Auditions Coming in for Wheaton’s Got Talent

Audition videos are being submitted to Wheaton's Got Talent, a fundraiser to support the renovation of the Wheaton Grand Theater, 123 N. Hale St., into an arts and entertainment venue and community destination.

Rick Erickson, a Wheaton business consultant who has been working with theater owner Jim Atten on fundraising strategies for the renovation, said in a recent email he is pleased with the quality of the auditions being submitted.

“I have to tell you, they are very good,” he wrote. “We are working with a number of community partners — Wheaton Chamber of Commerce, District 200, Wheaton College, DuPage County Bar Association, the Downtown Wheaton Association and more to saturate the community with awareness of this WGT fundraiser.”

The submissions are geared toward participation in the main event — Wheaton's Got Talent competition at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 30, 2013, at Wheaton Warrenville South High School.

Winners of the talent contest will receive cash prizes from a pool of $2,500 and the grand prize winner will have the additional opportunity to perform live on the Wheaton Grand Theater stage during its grand opening week and during the 2014 Taste of Wheaton.  Performers with either an agent or recording contract are ineligible to audition.

Erickson said soon a call for volunteers will go out for more planning on the event.

Atten purchased the theater nearly a year ago with plans to renovate it into an arts and entertainment venue for the community. He since has formed Wheaton Theatre LLC, according to the Wheaton Grand Theater website. The theater would be operated by The Grand Theater Corporation NFP.

But reopening the theater will take time and money. The theater website estimates renovation funding needs at between $3 million and $5 million.