THE deadline for performers to upload video entries for the Joseph Rowntree Theatre’s online contest, Yorkshire’s Got Talent, is being extended by a week.
Organiser Hannah Wakelam and the judges, Wicked star Laura Pick, cruise-ship vocal captain Nathan Lodge and vocal coach Amelia Urukalo, have set a new cut-off point of midnight on August 8.
Hannah has set up the virtual competition as a fundraiser for the JoRo’s £90,000 Raise The Roof appeal.
“We still have lots of entries coming in, as word of the contest reaches further afield,” says the 19-year-old York performer. “We don’t want anyone to miss out on the chance of becoming a finalist in Yorkshire’s Got Talent, and so the judges and I are extending the entry deadline to next weekend.
“All types of performers are encouraged to enter and to show off what they can do, whether it’s singing, dancing, playing a musical instrument, performing a circus act, the list is endless.”
The cost of entry is a minimum donation of £5 to the Raise the Roof appeal for the Art Deco building, in Haxby Road, and no age restrictions apply.
To comply with lockdown rules, entrants are asked to submit a short video of themselves performing their acts. The contest winner will receive £100.
Full rules and details of how to enter can be found at:
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/687590815139642/about
Instagram: instagram.com/yorkshiresgottalent/
Graham Mitchell, the JoRo’s events and fundraising director, says: “There’s a real buzz around this contest now. Having a West End star [Laura Pick] among our judging panel has certainly got people talking and we are seeing a rush of last-minute entries. By extending the deadline, we’ll be able to accommodate more acts at the same time as raising more money for our fundraising appeal.”
The online contest is the latest in a string of fundraisers for the Rowntree Theatre’s roof appeal, following on from a virtual video, a Zoom fitness class and the ongoing sale of jazzy face masks made by theatre volunteer Barbara Boyce.
To launch the Raise the Roof campaign, the JoRo has set up a Just Giving page and is encouraging donations of “even just the amount of a takeaway coffee” at justgiving.com/campaign/Raise-the-Roof.