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The Black Student Union is hosting a free talent show from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in Elkins Auditorium on Saturday. The theme is Showtime At The Apollo, reminiscent of the musical variety series that began in 1987, taped live at the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem, N.Y.
“The show was known to being incredibly hostile to performers,” said BSU President Dinah Galley. She said that their Showtime at the Apollo is based on the same atmosphere as the original TV series. The audience is heavily involved, judging performers and deciding who stays and leaves. The students are even permitted to “boo people offstage if the crowd doesn’t like them,” Galley said.
The theater showcased scores of celebrated black entertainers since 1937. Concerts and shows are still held there. The theater has always been the most popular arena for emerging black and Latino artists; no other institution has had the greatest impact on the entertainment industry and music culture as a whole.
The theater quickly became famous for its amateur night competitions where many performers were recognized, transforming them from everyday amateurs to big-time entertainers. Names include Ella Fitzgerald, James Brown, Lauryn Hill, Michael Jackson and D’Angelo, with hosts like Sinbad, Steve Harvey, Rick Aviles, Mark Curry and Mo’nique.
Showtime at the Apollo was a spin-off of the theater’s amateur night. The 12 competitors are, singer/songwriter Trey Brown on guitar, Sarah Chambers on the flute, Ariana Estrada on the dance floor, Mandie Russell, Jarrad Henry, Alexander Skinner, Will Cousins, Alexandra Lastort, Kieran Riordan, Jessie Riemer, Jerry Dalton and His Band, Weston Perkins and Chris Wolff.
“I’m not really competing as a show of talent, but competing because it is something out of the bubble of what I usually do,” Trey Brown said. “BSU events are high energy, a different type of energy than my other gigs. You have to cater to the immediate demands of the crowd, and their demands aren’t the ones that are slow or take time to appreciate.”
Mandie Russell will be singing original songs and playing guitar.
“I could win money, and I like to perform,” Russell said. “I try to perform any time that I can.”
This is a multicultural event, and all students are welcome to come and participate in the audience.
The audience is invited to come ready to yell in order to advance a performer to the next round or get them yanked off the stage.
For the winners, the prizes are $150 for first place and $50 for second.
There are two rounds in the competition. For the first round, contestants are split into four groups of three.
“The audiences’ screaming and enthusiasm determine the first champions,” Galley said. Two people will advance from each group to the second round, and the winners are then voted by private ballot to establish whom the first and second place winners are.”
Submitted 04-06-2006
MALIBU, CA
