Pick Me! Pick Me!

True Tales of Getting Lost and Getting Real in Reality TV

Pick Me! Pick Me! is a reflection on how our occupations can define us and how sometimes the person we are at home is very different than the persona we project at the office. Sometimes it’s good to step back and remember who we really are. Yes, the world of casting reality shows is unique, but being stuck in a regretful job is universal. I climbed my way out and if I could do it, anyone can!

“Felicia Scarangello’s success as a reality TV casting director comes at a price; she loses her own self in drawing out the larger-than-life selves of others. Reading Pick Me, Pick Me! is like spending an evening with your snarky-but-lovable friend, the one who’s wearing two different shoes but has all the best gossip.”
“They say if you like sausage, don’t visit the factory, but if you like TV—especially reality TV—you couldn’t find a better guide to how it’s made than Felicia Scarangello, who, much to her own horror, spent decades as a casting agent for reality shows. Pick Me! Pick Me!, her poignant memoir of her time in the trade, is full of many spicy tales. Fascinating read!”

— John Donohue, former editor at The New Yorker whose articles and cartoons have appeared in the New York Times and Barron's, and who also edited the NY Times bestseller Man with a Pan: Culinary Adventures of Fathers who Cook for their Families. Currently in the midst of a three book deal with Abrams Books (Yay, John!) • All the Restaurants

“You think you’ve had a crazy life in the big city? Meet Felicia Scarangello, whose story about arriving in New York City in her 20s with dreams of becoming an actor, taking on a succession of insane jobs, and culminating in a career as a reality show producer and ‘talent wrangler’ will make you scream with laughter and smile with delight. After reading it, all I could think about was how much I want to see it turned into a movie—and to hang out in a bar with her one night until the wee hours.”

— Marcus Baram, senior news editor at Fast Company. Articles have appeared in
The Wall Street Journal, New Yorker, ABC News, The New York Observer, 
NY Daily News, Huffington Post & more. 
Author of Gill Scott Heron: Pieces of a Man

 

If you’re into books like You Are a Badass and The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, you will get a kick out of Pick Me! Pick Me!  If you’ve woken up, not just one morning, but many mornings, over many years, questioning “how the hell did I get here?” you may find comfort (and some laughs) in Pick Me! Pick Me!

Thanks Mark Manson for confirming what I took so long to learn: eventually you need to get out of your own way and that may mean get out of a business that makes you feel as worthless as wisdom teeth, an appendix, or male nipples. As Mark says, “In life, we have a limited amount of fucks to give. So you must choose your fucks wisely.” I finally chose. 

Thanks Jen Sincero for preaching that “so often, we pretend we’ve made a decision, when what we’ve really done is signed up to try until it gets too uncomfortable.” I now realize I was rubber-stamping my stifling inaction by restfully snoozing on a bed of nails until I eventually realized my back was full of bloody nails. Ouch.

Please take it from me, internally yelling "Pick me! Pick me!" like someone auditioning for a reality show and expecting someone or something, somewhere, to hear your screams will get you nowhere! No one is going to swoop you off the worn path you’ve been crawling down for years. No one is going to pick you to walk a different path, to help you make a move. You gotta do it yourself. You’ve got to make that move. You’ve got to Pick You! Pick You!  …or don’t. Just be a lazy ass and stay there, if you want.