By Harlan Rose

[email protected]

Embarking on a race through paradise, Freshmen Azriel Burcham and Spencer Thomsen starred in an episode of Nickelodeon’s newest original game show, “Paradise Run,” which began airing on Feb. 1. To film for the episode, Burcham and Thomsen traveled to the Hilton Waikoloa Village on the Big Island to compete against two other teams in a series of challenges. Despite taking an early lead, they placed third overall. Their episode, entitled “Are We There Yet?” aired on Feb. 25.

“I thought it was pretty awesome. We got to fly out to Big Island and stay in some super awesome hotel, run around some unsuspecting tourists and it was pretty fun. It was a new experience,” said Burcham.

Due to his involvement in theatre arts groups such as Diamond in the Rough (DITR) Productions, Thomsen was asked to audition for “Paradise Run.” “(Thomsen) is involved in the theatre arts already, and his mom had found out about this audition for the game show and so she asked (Thomsen) if he had a BFF he wanted to join with him on it and he mentioned (Burcham), and they asked (Burcham) and (he) agreed,” said Burcham’s father, Greggory Burcham, who accompanied the pair to the show’s filming. Burcham added, “When we were auditioning, I said ‘I’m the brains and he’s like the brawn.’”

For the competition, Burcham and Thomsen completed a series of challenges, one of which included creating a tiki model out of tiles, which both considered to be the most difficult of the challenges. “It was a puzzle, and I’m not smart in puzzles,” Thomsen explained. Burcham added, “We had to stack foam tiles to make a tiki image, which was really hard, it didn’t make sense; a lot of the pieces looked the same.” Other challenges included memorizing phrases on a sign while riding down a waterslide and navigating a pedal boat.

Filming for the episode took place in spring of 2015 and proved to be a unique experience, as everyone involved had to adhere to a tight schedule. “It was like stop and go the whole time. We retook things almost like 20 times. Like the very beginning scene, we took that like 20 times because (host Daniella Monet) kept messing up,” Thomsen said. Greggory Burcham added, “We were there from the get-go, and they told us everything, how the whole thing works, all the behind the camera tricks, so we got to see everything short of really the slicing and editing that make it cohesive for the viewer.”

Despite Burcham and Thomsen placing third in the competition, they managed to remain positive with their results. “I smiled; inside I was like, ‘Oh well.’ It came down to luck in the end. I was like smiles, do whatever they want me to do, congratulate the other teams, say ‘That was fun, I would do it again,’” Burcham expressed.

Furthermore, both saw their encounter with “Paradise Run” as a once-in-a-lifetime experience and, should it arise once more, one they would pursue again. “It was a great experience, I like flying out to other islands and being on TV. I liked the experience of doing challenges with my best friend,” Thomsen said. Burcham added, “It was fun to be put on the spot and be funny and goofy and do whatever on TV.”

While it may be a while before the opportunity to appear on TV arises again, Thomsen is continuing to participate in DITR productions while also taking part in the current track and field season with Burcham.