Next 'Showcase' will dig deeper into talent pool
The next chance to see iLLest Vocals perform is at the “Suburban Showcase” concerts on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre in Arlington Heights. The winners of Suburban Chicago's Got Talent are set to take the stage alongside several other acts from the competition.
“I'm happy that several of (the performers) have committed to coming back,” said Metropolis executive director Charlie Beck. “There was a lot of talent in the whole group of people, so there will be acts that audiences haven't seen before as far as the competition goes.”
What Beck refers to is the fact that the “Suburban Showcase” will include some performers who made it to the judges' top-40 list but who were not publicly announced (the next competition round from the general auditions of Suburban Chicago's Got Talent was a top-20 concert). These top-40 acts include Buffalo Grove singer Cami Scarelli, Chicago vocalist Cayla Castro and the bands The Hops and Family Lunacy.
These acts join returning top-20 finalists like the teenage brothers AJ and Shane Lubecker of Algonquin (the comedian and yo-yo artist respectively), the young Downers Grove soprano Ange G, the band The Rendezvous (featuring Ricky Silva of Glendale Heights and Leo D'Ambrosio of Carol Stream) and singer-songwriters Mark Lyons of Palatine and Johnny K of Lake Forest.
“We at the Metropolis talked about ways we could encourage these artists to move to the next level of their careers, and the development of that is to put together a show and appear onstage,” Beck said.
These “Suburban Showcase” shows act as a sort of preview to a planned “Sundays at Seven” concert series to showcase local talent this upcoming season at the Metropolis.
“We've also sent the word out to colleagues in our industry — casting directors from the various theater companies around town and booking agents for various performing arts centers to come on in and take a look and hopefully get an opportunity to book some of these performers at their locations as well,” Beck said.
And contrary to what you might think, Beck said the Metropolis isn't going to get a cut of the artists' fees if they do get signed to appear at other venues.
“It's just the satisfaction knowing that we helped launch a career,” he said.