Hip hop dance troupes, twirlers, teen pop wannabes, comedians,
crooners, classically trained musicians, magicians, belly dancers,
exotic pink flamingo riding unicyclists—and, of course, Elvis
impersonators because there always has to be at least one of
those—filled Baltimore’s Convention Center Thursday for America’s Got Talent
traveling open auditions. Oh yeah, bearded folk singers, too. And
beatboxers. The place felt a little like being backstage at a carnival
freak show. But we mean that in the best possible way.
Whether to
relieve stress, the boredom of long waiting lines, or just for fun, an
impromptu dance-off broke out in the holding room at one point early in
the afternoon (see above photo).
With hopefuls lining up at 5 a.m. on Pratt Street, executive producer Jason Raff told Baltimore that
he expected maybe 3,000 to turn out over the whole day. “It’s like when
you throw a party, you never know how many will come,” Raff said. “But
we’ll be here to midnight or 1 a.m. if that’s what it takes to see
everybody. As long as you’re here by 7 p.m. and have a photo I.D. and
sign the paperwork, you’ll get an opportunity to perform.”
By
“opportunity,” Raff means 90 seconds to impress the show’s producers,
who arrived on the heels of similar open auditions in Greensboro, NC,
Nashville, TN, and six other cities before finishing up in Providence,
RI, and then Los Angeles, CA. Ultimately, the show’s producers will
whittle the audition tapes down to their favorite 500, which will then
go to America’s Got Talent judges Howard Stern, Howie Mandel, Heidi
Klum, and former Spice Girl Mel B. for further review—and a shot at TV
and the million dollar top prize.
Below, melodica
player Zach Feng Zhu, from Philadelphia by way of Beijing, and Baltimore
beatboxer Cory Braxton improv after meeting in the morning registration
line.