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Open Mike Night Performances Groom Candidates for American Idol
by Edward Paul Greiff
The sponsors of Putnam Valley's Open Mike Nights and the performers participating in these events all agree that Open Mike Night Showcases are a success in Putnam Valley. Whether it is a Showcase put on by Putnam Valley Arts, or Parks & Recreation Sunset Series, or the Lake Peekskill Civic Association, or Putnam Valley High School Performing Arts Center, all agree there are many artistic and very talented performers living in Putnam Valley.
In a discussion this week with Town Councilwoman Priscilla Keresey regarding the success of Open Mike Night a question arose about how many of these young performers have the passion and commitment to really be a star, to make this their big dream in life, to pursue fame and fortune and a career singing for a living. Well the best way to find out is to ask someone who earns their livelihood singing said Ms. Keresey. So she invited PCN&R to talk to a friend of hers, Georganne Millard, who does just that.
Ms. Millard informed us that on August 27, 2007 the highly successful talent search show American Idol will be auditioning for Season #6 in Philadelphia. If you are between the ages of sixteen and twenty-eight you could audition for a spot on the American Idol show.
We asked Georganne about the process and she replied, "First you need to pursue it with logic and planning, besides showing up wide-eyed and misinformed."
Ms. Millard shares her singing success by mentoring other talented individuals through the not-so-glamorous process of getting past the judges in an audition. When it comes to the American Idol show, aspirants have ten seconds to make a good impression with the judges. The process can be thrilling and exhilarating or it can be totally devastating depending upon how well you handle rejection. Unfortunately this is a factor in every artistic endeavor as well as in life, says Ms. Keresey.
The first audition, says Ms. Millard, is a "Cattle Call" a pre-screening and weeding-out process. She estimates that about one hundred thousand hopeful performers will show up on the first day for a first-come first-called audition. Before performing you are asked to sign a detailed multi-page American Idol contract where, according to Ms. Millard, you 'sign your life away' and give American Idol the intellectual property rights to your performances.
When you are called, the judges allow you ten seconds to show your stuff, film you, and rank you either talented, mediocre, or tone deaf. Candidates are chosen in all three rankings because it is still show business and the producers still need to put on a show. Of the 100,000 that show up that first day only 1,000 will make it to the second round of auditions.
What Ms. Millard tries to help her students with is song selection, how to dress, how to act, and other elements that will help them impress and influence the judges. Out of this group of a thousand participants in round two, only one hundred will make it to the third audition which is before "the American Idol big three; Randy Johnson, Paula Abdul, and Simon Cowell."
Georganne Millard says that when you go before the "big three" you need to be very prepared and really know your stuff.
Handling rejection anywhere along the way is always difficult but when you consider that out of 500,000 applicants nationwide only 250 or one half of one percent will make it to the final audition, you deserve a lot of credit for trying.
It's this lack of pressure and lack of microscopic judging that makes performing for Open Mike Night in Putnam Valley so much fun. But having American Idol as a goal can give an Open Mike Night performance a completely new meaning and if any Putnam Valley young performer makes it to the American Idol show, the whole town will be in their corner cheering. You are a star because you already are - for trying.
Providing local news, information and opinions from
Philipstown and Putnam Valley, NY
Encompassing the Villages of Cold Spring and Nelsonville,
and the hamlet of Garrison, Putnam County, NY.
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