Carleton Place Talent Showcase auditions Feb. 5

Posted Jan 26, 2012 By Desmond Devoy

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Ina Jackson, left, of Arts Carleton Place, and Giselle Sims, the promoter for the Carleton Place Talent Showcase, at the Old Train Station in Carleton Place last week.

Desmond Devoy, Metroland

Ina Jackson, left, of Arts Carleton Place, and Giselle Sims, the promoter for the Carleton Place Talent Showcase, at the Old Train Station in Carleton Place last week.

EMC Events - Everyone can enter the Carleton Place Talent Showcase - except Simon Cowell and his impersonators.

No, Giselle Sims, a local voice and piano teacher, doesn't want anyone like her fellow Brit to sit in judgment at the Carleton Place Talent Showcase.

"There are a lot of competitions in this area and I didn't want it to be a competition," said Sims, during an interview at the Arts Carleton Place offices last week. "I feel that there is enough of that in the community (competition)."

Sims is looking for artistic endeavours from the fields of drama, music, dance, and visual arts.

"Everyone who has something to say with their voice can be heard," said Sims. "I think that arts in the community is very important for people on many levels. If you have a showcase, artists can have their work brought to a wider audience."

Auditions for the Carleton Place Talent Showcase will be held at the Mississippi School for the Art, 150 Mill St., Carleton Place, on Sunday, Feb. 5 starting at 11 a.m.

The showcase itself will be held on Saturday, March 3, at the school at 7 p.m. Admission is free, and all proceeds will go towards Arts Carleton Place.

Spaces are limited, however, so email concerts@orangepawentertainment.com to reserve an audition time slot today.

Rather than having a rogues gallery of judges like Aerosmith's Steve Tyler, Jennifer Lopez, the aforementioned Cowell and even Randy Jackson, the judges at the auditions are local and care about fostering regional talent.

The judges include Sims, Mississippi School for the Arts principal Sharon Holzscherer and Arts Carleton Place board chair Ina Jackson. The showcase is also being promoted to area school children as a way for them to get stage experience without the fear of a competitive environment.

"Children can gain so much confidence in themselves," said Sims. "It's time just for themselves so that they can be alone with their voice or instrument. You can see the results."

"It can involve any age group and not just children," added Jackson.

When it came time to decide who the beneficiary of such a showcase should be, it was an easy decision for Sims to make.

"Arts Carleton Place does so much in this area," said Sims.

"That was such a great phone call (to get)," said Jackson.

The event will also feature a silent auction, with donated art pieces, as well as free Starbucks coffee. There will also be a static art display on site.

The performance times will vary, but don't expect the showcase to rival a drawn-out, Wagner-like opera.

"I know that one of my six-year-old students could probably do 30 seconds," said Sims. "However, some dance routines are seven minutes long ... (But) it won't be a long, drawn-out evening."

That's part of the reason for the auditions, to keep time balanced, to see if people are, frankly, tone deaf, and to "know what talent is out there."

"I want everyone to have a chance," Sims added, noting there is a high level of talent here. "Some people don't want to display out of fear of rejection. I want to go to those people's homes and pry it out of their hands."

Encouraging shy talent is something Jackson has seen a lot of.

desmond.devoy@metroland.com