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Singers to take stage at Actors Guild Idol fundraiser on May 19

PARKERSBURG — The finalists of the first Actors Guild Idol singing competition have been selected.

Sponsored by the Actors Guild of Parkersburg, the fundraising competition has been pared to 10 vocalists who will meet for the final contest at 7:30 p.m. May 19 at the Actors Guild on Market Street. They will compete for a grand prize of $2,000, a featured solo show at the 2018 Parkersburg Homecoming in August and a four-hour studio recording session from Sweetsong Productions.

The 10 finalists are:

* Mara Capati, who most recently was involved at the Actors Guild as the assistant director of “To Kill A Mockingbird.” She will also be playing Crystal in the upcoming production of “Little Shop of Horrors.”

Capati is the assistant director at Catholic Charities West Virginia and is pursuing her master’s of social work this fall through Ohio University. She is an alumna of John Robert Power’s school for acting, singing, modeling and dancing and was formerly represented by Dream Talent Management in West Hollywood.

* Dennis Craig of Parkersburg is a father of two daughters, Caolinn and Meredith, and is a teacher at the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School. He is a veteran of the stage in Parkersburg, most recently performing as Joey in “Sister Act” at the Actors Guild and Jean Valjean in the Mid-Ohio Valley Players production of “Les Miserables” in 2015.

Craig was the winner of the 2017 Ohio Valley Idol and is active in the worship ministry at the Warehouse Church in Parkersburg.

* Hanah Dawkins can be found leading hymns and directing the chancel and handbell choirs at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church. In 2009, she received a bachelor’s of arts in music from West Virginia Wesleyan where she studied voice and was active in the Concert Chorale, Concentus Vocum and opera program.

Most recently, she was the vocal lead for local trio Duende, performing at summer park programs, restaurant music nights, and private events. Her highest vocal achievement, however, was singing a song at church with her mother and 5-year-old daughter on Christmas Eve, she said.

* Logan Dudley, 22, is a Parkersburg native and Parkersburg High School alumnus who has obtained a Maestro Award for a solo in New York City. His music library ranges from Led Zeppelin to Kanye West. Favorite artist: Frank Ocean. Favorite genre: Hip-Hop. Hobbies include playing guitar, harmonica and writing music. Inspirations: Kanye West, John Lennon, James Hetfield. Logan is employed at Dollar General.

* Kiara Hughes is a 14-year-old girl from Marietta. She has been a member of the school choir for five years and has been selected to the All-State Choir team four times.

Her musical influences have been The Fray, Coldplay and Stevie Nicks. She would like to someday write and record music that could help others rise above obstacles in their lives.

* Sydney Lewis a junior in high school and started singing in the first grade. Since then, she has participated in talent shows, singing competitions and musicals.

Lewis has been in 14 musical productions with ABC Players, Ohio Valley Summer Theatre and Misfits Theatre. Her favorites are “The Addams Family” where she played Wednesday, “Hairspray” where she was a Dynamite and “Godspell” where she played Robin.

She hopes to earn her bachelor’s of fine arts in musical theater.

* Josh Martin has a bachelor’s of arts in Music Education from Glenville State College. He was last seen on the Actors Guild stage as Lazar Wolf in the musical “Fiddler On The Roof.”

In addition to performing on stage, Martin has served as a director and music director of several Actors Guild productions. He has also performed at the Smoot Theater, The Greenbrier, Snowshoe Mountain Resort and the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Martin works for Apple Inc.

* Athena Root, a 15-year-old freshman at Parkersburg South High School, is an active member in Key Club and Student Council. She also volunteers on Mondays at Camden Clark Medical Center in the teen program.

She loves music, art and theater and has participated in Guild Builders for several years and will again this summer. Root spends her free time drawing, listening to music, singing and learning to play the ukulele. She hopes to become a neurosurgeon.

* Hector Velez, a single dad of three from the Bronx who loves to sing, says his style is a mix of jazz, blues and R&B. He is making his stage debut with Actors Guild Idol and will be the voice of Audrey II in “Little Shop of Horrors.” Having done many smaller singing competitions, he is ready to bring his skills to a larger venue to finally prove to himself what he can do with a mic, he said.

* Sabrina Witttekind is a professor of communications at Washington State Community College focusing on teaching students interpersonal communication and speaking skills. She took to the stage in plays and performances with the Premiere show choir and has studied vocal performance at Marietta College.

Wittekind is a world-dance enthusiast who has been dancing since the age of 10. She is a licensed instructor of Zumba fitness formats since 2010.

Coming from a Mexican-American background, her goal is to share her passion and love for the Latin music genres of mariachi, cumbia, salsa, bachata and reggaeton.

Two level of tickets are available, VIP or general admission. The VIP package includes a private event from 5-7 p.m. at the Parkersburg Brewing Company, 707 Market St. Seating is limited and VIP tickets are $50.

Each $50 VIP ticket comes with 50 votes to use during the finals.

General admission tickets are $25 each and come with 25 tickets for voting. Additional tickets for voting will be available for purchase during the entire Finals Event.

Voter tallies and the judges’ decisions will determine who will be crowned the first ever Actors Guild Idol.

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