Signature Theatre To Seek New Talent With 'Signature Idol', Deadline Set For 7/5

The Tony Award(r)-winning Signature Theatre is searching for the ten best new solo singers in the DC region to compete in "Signature Idol" on Saturday, July 17. Judged by Signature Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer, Washington Post theater critic Peter Marks, and a special Broadway guest, the "Signature Idol" competition is a highlight of the Target Open House where the ten finalists will audition publicly in the 276-seat MAX Theatre at 5:00 pm. The winner will sing in the Open House finale Broadway Concert on the Plaza at 8:30 pm.

The deadline is July 5 for submissions. The music must be a Broadway song. Applicants can either upload a video to YouTube and send Signature the link at idol@signature-theatre.org <mailto:idol@signature-theatre.org> or send in a videotape to Signature Theatre, Attn: Signature Idol, 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA 22206. Anyone who has previously sung on a Signature stage is ineligible to audition.
Signature's Target Open House
Saturday, July 17 from noon - 10:00 pm
Tickets: FREE!

Signature celebrates the best in musical theater and drama at its Target Open House on Saturday, July 17 from noon - 10:00 pm. Free and open to the public, this fun-filled special event sponsored by Target is ten hours of exciting performances, master classes, demonstrations, exhibits, and kids' activities offered in locations all over the Signature Theatre complex and on the Plaza. Events begin every 15 minutes. The entire schedule will be announced shortly.

Signature's Open House is sponsored by Target and is one of their Arts & Wonder Free Family Events. This summer Target offers free admission and arts activities for visitors of all ages at over 80 institutions across the country. This means more wide-eyed wandering through museums and gardens for families, more toe-tapping at music and dance festivals, and more "bravos" on a budget at theaters.

The Target Open House is part of Target's commitment to arts and education. Since 1946, the company has given 5 percent of its income to support education, the arts, social services and volunteerism. Today, that adds up to more than $3 million a week.

ABOUT SIGNATURE
Recipient of the 2009 Regional Theatre Tony Award(r), Signature Theatre is a non-profit professional theater company dedicated to producing contemporary musicals and plays, reinventing classic musicals, and developing new work. Under the leadership of co-founder and Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer and Managing Director Maggie Boland, Signature has presented 26 world premiere productions and is renowned for combining Broadway-quality productions with intimate playing spaces. In addition to the finest talent from the DC metropolitan area and New York, Signature has been a home to such theater luminaries as John Kander and Fred Ebb, Cameron Mackintosh, Terrence McNally, and the company's signature composer, Stephen Sondheim. Since its founding in 1989, Signature has been nominated for 276 Helen Hayes Awards for excellence in the professional theater and has been honored with 70 Helen Hayes Awards, including Outstanding Musical in 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2009, and Outstanding Play in 1999.

Signature is partially supported by a grant from the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts and by a gift from Arlington County through the Arlington Commission for the Arts and the Cultural Affairs Division of the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resources.

Directions
Located in Arlington, VA Signature Theatre is just nine minutes from the Washington Monument. The theater complex is located at 4200 Campbell Avenue (22206) off I-395 at the Shirlington exit. After the exit, blue Signature signs mark the way to the theater. Free parking is available in two adjacent public garages. Please note that Campbell Avenue is a new street and some GPS online mapping systems do not yet recognize Signature Theatre's address. For directions visit http://signature-theatre.org/map.htm.