Spinning plates, dad-jokes and drag queens are the tip of the iceberg for the acts that auditioned for Point Park Has Talent.

Students of all majors came out last Thursday night in Village Park to audition for Sports, Arts and Entertainment Management (SAEM) Club’s talent show.

Nate Grossi, junior SAEM major and President of SAEM Club, said any event put on by SAEM is run by its own members. Grossi said he wants its members to get involved as much as possible in the event planning for their future careers.

Auditions were held on Thursday, Sept. 20. Of the 21 acts that auditioned, only 10 acts made it through to the finals.

“We just had auditions for the main show which will be on Sept. 27, because we can only take 10 acts unfortunately to the main show just because of time limits,” Sophomore SAEM major and Arts Coordinator for SAEM Club Christy Martin said. “We wanted to see how much interest we would have and we got a lot of interest today.”

Martin, alongside sophomore SAEM major and Sports Coordinator of SAEM Club, Maddie Winger, judged the audition process.

“It’s going to be a really tough decision to decide who goes forward, but we’re
really excited for the main show,” Martin said.

Students from all majors and backgrounds auditioned. Grossi wanted any student to be able to participate and show off their talent.

“It’s open to everybody no matter what their major is or what their experience is,” Grossi said. “We’re looking for all different types of acts.”

Martin, coordinator of Point Park Has Talent, said the event is modeled after the television show “America’s Got Talent.”

Martin wanted to organize this event for students to show the university and their peers the talents that they possess.

“I wanted to put this event on because I wanted an event that could encompass the whole school,” Martin said. “Anybody from any major could come and participate in it so it wasn’t just a singing competition or just a dancing competition. You could do anything.”

The main show will take place on Sept. 27, in the Lawrence Hall Ballroom, which is open to all students.

Point Park Has Talent will be hosted by Mirror Image, a semi-finalist on “America’s Got Talent.”

The judges will be local drag queen Dixie Sherwood, the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s Allie Durand and two Point Park faculty judges: SAEM professor David Rowell and choir director Jim Overly.

This isn’t the first time Mirror Image and SAEM Club have teamed up for an event.

Martin said that Mirror Image came to campus during spring semester of last year for a concert.

Grossi shares the same excitement for Mirror Image to come back to campus.

“We’re very excited,” Grossi said. “Last year when Mirror Image came, we sold out a concert on campus for them in the [Lawrence Hall] ballroom.”

Besides a star-studded judge and hosting line-up, students will have the chance to be involved in the show through the voting process. Students will interact through their cell phones to choose the overall winner.

“How it will work is there will be 10 acts, the judges will narrow it down to three while… Mirror Image will perform a song,” Grossi said.

Grossi said that judges will then decide the top three finalists.

“The judges will give their input on the show but then it is going to turn to an audience vote, which will be a text vote. You will text your vote to a phone number and it will come up on a big screen once everyone has voted and that is how the winner will be picked.”

The top three will receive trophies. The winner of Point Park Has Talent will receive prizes from three sponsors: Barnes & Noble, Culinart and Pizza Fiesta. 

The winner will also win a show in the Point Perk Coffee House series that SAEM Club is putting on.

The first of six Point Perk Coffee House events will take place Wednesday, Sept. 26th in the new coffee shop located on
Wood Street.

Grossi and Martin both expressed excitement for the talent show. They also said they are excited about the other projects that are in the works for the rest of the fall semester, as well as the upcoming spring semester.

“Networking and hopefully making business relationships out of this club is what we’re trying to do this year,” Winger said. “Everything has a learning aspect to it.”

Point Park Has Talent is just the first of many events set to take place.

“We’re trying to get SAEM Club to start off with a bang,” Martin said.