by Gina Scarpa

Tomorrow night on Oxygen, The Glee Project premieres and 12 young, talented performers will compete for a multi-episode guest starring role on Glee. They will have the opportunity to work with mentors who know Glee best - the show's choreographer, vocal coach/arranger, and casting director. Robert Ulrich is the casting director for both Glee and The Glee Project and today, we spoke to him in an exclusive interview about both shows.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: How did you first get into casting?
A. Robert: I was actually an actor. I was in New York, trying to be an actor. I was not successful and I had always wanted to be in the business. I became a stage manager for theater and I fell into casting. My wife had a manager whose wife was a casting director. Over dinner one night, I said, "Could I interview for the job?" and I did and I got it. I met Eric Dawson and we became business partners.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: How important was it to you that people who worked on Glee also worked on The Glee Project, such as Nikki and Zach?
A. Robert: I think that's actually what makes the show what it is. It's very unique in the fact that it's so authentic and organic. It's really an extended casting process. It's given me, as a casting director, the opportunity to see thousands more people than I ever would've been able to and people who would never have had the opportunity to audition, people from little towns who had barely sung in public, the opportunity to audition. It gives the audience the opportunity to see how casting is done, how somebody ends up on a show. It's pretty unusual.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Was the selection process for the 12 finalists a difficult one?
A. Robert: Yes, it was difficult but there were 40,000 and I, and my associates, got down to 223 and then 83. I showed Ryan Murphy some of the stuff along the way. Those 83 were flown from all over the world to a callback situation where they met Zach and Nikki and were narrowed down to 29. Ultimately, Ryan chose the Top 12. It was daunting at first, just the number, but at the same time, it's shocking how I look back and some of them... I knew the second I saw them that they would end up on the show. People from MySpace that I would watch their tape 100 times. It's funny how certain people are just so unique.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Darren Criss guest stars in the first episode of The Glee Project. What can the contestants learn from him?
A. Robert: Darren Criss is so extraordinarily talented but even more than that, he's an credible guy and even more than THAT, he's so smart. He's so intuitive. His vocabulary, the way he communicates, you could not have a better person working with young people because of his warmth. He's an amazing guy. I don't have enough positive things to say about him. He's so savvy in such a not slick way.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: As a mentor, what is your approach to helping the contestants?
A. Robert: Well, my approach ... our job is to guide them and help them along the way both by being nurturing and tough and constructively critical. Our job is to help them not end up in the bottom three. As a casting director, that is my job always. If somebody walks in the room to audition for me, and I think this is an important thing, every person that walks into the room, you want to get the job - if for no other reason than to be selfish. Then, it makes my job easier. You do whatever you can do to help them be good. I coach them, I direct them, in whatever way they particularly work to be able to help them. That's the same with this. We truly mentored. All of us were giving them notes continually to try to make them better.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What is the main thing that Glee fans will get out of watching The Glee Project?
A. Robert: The main thing that they will get is an inside view into how people prepare for Glee, how our Glee cast records songs, and how our Glee cast learns choreography. And how Ryan Murphy's brain works and how he sees people. It's so fascinating to watch him and see what he sees in people. What makes the show truly unique is that you get a glimpse into the Glee world and how things are cast, which is very unusual. To me, the biggest thing is that you see is that their job wasn't just to be the best singer, actor, and dancer. Their job was to be so real as a person and defined that Ryan Murphy could say, "I know how to write a role for you." They're not auditioning for a specific part. For Chris (Colfer), there was no part of Kurt. He was so unique and yet, he wasn't right for anything that on the spot, Ryan created the role of Kurt. Now, it's almost unfathomable to imagine Glee without Kurt.

The Glee Project premieres Sunday, June 12th, at 9/8c on Oxygen. Don't miss the casting special special, airing one hour before at 8/7c.

(Image courtesy of Oxygen)

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