The third season of INTURN debuted yesterday — Digest was there for their big introduction on (the very cold) location at Prospect Park in Brooklyn. Here, we present highlights from our chat with the chilly contestants (a disproportionate number of whom are from Florida) right before their very first audition.

Michael Derek
Soaps 411: "I'm not going to lie to you and say I'm a die-hard soap opera fan because I've got stuff to do during the day, but I've watched an episode here and there."
Audition Tale: "I almost didn't audition because they had the open casting call in Virginia, but my girlfriend said, ‘It's only like four hours away, I'll drive you.' So if it weren't for her, I literally wouldn't even be here."
Previously On INTURN: "I put the first episode of the last season on and I was hooked. I watched the entire thing in one sitting and loved every second of it. I was screaming and cheering. It was great." And regarding Natalie.... "Oh, my god! How did she even get on the show? I actually asked that the first day I was here. Wasn't last year the year they brought back that one kid? I talked to my girlfriend and said, ‘Watch me be there the first day and she's back in the house.' I'll have to be like, ‘Hey, Natalie, what's up? Yeah, Juilliard, great.' I couldn't stand her. But if there's someone like that, great. I'm not going to get involved in the drama; I'm here for the contract. Let everyone else flip out about it. I'll just smile and be like ‘Hey, keep doing what you're doing.' "

Aisha Henry
Soaps 411: "I watch AS THE WORLD TURNS and I love CBS daytime. I'm kind of fanatical." Her favorite actors on the show include Austin Peck (Brad), Terri Colombino (Katie), Jennifer Landon (ex-Gwen) and Maura West (Carly). "I love the show, so what an amazing opportunity. I know both of the Best Actress Emmys last year went to actors from this show, so it's definitely an opportunity to be a part of the best and who does not want to play for the best team?"
Audition Tale: Though she lives in Brooklyn ("This is my neighborhood; I run this park three times a week!") she drove to Richmond, VA for the open-call audition. "I recognized Richard Mensing from INTURN, so I walked in and said, 'I'm going to pee in my pants! You are the man!' "

William Howard
Soaps 411: "My grandmother used to sit me down in front of the soaps when I was a little kid. I remember watching AS THE WORLD TURNS, DAYS OF OUR LIVES, YOUNG AND RESTLESS, and when this came up, I was like, 'Wow, I would really like for my Grandma to have a chance to see me on a soap. The last time I talked to her, she said I haven't watched AS THE WORLD TURNS in a long time, but if by chance you get on there, I will definitely start watching again, so my goal is to book a role so that my Grandma can switch back over. I like Austin Peck. I would love to have a role like his."
Inspiration: "One of the last times I was here, my friend, who was 29, died in an accident, so I'm here to dedicate a lot of what I'm doing to his spirit because he believed in getting out there and doing the best you can."

Peyton Lee
On The Fellow Floridians: "We're all freezing together."
Audition Tale: "I decided to go by after work and try out, and here I am. I work at Universal Studios. I'm one of the superheroes there. It's fun. I wouldn't last in this weather, though!"
Soaps 411: "When I was younger, I stayed with my grandmother a lot and there were two things I remember: THE PRICE IS RIGHT and the soaps. I tried to [watch ATWT], but my daughter wakes up from her nap at 2 o'clock every day, so I played with her. She's 19 months old. My heart's broken over missing her, but I'm here for a purpose."
Previously On INTURN: "I saw that lasagna stint [last season] and I like my food as it should be, so we'll see about that."

Krista Miller
Soaps 411: "I watch AS THE WORLD TURNS, and GUIDING LIGHT is good too. I love Terri Colombino. Katie's my favorite character."
New York Story: "Everyone told me not to look up because you'll look like a tourist!"
On The Fellow Floridians: "I'm not surprised, because the Orlando audition was huge."

Nell Mooney
Soaps 411: She watched DAYS OF OUR LIVES. "I love Marlena! Put some yellow contacts on me and make me be possessed by the devil! That's what I want to be my job. It's an awesome job."
Inspiration: "It's a tremendous opportunity to audition over and over again for producers — even if you have confetti falling on your face [laughs]. That's pretty huge. I've been lucky enough to go in before [to audition] for AS THE WORLD TURNS, but I've never made it this far."

Christian Omari
Audition Tale: "I saw the notice before, but there was a really strict age limitation, so I didn't want to lie, and the next year they spread it out, so I sent a tape in and they called me."
First Impression: "Amazing and crazy. [Whispering] I'm going to win a 13-week contract!"

Kara Quick
Soaps 411: "I grew up watching ALL MY CHILDREN and DAYS OF OUR LIVES. I just started watching AS THE WORLD TURNS, for obvious reasons. I love Terri Colombino's character. She's such an honest actor. I love her."
Audition Tale: "[Casting Director] Mary Clay Boland recognized my head shot because I had submitted to her before in the mail, so that was good. You knew if you were in there for longer than a minute that you were doing okay. Some people were in and out and some of us got to chat for a while. There was one really handsome guy who I thought was really nice and I thought for sure he would be here, but he's not. I'm not in the market for a handsome guy, but he was tall and good-looking and looked like a soap kind of guy."

Justin Smith
Soaps 411: "My mom has been watching GUIDING LIGHT since the '70s and every day when I got home from school, she would always make me press the record button to make sure I taped it and we watched it while we ate dinner."
Previously On INTURN: "I sat up on a lonely Saturday night for like four hours and watched every episode. I was really engrossed by the end." As for the loft experience, "I brought some earplugs."
On The Fellow Floridians: "I've seen the ones from Orlando at auditions."

Audra Wahhab
Soaps 411: She watched DAYS in high school and tried out for the role of Ameera on ATWT, which went to Tala Ashe. "And I have a friend who has gotten a recurring under-five role, nurse Jan. For the last couple of months, I've been watching her."
First Impression: "So far it's been fun. It's just starting, but it seems like it's going to be one of those opportunities of a lifetime."