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New Yorkers are a talented bunch and one of the best places to prove it is onstage at The Apollo Theater. The historic Harlem theater at 253 West 125th Street has held its quintessential Amateur Night talent shows every Wednesday night for nearly 100 years, since 1934, and this September, it's holding a live audition to find the city's next Stevie Wonder, Billie Holiday or James Brown.
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On Saturday, September 9, from 9am to 5pm, the Apollo will audition the first 200 vocalists, rappers, dancers, instrumentalists, comedians, spoken-word artists and other performers, aged 18 and up, for a coveted spot on the world-famous stage for the 2023-24 season. Performers will be seen on a first-come, first-served basis, so be sure to get in line early if you want to secure stage time! And be sure there’s no lip-synching, profanity and the like in your performance—rules are strict!
Those chosen from the in-person auditions will then be able to compete next year in front of an infamously enthusiastic live audience—there's plenty of supportive shouting, sign waving and, of course, the presence of "the executioner," a man with a broom who comes to "sweep" performance off the stage if they don't conjure up crowd favor. The grand finale prize for the main competition will be a whopping $20,000, but a win at the Apollo also comes with some serious bragging rights: performers who launched their careers at Amateur Night include Ella Fitzgerald, Luther Vandross, Lauryn Hill, H.E.R. and Machine Gun Kelly.
Along with the Amateur Night competition, there's also a "Child Star of Tomorrow" category where kid contestants between the ages of 5 and 17 can wow attendees with their own skills and compete for a prize of $5,000.
If you can't make it out to Harlem for the live auditions, the Apollo does hold rolling online auditions for out-of-town talents. Just fill out an audition form and make sure to keep your video clip under five minutes.