CALLING FUTURE STAGE STARS

I am well overdue for about six posts (from LA to the Tonys, this blog has missed it all recently!) but I thought I'd start off with a timely notice about a cool contest the folks at Stage Stars Records are launching tomorrow. They wanted to make sure budding Broadway babies from all over the country heard about the competition, so those of you from Wisconsin and the Midwest, take a peek and consider taking advantage of this great opportunity.

Stage Stars Belt-Off allows vocalists to choose from a wide range of Stage Stars' own accompaniment tracks - modern and classic showtunes alike - and submit a video of their best performance to be voted on by fans on Stage Stars' Facebook page. Uploading AND voting both start August 1, so get those videos ready now to maximize the time your friends have to vote.

The winner will be flown to my favorite city, New York, to sing on one of Stage Stars' future CDs. Not too shabby, right? I think Stage Stars are absolutely right when they note, "a role on one of our CDs will make a fantastic addition to any résumé."

As I mentioned, there's a great variety to the songs competitors get to choose from. If I had the pipes, I'd probably go for something quirky that can really be performed (to maximize the fact that you're on video and can make a visual connection with the audience), like Urinetown's "It's a Privilege to Pee" or Spamalot's "Find Your Grail." If you want to focus on the belt and not the humor, I'd go with something a little bit more offbeat and modern, like Spring Awakening's "Don't Do Sadness." Find the track that fits your voice and performance style best, and go for it! You can hear samples of all of the options over at SoundCloud.

Let me know if you're going to enter and what song you picked. I'm rooting for all of you! And if Stage Stars includes some In the Heights rap for future contests, don't worry, I'll be all over it.