Lehigh Valley IronPigs looking for talent -- but not at baseball

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Lehigh Valley singer Mitchell Hendricks took his acoustic guitar and started out playing slower, folk-style ballads.

But his audience soon nudged Hendricks to play something from his catalog that was upbeat and fast, which he pulled out right away for them.

Hendricks was performing before just a handful of people, but his hope was that it would lead to him playing before a sports stadium filled with thousands.

• The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are seeking entertainers to audition to be a part of their upcoming season
• The AAA baseball team is seeking all sorts of talents — singers, actors or anything else prospective entertainers would like to pitch
• The next set of auditions are set to take from 3 to 5 p.m. Friday, March 24 at Coca-Cola Park
  

His audience Friday was made up of judges choosing entertainers for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs baseball team's home games at Allentown's Coca-Cola Park.

"I've been trying to grow my footprint in the Lehigh Valley, and I thought that the IronPigs would be a great way to do that," Hendricks said.

"I've been going to games for the past 15 years and always enjoyed seeing the other musicians, and I wanted to give myself a fun challenge to perform at a different type of venue."

Jay Bradley

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LehighValleyNews.com

First night of auditions

It was the first night of entertainment auditions as the IronPigs look for people in the community to sing, act, juggle or show whatever other talents they have during this year's games.

Auditions will continue — the next is set from 3 to 5 p.m. Friday, March 24 — as the team seeks a variety of acts to be showcased during different home games.

Matthew Bari, the IronPigs vice president of marketing and entertainment, said audition materials don't have to be anything specific, and they are looking for as many different types of entertainment as they can to fill 75 games.

"We've done National Anthem auditions before, but we haven't done anything where it's like, 'All right, we'll have [you] if you're stilt walker or a juggler or singer or a comedian.' We can have a whole different gamut of talents and in people coming out.

"We're really hoping that we can find people in the community that maybe don't have the opportunity to show their talents in front of a crowd."

Bari said performers selected would be paid, and that the IronPigs staff will get together to see based on their performances what best fits their promotion schedule or an event during the season.

Auditions to continue

Those interested in trying out are encouraged to fill out a form in advance.

Bari said the IronPigs also will pull from entertainers they have worked with in the past, including some that do national traveling acts.

He said theme nights especially, such as "Star Wars" Night or the "Jurassic Pork" night, involve a lot of talent.

Already lined up to be considered, he said, are singers, a puppeteer, a stilt walker and more.

It wasn't decided Friday whether Hendricks will be among those performing this season at Coca-Cola Park; deliberations come later, he was told. The judges told him they'll be in touch.

Anyone who wants to audition but can't make Friday's scheduled tryout can contact the IronPigs at (610) 841-1216 or afritchman@ironpigsbaseball.com.

There's less than a month until the IronPigs' season begins, with the first home game set for April 4 against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.