FIRSTies Talent Show, sponsored by AndyMark
 

AndyMark is excited to announce the inaugural FIRSTies talent show!

The FIRSTies will be a 90-minute talent show, hosted by AndyMark, at the FIRST Championships. This show will consist of 15-18 acts from students and/or mentors on FIRST teams. There will be a distinguished panel of judges which will be providing commentary during the show while also deciding upon a winning act.

The time and location of the talent show are being finalized, and will be announced on April 20th.

We are announcing this event so that students and mentors who want to participate can get their acts ready.

FIRSTies details can be seen at this web page.



Acts

• Any FIRST team member is eligible, students or adults
• Acts may consist of one or more people
• All content of the act must be family friendly and PG-rated
• All acts must be approved through an application and audition process (more on that below)
• Acts must be under FOUR MINUTES long, unless approved by audition judging staff

Applications
All acts must send an email to firsties@andymark.com by Monday, April 25th describing their act:

• Main contact name
• Team number (include FLL, FTC, or FRC)
• Contact email
• Contact phone
• Name of the act
• General description of the act
• How many people are in the act
• How long the act will last
• What performance equipment will be used in the act brought by the performer(s)
• What performance equipment needs to be provided by the show coordinators (other than microphones)
• How many different microphones are needed for the act
• Any reference information (youtube video of past performances, etc.)
• Any other special needs

Applicants will be notified if they are approved for auditions or not by Tuesday, April 26th.

All audition-approved acts will be auditioned in person on Thursday, April 28th, at a set time and location in St. Louis (to be determined). Some audition-approved acts may be turned down as show performers, depending on their act quality and the amount of entries for the FIRSTies. Acts that are not approved for auditions will be thanked for their effort, but will not audition in St. Louis nor will they perform at the FIRSTies.

Auditions
If an act passes the application process, then they will be instructed to audition on Thursday, April 28th, at a location to be determined.

Audition Judges
AndyMark staff will be managing the auditions of acts. All acts must realize that they may have to modify their act or simply not perform their act, depending on the judgement call from AndyMark staff.

Competition Judges
A distinguished panel of judges is being assembled to crown the winner of the FIRSTies Talent Show. These judges will be writing comments during the talent show acts and displaying these comments for the crowd to see. These comments will be in good taste, but may poke fun at the acts. Act performers will be encouraged and ribbed, as needed, by these well-meaning judges. The judges will determine a single winner at the end of the show.

Award
AndyMark will provide an award for the winner, to be determined.

Re: FIRSTies Talent Show, sponsored by AndyMark
 

More Fishboy!!!!

Re: FIRSTies Talent Show, sponsored by AndyMark
 

More Cowbell!!!

Re: FIRSTies Talent Show, sponsored by AndyMark
 

I am already warming up for our act :)

Re: FIRSTies Talent Show, sponsored by AndyMark
 

KAR-THIK! (clap clap)
KAR-THIK! (clap clap)

Re: FIRSTies Talent Show, sponsored by AndyMark
 

His singing was very effective at clearing the pits at GTR.

Re: FIRSTies Talent Show, sponsored by AndyMark
 

Here is some more news on the talent show:

The FIRSTies will be taking place on SATURDAY night, from 7:00-8:30pm, in the 1,400-seat auditorium within the Convention Center.

We have already been receiving applications for acts, and things are starting to look good. BUT - we need more acts! Tell your teammates about this fun opportunity!

We are assembling a panel of impressive and impressionable judges, led by the one and only Dave Lavery.

See ya soon,
Andy B.

Re: FIRSTies Talent Show, sponsored by AndyMark
 

I wonder if this is going to be recorded by someone and put on the internet?

Re: FIRSTies Talent Show, sponsored by AndyMark
 

Obvious question: If Einstein runs long, will the FIRSTies be delayed?

Re: FIRSTies Talent Show, sponsored by AndyMark
 

If only I were still a student and had a way of getting a marimba to champs...

Re: FIRSTies Talent Show, sponsored by AndyMark
 

Mentors can enter too. This is a talent show for all ages!

Andy B.

Re: FIRSTies Talent Show, sponsored by AndyMark
 

Awesome! Unfortunately marimbas are still a tad large to bring to champs.

Re: FIRSTies Talent Show, sponsored by AndyMark
 

Unfortunetly my talent takes six weeks to do :)

Re: FIRSTies Talent Show, sponsored by AndyMark
 

Be sure to attend as a member of the audience. Some of the contestants that will perform have taken a lifetime to develop their talents.

