City holds auditions for various events By MATT ARMES Staff Writer
Your vocal abilities may not necessarily garner comparisons to "American Idol." And that's OK because the city of Bowie still wants to hear you.
Members of the community are invited to singing and speaking auditions being held Saturday at City Hall for the chance to sing the national anthem and announce upcoming city events.
"We're asking the citizens of Bowie to come out and give it their best shot, and we'll see what happens from there," said Matt Corley, the city's first-year special event coordinator.
"People in this city have a variety of talents and we want to give them the opportunity to showcase their talents."
Corley said there are three major events highlighting the city's summer agenda for community members to serve as announcers and singers: Bowiefest, the 4th of July celebration and the International Festival.
He added that the list for this summer also includes events such as the Memorial Day parade, other holidays and a few concert series.
Six members of the community have been invited to serve as judges for the second year of auditions. Corley declined to say who had been invited, but he did say that five of them had expressed they were planning to attend.
All contestants will be judged on certain criteria for both the national anthem and the announcing roles.
"Everyone trying to sing the national anthem will be asked to do it a capella, and then we'll give them their choice of one other song they can sing to showcase their talent," Corley explained.
"For announcing parts, we'll give everyone a script we've used before from other events such as Bowiefest or the Memorial Day parade," he added.
"But they'll also be judged on how well they can ad lib, because how do you entertain the folks in the crowd when there's a break in the action?"
Monday, Corley said that approximately five people had signed up to try out for each group, and walk-ins would be accepted the day of the audition.
For those interested in performing the national anthem, auditions are scheduled from 1 to 2 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room. The announcing auditions will be held in the same room from 2:15 to 3:30.
Corley said that the length of time for the auditions would vary according to the number of people that attend, but no one would be turned away.
He also offered some simple advice for those bold enough to lend their voices toward special events this summer.
"Those that are coming out to audition know that they need to sing and speak well in front of people, otherwise they wouldn't be there!"
He went on to say that the number of opportunities to perform also varied with the number of special events.
"You never know who's going to be available," Corley said. "Some people are available on some days while others are not available for other days."
