3rd Annual St. Louis Teen Talent Competition Begins 2/9

The 3rd Annual St. Louis Teen Talent Competition gets underway February 9-10 when 161 acts take the stage in the preliminary round of the competition (a complete list of students/schools can be found here). "We are excited to see so many more students register for the Teen Talent Competition this year! We have an even greater range of talent including a ventriloquist, comedian, a diabolist, and several bands. We are pleased to have added more prizes and scholarship awards for our participating students," says Mary Strauss, President of Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation Board of Directors, "We hope all St. Louisans will come out and support our talented teens for the final competition on Friday, April 12, 2013 at the Fabulous Fox. It's a great opportunity for the whole family to see great talent on the Fox stage FREE OF CHARGE."

The Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation (FPACF) first produced this competition in 2011 to showcase the St. Louis region's most talented teens in the performing arts; singers, dancers, actors, musicians, comedians and circus arts performers compete as soloists or in groups of as many as six.

The number of entries increased over 30% this year and include an even wider variety of acts. The competition process, filmed by Miano.tv, will be available on our own SchoolTube channel graciously donated by SchoolTube.com. Highlights of last year's event and the winning performances from the 2011 and 2012 Showcase can be seen on our SchoolTube and YouTube pages.

Judges for the preliminary round will again include an impressive cross section of professionals from the St. Louis performing arts community. A complete list of preliminary judges is available on the FPACF website.

The two days of preliminary competition at three locations (Lindenwood-Belleville, St. Louis Community College-Forest Park, UMSL) will narrow the field to approximately 36 acts. These acts will compete in the Semi-final round of competition on March 2nd where 10-12 acts will be chosen to compete in the finals at The Fox on Friday, April 12, 2013. A total of $15,000 in scholarships will go to the top three finalists. Additional scholarships and prizes include: $1,000 from UMSL to first place; scholarships from Lindenwood and Missouri Baptist for all participants; scholarships from Webster and SEMO to all finalists; and an additional $7,5000 in special prizes will be awarded to contestants. A full list of special awards and prizes can be found on the FPACF website. Both The Muny and STAGES will offer one student the opportunity to participate in a 2013 production. FPACF also provides the finalists with additional opportunities to perform at area events throughout the year. Last year finalists showcased their talents at the Shakespeare Festival, Webster's Art & Air Festival, The Muny, National Dance Week Celebration and Dancing in the Street.

Complete guidelines and information about the 3rd Annual 2013 St. Louis Teen Talent Competition can be found on the Foundation's website and on the FPACF Facebook page. Important dates for this year's showcase are:
Preliminary Rounds of Competition: February 9-10, 2013
Semi-final Round of Competition: March 2, 2013
Final Competition on stage at The Fox: April 12, 2013 (FREE)

The amazing community response to this free final competition at the Fox has grown over the past two years with "sold out" crowds. We are pleased to announce that The Nine Network will once again broadcast an hour-long program on the 2013 competition with support from St. Louis Community College. Over the past two years more than 120,000 viewers tuned in to The Nine Network's hour-long program.

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