Talented faculty, staff, students and alumni are encouraged to put an act together for NIU’s first annual homecoming talent show, said Dave Reidy, show coordinator.

Individuals or groups skilled in singing, dancing, comedy or variety acts can audition on Oct. 16 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. in Diversions in the Holmes Student Center. Acts should be creative and may be no more than five minutes long. A piano, three microphones and a cassette sound system will be provided. Any other props and accompaniment are the responsibility of each act.

Ten student acts and five acts from the faculty/staff/alumni category will be chosen by the homecoming committee to participate in the show. “We expect to get a big response and feel we’ll have no problem getting 10 good, quality acts,” Reidy said.

Jon Dalton, vice president for student affairs, said he is “committed” to trying out for the talent show. He said he will play “The Student Affairs Vice-President Blues,” a collaborative song, on the guitar.

WLUP Chicago radio personality and comedian Kevin Matthews will be the Master of Ceremonies for the event, starting the show with a ten-minute, stand-up comedy act. He will begin the ceremony at 8 p.m. on Oct. 28 in the student center’s Duke Ellington Ballroom.

First prize for the faculty/staff/alumni category includes a one-night stay for two at Stauffer’s Hotel in Oak Brook, two tickets to Drury Lane Theatre, and a limousine ride from the hotel to the theatre.

First prize for the student category is two round-trip airplane tickets to anywhere in the continental U.S. Midway Airlines flies, $100 cash, and a walkman. Second and third place prizes also will be awarded in both categories.

“The biggest challenge to putting the talent show together was getting prizes,” Reidy said, “but the city of DeKalb was overwhelming in donating prizes.”

Anyone interested in auditioning for the talent show can pick up an application at the Campus Activity Board office located in the student center’s basement. Deadline is Oct. 10.