Friday, May 15, 2009
TV-bound granddaughter stars as Garden Club topic
Backyard scene of a deck and dogwood... more likely topics for Salem Garden Club than was the "lovely blossom" of a granddaughter (though we do allow time to chat!). —Emily Paine Carter, special to So Salem
Emily Paine Carter is columnist So Salem. You can contact her at 981-3430 or via e-mail.
Emily Paine Carter
Recent columns from Salem, Glenvar and western Roanoke County
Willie Hughes beamed as she walked from table to table, giving computer print-outs to Salem Garden Club members.
The ever-smiling Willie had reason to glow even more brightly than usual. (She's known as unflappable -- contrasting with us "flappable" souls.) She was proudly sharing news about a lovely "blossom" of a different sort: her granddaughter Camille.
Camille is one of six New York private-school students chosen for Bravo TV's "NYC Prep" ensemble, premiering June 16.
Heck, even snarky non-fans of such "reality" shows -- say, critics quoting T. S. Eliot's "Human kind cannot bear very much reality" -- might admit it's pretty cool to get chosen. Especially on a first try: Willie said Camille, 17½, had never auditioned before.
Thus far, no pay beyond some freebies. "Maybe if the series gets going" beyond its Aug. 4 finale, speculated Willie.
Camille, sister Lily, 14, and mom Cinda live in Manhattan; dad Craig Hughes recently moved back to Salem, added Willie.
Over the phone Camille said she couldn't share photos or info other than what's at www.bravotv.com/nyc-prep. (No last names, even! Maybe you can guess -- and keep it to yourself.) But, said proud grandma, the Web site's picture "looks just like her. She's known how to pose since age two." ("Not me!" laughed Willie, graciously declining my photo request.)
So, straight from Bravo's site: high school junior Camille balances "rigorous exams, lacrosse practice, studying for her SATs, the debate team and the college application process with aplomb." She seeks a boyfriend, "but no one seems to meet her impossibly high standards, despite the bevy of suitors knocking on her door. Camille thrives on high school drama and can often be found playing peacemaker, brokering a classic junior vs. sophomore high school feud, or saving a naive freshman from social suicide. Always armed with acid-tongued opinions and witty retorts, the refined Camille loves to blow off steam by going out on the town at hot clubs around the city."
"NYC Prep" will follow the "beautiful ... connected" teens as they "network, shop, party, study, date and write college applications."
But, teases the Web site: "privilege has its price." Will "the pressure of lofty expectations ... be too much for even the most confident teenagers"?
Find out: Tuesday, June 16, at 11 p.m. (That's "Bloomsday" to you English majors.) The regular Tuesday 10 p.m. timeslot starts June 23.
For a photo of Camille, visit www.bravotv.com/nyc-prep/bio/camille
