St. Louis Teen Talent Competition Kicks Off Its 8th Year

St. Louis/January 24, 2018 - Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation (FoxPACF) is pleased to announce that the 8th Annual St. Louis Teen Talent Competition will begin Saturday, February 17 and Sunday, February 18, 2018 with 170 performers taking the stage in the preliminary round of competition (a complete list of students/schools can be found here). "We are thrilled with the ongoing response to this event from students, parents, arts organizations and the community. The Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation is happy to be able to provide the opportunity for students to perform at the Fox and on other stages around St. Louis. We're delighted that we are able to put talented young people in the spotlight," said Mary Strauss, President of the FoxPACF Board of Directors.

This year's entries represent 69 schools in the bi-state metropolitan area (55 MO/14 IL) plus homeschoolers and include acts showcasing a variety of talents including baton twirling, martial arts, aerial arts, juggling, spoken word, acting, dancing, singing and a punk rock band. Acts may include up to six students performing as a group and can perform original or published material.

Students in this competition are vying for more than $40,000 in college scholarships, cash awards, and prizes as well as performance opportunities. In addition to the 1st Place $8,000, 2nd Place $6,000, and 3rd Place $4,000 scholarships awarded at the Final Round, restricted scholarship opportunities to Southeast Missouri State University and Webster University will also be available to students taking part in the competition. Each Finalist will also be eligible for unique public performance opportunities within the St. Louis area. Finalists from the past six years have performed at The Muny, Shakespeare Festival St. Louis, Chamber Music Society of St. Louis,

Webster Groves Art & Air Fair, Taste of Maplewood, St. Louis African Arts Festival, Winter Opera St. Louis, and the Rising Stars Showcase. Further details on these opportunities can be found here.

Judges for both the Preliminary and Semi-Final rounds of competition are professionals representing a cross-section of the St. Louis performing arts community and entertainment industry who give constructive performance advice to each act individually. Each round of competition will have a panel of at least four judges who will adjudicate and advance acts to the next round. Acts will be judged on technical ability, interpretation, stage presence and originality. Throughout every level of the competition, professional insight regarding technique and performance skills, along with scholarship opportunities, benefit any high school student looking to improve their overall talent. A complete list of preliminary round judges is available on the FoxPACF website.

The two days of Preliminary Competition, at Robert G. Reim Theatre (Kirkwood) and Logan University (Chesterfield), will narrow the field from 128 to 36 acts. These acts will then compete in the Semi-Finals on Sunday, March 25th at Kirkwood High School - Keating Center where the final 12 acts will be chosen to compete onstage at The Fabulous Fox Theatre as part of a professionally produced production, adjudicated by both St. Louis and national performing arts professionals on Saturday, April 28, 2018. This final event is free and open to the public.

Registration for this competition was free and open to all high school students in the St. Louis Metropolitan area. Contestants must be enrolled in the 9th through 12th grades in the 2017-2018 school year and must attend a high school/home school within a 50-mile radius from the Arch in all directions.

New this year was a Pre-Registration Seminar "What It's All About" held on Sunday, October 1, 2018 at The Sheldon Concert Hall that provided an overview of the entire experience for anyone interested in competing. Once registered, students also had access to Pre-Competition Workshops that delved deeper into the competition process, performance technique, judging criteria, song choice, attire, etc.

Complete guidelines and information about the 8th Annual 2018 St. Louis Teen Talent Competition can be found on the Foundation's website as well as on the FoxPACF Facebook page. The community response to this FREE event has been amazing and grown over the past seven years with "sold out" crowds at The Fabulous Fox.

Additionally, each year 120,000 viewers have watched the Nine Network's hour-long program on the competition. We are pleased to announce that The Nine Network will once again broadcast an hour-long program on the 2018 competition.

Miano.tv produces videos of the competition process which will be available on their YouTube and SchoolTube channels after the Semi-Final round. Stories from the past seven years are currently posted and provide viewers a glimpse of what the competition is all about.

The Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation reintroduced the St. Louis Teen Talent Competition in 2011 to showcase the St. Louis region's most talented teens in the performing arts. The 2017 winner was Christina Jones, a singer from O'Fallon Township High School. A complete list of the past seven years of winners and finalists can be found on the FoxPACF website.

Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation fosters, promotes, and encourages young people in the St. Louis region to discover and participate in the joy and wonder of live performances.

In addition to the St. Louis Teen Talent Competition, the Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation also produces a variety of other performing arts programs that focus on youth including Kids' Night at the Fabulous Fox, Broadway Master Classes, Educational Encores, and is a producing partner of the 2nd Annual St. Louis High School Musical Theatre Awards.

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