For 70-some area performers, it was a learning experience.
For one it was the chance of a lifetime.
After spending most of last Wednesday at the Rogers Little Theater, University of Arkansas student Blythe McCauley is on her way to Denver to sing for the judges of the popular television show "American Idol."
Last week, the local Fox affiliate KFTA hosted auditions for the hit "American Idol" at the Rogers Little Theater. More than 100 hopefuls signed up via Internet and about 70 sang for local judges.
For some, like 16-year-old Allison Bolin, it was a new experience. Although she had performed at Fayetteville High School and with the Arts Live Theater group, she had never auditioned for something like "American Idol." Because she was under 18, her mother, Nancy Bolin, had to take a day off work to accompany her.
"She's my only child and she's been singing since birth," Nancy Bolin said. "She's dreamed of 'Idol' since the first season."
Nancy Bolin said she would be happy to take more time off work to accompany Allison if she was selected to move on to the next level.
Others waiting in line to enter the theater had more experience.
Twenty-eight-year-old Justin Stewart has auditioned for Idol three or four times, he said, most recently traveling to Dallas. He's also appeared in several Little Theater productions.
Waiting in line, he was still trying to decide which song to perform. He had selected one during the sign up process, but he thought judges would let him change his mind.
"I'm trying to do something a little different," he explained. His strategy got him into the final 12 later in the day.
Amy Hardgrove left a family reunion at Lake of the Ozarks, Mo., to come to the audition, but forgot her wallet. She had to wait in the theater lobby while a relative retrieved her purse, found her driver's license and faxed a copy to the theater.
Hardgrove, a veteran of Idol auditions, works as a performer at her aunt and uncle's motel in Eureka Springs.
"I'm nervous about getting in," Hardgrove said as she waited for the fax. She was less nervous about auditioning.
"She has a good shot," her mother, Patti Hardgrove, said.
Inside 16-year-old Palmer Lee said she recognized many faces from area talent shows at festivals and county fairs. Lee, who sings with the Rogers High School Show Choir, said she wouldn't be disappointed if she didn't make the finals.
"I have time to grow," she said.
After her audition, Jessica Shaffer, 21, said she learned that next time she should drink more water. "My throat got so dry," she said, but she absolutely will try again.
Miranda LeBouff, 17, said every person auditioning was shaking.
"It was nerve-racking, but that's the only kind of thrill I like. I'm not a roller coaster type person," LeBouff said.
She learned that - with only 30 seconds to sing - "You better project and you need to choose a part of the song that is the hardest."
It was up to three judges, including Ed McClure and Lisa Auten of the Little Theater and Amy Chiodo, an employee of sponsor Coca-Cola who also has a background in music education, to whittle 70 hopefuls to 12 finalists.
Some of the Idol hopefuls, including 16-year-old Brittany Moore, are currently rehearsing with McClure and Auten for the RLT summer musical, "The Music Man." But it's not difficult to judge people you know, Mc-Clure said.
"It's just like casting a musical," he said, explaining that his wife had auditioned for a part in "The Music Man," but didn't get it.
For the Idol auditions, the judges considered stage presence and the ability to "sell" the song, Auten said, as well as singing ability.
"We have to keep 'American Idol' in mind," she said.
Song choice is important, McClure said, "Some genres lend themselves to showing off people's abilities more than others. The bottom line is... you get 16 bars to get a job. So you need to bring your best 16 bars."
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