Contestants chosen will secure a spot in the Amateur Night 2013 season line-up.
Auditions at the Apollo Saturday, September 29th 10:00am – 6:00pm
Since the legendary Apollo Theater opened in 1934, its signature live show, Amateur Night, has been a definitive career-making opportunity for new talent. Apollo Amateur Night has launched the careers of countless legendary artists, including James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Lauryn Hill, Dionne Warwick, Billie Holiday, Luther Vandross, Gladys Knight & the Pips, and Sarah Vaughan, and has occurred virtually every Wednesday night since the Theater opened. A place in the Amateur Night line-up is a highly coveted opportunity for up-and-coming artists hoping to be discovered.
On Saturday, September 29th, the world-famous Apollo Theater will hold auditions for its 2013 Amateur Night season. Contestants chosen from these auditions will secure a spot in the Amateur Night 2013 season line-up. The adult contestants will have a chance to compete for the $10,000 grand prize while child contestants compete for a $2000 grand prize. Singers, dancers, musicians, actors, spoken word poets and comedians are all encouraged to try out for the show “where stars are born and legends are made.”
“The Apollo is truly the world’s stage and, as such, we always want to make sure we are getting the best possible talent to compete by reaching out to talent in different areas. However, there is definitely something special about auditioning at the Apollo. It seems to give people that extra boost of confidence and energy they need to be able to get in front of us and show us what they’re made of – for better or worse. We hope for the better,” said Amateur Night Producer and audition judge, Marion J. Caffey.
Since its inception in 1934, Amateur Night has been one of New York City’s most popular live entertainment experiences, launching the careers of thousands of performers and attracting audiences from all over the world. The Apollo Theater’s Amateur Night has long been revered by artists as a transformative experience where up-and-coming talent feels the power of the legendary performers who have come before them, and where audience response can help make or break a career. Through its partnership with the Coca-Cola Company, Amateur Night was retooled at the beginning of the 2010 season and features several new programmatic elements including theme nights, a DJ driven pre-show party and, of course, the expanded auditions. These specialized auditions are a part of the Theater’s plans to raise the level of talent for the show, which has launched the careers of countless stars from Ella Fitzgerald to James Brown to Stevie Wonder.
Live Auditions Guidelines
§ An Amateur is anyone who has not had a recording, Film or TV contract with a major studio.
§ NO profanity including any racial epithets or slurs all material must be appropriate for a family show.
§ Children under 18 MUST be accompanied by an adult.
§ Only children ages 5 to 15 will be considered for the “Child Star of Tomorrow” segment.
§ No lip synching, singing along with track vocals or post-production engineering of vocals is permitted.
§ The audition is open to singers, dancers, comedians, spoken word artists and musicians and other variety performances.
§ Each live contestant will have up to 90 seconds to perform.
§ Singers can bring a track on cassette or CD or sing a cappella. A band is NOT available.
§ Musicians must bring their own instruments.
§ Dancers should bring a CD.
§ Do NOT bring CD’s in CD-RW format.
Please note: For live auditions judges will only see the first 300 acts, so please arrive early.
Visit www.apollotheater.org for further details.
About Amateur Night
Since introducing the first Amateur Night contests in 1934, the Apollo Theater has played a major role in the emergence of innovative musical genres including jazz, swing, bebop, R&B, gospel, blues, soul and hip-hop. From its notoriously tough audience to the magic of the Tree of Hope, the Apollo Amateur Night story is the stuff that legends are made of – literally. Amateur Night has been the launching pad for some of the world’s greatest artists including Stevie Wonder, The Jackson Five and Lauryn Hill. Long before Ted Mack and the Amateur Hour and American Idol, Apollo Amateur Night was, and continues to be, a primary source for discovering new talent and spotlighting up-and-coming artists, all hoping that the hallowed stage and the approval of the Apollo audience will launch their careers in the entertainment world.
About the Apollo Theater
The Apollo is a national treasure that has had significant impact on the development of American culture and its popularity around the world. Since introducing the first Amateur Night contests in 1934, the Apollo Theater has played a major role in cultivating artists and in the emergence of innovative musical genres including jazz, swing, bebop, R&B, gospel, blues, soul, and hip-hop. Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Sammy Davis, Jr., James Brown, Michael Jackson, Bill Cosby, Gladys Knight, Luther Vandross, D’Angelo, Lauryn Hill, and countless others began their road to stardom on the Apollo’s stage. The Apollo Theater’s new artistic vision builds on its legacy. New Apollo programming has music as its core, driving large scale and more intimate music, dance and theater presentations. The Apollo will continue to present historically relevant presentations, as well as more forward-looking, contemporary work. Based on its cultural significance and architecture, the Apollo Theater received state and city landmark designation in 1983 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. For more information, visit www.apollotheater.org.
