Auditions are coming up for a new project from Madison College Performing Arts. The Student Showcase will be a one-night performance opportunity for students of all disciplines to share their art with the rest of the college.

The faculty organizer behind the showcase, dance instructor Robin Fonfara, said she wanted to create this project to provide “a performing opportunity for serious artists to share their work, without overwhelming their schedules.”

Performances will include dance, singing, music, theatre, poetry and spoken word, as well as other talents who may appear at auditions.

“We are hoping to develop an evening featuring a wide array of student interest, talent and experience,” Fonfara said.

Though Fonfara wants to make it as easy as possible to get involved individually, she also wants students will try to collaborate on their performances and “work together to get involved.”
Cody Laper, 24, Education Coordinator for the Performing Arts Leadership, said he hopes the Showcase will have just as much of an impact on the people in the audience as it will for the people onstage.

“Seeing people up there doing what they like to do is inspiring,” Laper said. “That’d be the best thing I could expect from it: to inspire other people to step out of the comfort zone and show what they can do.”

The showcase evening itself will include not only the various performances, but music and “light dessert refreshments” before and throughout. The showcase will be held in the Truax Campus Gateway on a small stage, surrounded by cabaret-style seating.

Madison College student JP Wynne, 20, says he’s looking forward to auditioning. He wants to use the showcase as a chance to explore stand-up comedy.

“I want to see the crowd’s reaction at the show,” he laughs, “That will be the biggest indication of whether I keep pursuing stand-up comedy.”

This will be Madison College’s first Student Showcase. Based on the success of the project, they hope to hold another in the spring semester.

The auditions to decide the evening’s line up will be held Oct. 11 and 12. Interested students will be asked to schedule an audition slot in advance and prepare a short piece that highlights their skill. They will then have a month to polish and rehearse.

Wynne had some final words of encouragement for others thinking of auditioning. “Now’s your time to practice and create some sort of performance that you can display at the show,” he said. “So no matter what level you’re at, just go for it.”

Showcase Schedule (2016)

Auditions: October 11 form 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. and october 12 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. or by appointment.

Performance: November 19 at 7:30 p.m., Madison College Gateway

Email Robin Fonfara at [email protected] to schedule an audition slot

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