guardian: Excellent! What did you to sing?
Zapata: I sang “Good Enough” by Evanescence. I really like Evanescence, so this was the first song that come to mind.
The Guardian: How many others entered the competition?
Zapata: There were about 70 to 80 other applicants, in total. There were two different audition days. So, the judges pick a top nine and 25 semi-finalists. The 25 semi-finalists had to compete for the 10th spot. Thankfully, I was initially put in the top nine.
The Guardian: Did you get to see any of the other auditions?
Zapata: No, I didn’t see any, but I got to hear only a couple of them. I was the second one to audition, and once it was over, I didn’t stick around for the rest of the competition.
The Guardian: What steps did you take in preparation for the competition?
Zapata: Honestly, I wanted to go into my audition as naturally a possible, but I still had to do a bit of research. Although I like some of the shows – Supernatural, Gossip Girl, and Vampire Diaries, but I still wanted to see beforehand what their website has to offer and things like that.
The Guardian: What about you do you think “wow”ed the judges the most? Go ahead, toot your own horn.
Zapata: Well, I’ve been a vocalist for a really long time and I’ve been a dancer since I was 3, so those things have really helped my ability to perform on the spot. I think that’s impressive to a lot of people.
The Guardian: It most definitely is. Now, though, let’s talk about your victory. What was the first thing you did once you found out you were the next star?
Zapata: Oh my gosh, I was freaking out. I was shocked. After I calmed down from winning, a friend and I went to the midnight premiere of The Hunger Games. It was a fantastic movie. I read the books, and I have to say that the movie stayed true to the original storyline and did a great job with casting.
The Guardian: So what’s the game-plan now? What have you been doing with your newly acquired stardom?
Zapata: Basically, I’ve been working 20 hours a week at the station. I have to go out to a bunch of events. Tonight, actually I’ll be singing – and filmed – at Hoops for Smiles, which is a charity event. This coming Thursday, I’ll be at opening night for the Dayton Dragons, at Fifth-Third Field. I won’t be singing the National Anthem, but I’ll be walking around, promoting the Dayton CW. You know: glammin’ it up.
The Guardian: Have you met any celebrities since you won?
Zapata: I haven’t met any major stars… yet! But I have met plenty of news anchors from the Dayton area – which has been cool. They’re television personalities, so they’re like celebrities, I suppose. I also get to interview a band, tomorrow night.
The Guardian: Elaborate on how this experience is going to help you in the future.
Zapata:I think this experience will be a huge step in the right direction. I’ll have to do a lot of video editing, which will definitely help me in building a professional portfolio. Without this competition, I wouldn’t have otherwise been able to make something that’ll help me so much with future employment opportunities.
Plus, another perk of being the CW’s star is that I have an allowance for wardrobe. I get so many nice clothes that I’ll be using on camera for many years to come. I’ll be learning how to do my makeup for the camera. The CW stylists actually just cut off 5 inches of my hair – which is still kind of freaking me out.
The Guardian: I bet. That’s a pretty drastic change! Lastly, what do you plan to do after graduation?
Zapata: Well, after I graduate in June, I’ll still be working for the CW – at least until next March. Depending on the opportunities that are available through the CW, I could potentially stay in the area. I might get involved with another aspect of the CW. Ideally, I’d like to be a news anchor. I don’t particularly want to stay in Ohio; the West coast has been calling my name for a long time. It’s also possible that I would pursue acting. I would love to star in a movie or a TV show.
