Got Talent? Long Island Wants To Hear You

Got the stuff it takes to break out? Well, 55 people on Sunday tried their hand at auditions for an island-wide talent contest the is sponsoring.

A steady stream of contestants, mostly singers, attended open auditions to perform before judges in one of three rooms at the Huntington School of Performing Arts. When the small waiting area spilled over with contestants and parents, those awaiting a turn walked around town on the mild day.

Finalists will perform March 25 at the Dix Hills Center for the Performing Arts in the third annual Got Talent? Long Island contest. The winner will receive a $500 cash award, the opening performance at the 46^th annual Huntington Summer Arts Festival, and a $1,000 scholarship to Five Towns College.

Performers sang everything from opera to hip hop to rhythm and blues and Broadway show tunes. “We had a very good turnout. We were very happy,” said Courtney Pustay, a spokeswoman for the Huntington Arts Council. Contestants can still submit audition videos to the Arts Council office until Thursday.

Kate Keller, 13, a student at Robert Frost Middle School in Deer Park, got a golden ticket after her audition, which assures her of a spot in the competition. She was back for her second run at the talent show, where she auditioned and performed last year.

“I’ve been singing for a really long time,” she said after her audition, and has taken guitar lessons and some voice lessons, “but it’s still nerve-racking.” She played “Smile” before judges Andrea Maire, pianist and violist, and talent manger James Washington, strumming her guitar and singing in the audition room, shoeless to protect the dance studio floors, her feet in their striped socks keeping time as she played.

Halfway through, Washington interrupted her with a request to soften the guitar playing so they could better hear her voice. Keller took the request in stride, scooting forward on her seat and strumming more softly while she sang louder.

At the end, he offered her some advice: Because of your small stature, maybe put a strap on the guitar and play standing up, he suggested. “You are so pretty and your performance was so captivating. And it’s good to have the guitar playing, that will take your career forward,” he said.

Washington, who represents Martha Wash of “It’s Raining Men,” a judge for the March 25 contest, offered post-performance advice to several of the performers. He liked Keller’s ability to shift midstream and her willingness to take direction in stride. “She internalized it very well,” he said.

Performer Crystalyn Wynter, 18, of South Hempstead, who performed a Broadway tune, was back for her third year of auditions and got a golden ticket to advance to the finals. Last year, Wynter said, she received the Rising Star award in the island-wide contest. She is studying vocal performance at Five Towns College.

“Be true to yourself,” Washington told her after the audition.

“Sing something that rocks you,” Maire said.

He and Maire agreed they like to see contestants singing age-appropriate material, and on occasion have suggested some contestants reconsider their choice of audition piece. While he is gentle with suggestions for young performers, ultimately, Washington noted, he lets them know it’s a contest.

“I let them know things that can enhance their craft, and offer suggestions. And if they’re nervous, that they need to take that nervousness and have a winning attitude and convert that winning attitude into their performance.”