Further thought: there will also be groups that put a performance together for this event. I think about the Hilltoppers performance at IRI not too long ago. They were amazing. And then there is 1902's talent and silliness rolled into fun skits and performances. Soooo much talent in FIRSTies just waiting to be recognized and celebrated.

Jane

Re: FIRSTies Talent Show, sponsored by AndyMark
 

Oh, that just depends on how you're getting there :rolleyes: We've fit a marimba and a xylophone in the back of a Ford Explorer and a 4.5 octave marimba in a GMC Terrain for Solo and Ensemble festival. They take up the entire backseat as well, but they fit...

Re: FIRSTies Talent Show, sponsored by AndyMark
 

Flying. Might go a wee bit over the 50lb limit!

Re: FIRSTies Talent Show, sponsored by AndyMark
 

There are 24 applications for the FIRSTies. Of those 24, we will be paring down to about 15-18 acts through on-site auditions in St. Louis. These final acts will be performing at the Ferrara Theater for the FIRSTies, taking place at 7:00pm on Saturday night.

I must say, there will be a wide variety of shows. There are some funny skits, songs, and dances planned to entertain and surprise the audience. Acts will be represented from various countries, bringing all sorts of culture to the stage.

The judges will be setting up a AIM chat, viewable by the audience (through a PC projector), so that comments from the judges (only) can be seen while the acts are performing. At least, that is what our plan is.

Thank you for all of the people willing to perform and to help make the FIRSTies fun!

(pssst... if you are in an act, we will have an organizational meeting at the AndyMark booth at 11:00am on Thursday)

Sincerely,
Andy Baker

Re: FIRSTies Talent Show, sponsored by AndyMark
 

If only you guys could webcast it

Re: FIRSTies Talent Show, sponsored by AndyMark
 

I can't wait to see what teams come up with! :)

Re: FIRSTies Talent Show, sponsored by AndyMark
 

We had a great time at the first-ever FIRSTies talent show at the Championships. Thank you to all of the 15 acts who performed. Our winning act was Alex Curfman of team 1086.

All of the acts showed great confidence and showmanship, along with flexibility for being involved in a first-time event.

Although we didn't give much notice for this event, we still had a packed house and had a great time. Next year, the event will be better publicized and advertized.

If anyone has any video or pictures of the acts, we would be willing to post them on our facebook page.

Many thanks go out to these folks:

- Steve Krawic and Show Ready Events for proposing this idea to us at AndyMark
- Kelli Van Antwerp for being our backstage production manager
- Wendy Austin and friends from Exploding Bacon for their stage crew help
- Dave Lavery, Kate Pilotte, Lucien Junken, and Jason Morrella for their judging expertise and witty comments during the show
- Brant Bowen, Brandon Maris and Paul Kennelly (AndyMark staff) for their efforts to help. I did not know that Paul had some cool dancing moves!
- Greg McCoy, Chelsea Brinton, and David Hoff for assisting as needed
- John and the staff at the Ferrara Theater, along with Swank productions for their help and assistance

Sincerely,
Andy Baker

Re: FIRSTies Talent Show, sponsored by AndyMark
 

Andy,
I had something else competing for my time during this time slot, but heard really nice things from many people about it. What a great example of what those in the robot world do such a good job at - pulling together stuff like this to benefit so many, often at the last minute.

You are all rock stars.

Re: FIRSTies Talent Show, sponsored by AndyMark
 

Andy:

Saw most of the talent show and loved it!
Besides the obvious fun of it all its nice to see the kids in a different environment. It puts a whole different perspective on who they are as human beings.
Great addition to the FIRST Finale.

Re: FIRSTies Talent Show, sponsored by AndyMark
 

Great show! The on-screen comments were great - for those at the show, who didn't like "I want that guy's job!" or Andy trying to block the projector for the "Andy-Mark $100,000 gift" ?

The acts were all great! And of course, the FIRST audience was very supportive - it seems we all know how to clap and cheer :D

P.S. to Andy: If the day comes when Andy-Mark gives out $100,000 gift cards, I want a job. I figure a job in the packing department will be paying $250,000 a year :rolleyes:

Re: FIRSTies Talent Show, sponsored by AndyMark
 

......Our team can build robots........

That sounded a lot better in my head, where I forgot we would be performing in front of an entire audience who did the exact same thing.

Re: FIRSTies Talent Show, sponsored by AndyMark
 

i've gotta say out of the 15 some odd performances i've done over the past 4 years the FIRSTies event was BY FAR the most fun ive ever had on stage!!! the crowd, other acts, judges, and volunteers from 1902 were all awesome!!! i cant wait to see some videos from the show! :D
A huge thanks to Andy Mark for putting this on! i cant wait to see it happen again next year!

-Alex