By Lauren Bishop
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Whether you're a soulful R&B singer or a country music crooner, your big break could happen in Cincinnati.

This month, both Tennessee theme park Dollywood and the Apollo Theater - the famed Harlem hot spot that helped launch the careers of previous unknowns such as Ella Fitzgerald, the Jackson 5 and SisqÛ years before American Idol - are holding auditions here.

Showtime at the Apollo on Tour is making Cincinnati one of 22 stops across the country in its search for new talent. Dollywood is looking for performers in Cincinnati and just two other cities this year, Atlanta and Nashville, in addition to its home base of Pigeon Forge, Tenn.

Why the Queen City?

"Cincinnati actually does have a reputation as having quite a lot of talent," says Pete Owens, a Dollywood spokesman.

'Apollo on Tour'

Registration for Showtime at the Apollo on Tour auditions begins at 9 a.m. Jan. 17 at the Fifth Third Bank Theater at the corner of Seventh and Main streets downtown. It ends at 1 p.m.

But you might want to get there early: There are a maximum of 300 audition slots available, and Van Ackerman, spokesman for the Cincinnati Arts Association, says they've already gotten calls from as far away as Kansas City and Erie, Pa.

Auditions are on a first-come, first-serve basis, and prospective performers will receive an audition number and approximate audition time. Auditions are open to amateur performers of all ages and performance genres, including instrumental music, vocal music, dance and comedy. There's a 90-second time limit, though, so don't plan to sing "I Will Always Love You" in its entirety.

After the auditions, about 12 acts will be chosen to participate in a one-night-only Showtime at the Apollo on Tour performance at the Aronoff Center's Proctor & Gamble Hall at 8 p.m. Feb. 21, presented by the Cincinnati Arts Association.

The winner will receive $1,000, two round-trip tickets on American Airlines within the continental United States and an invitation to perform at the Apollo Theater itself, with a chance to win a spot on the nationally televised Showtime at the Apollo.

For more information, call the audition hot line at (513) 977-4190, visit www.cincinnatiarts.org/auditions. Or, pick up an audition information sheet at the Aronoff Center Ticket Office between 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday or 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday.

Sing in the Smokies

Dollywood auditions will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 24 at the Schiff Family Conference Center in Xavier University's Cintas Center at 1624 Herald Ave. The auditions are not a university function.

Dolly Parton's theme park, visited by more than 2 million in 2003, is looking for singers, dancers, actors, specialty performers, small bands, instrumentalists, stage managers and technicians. (No audition for the last two, but an application is required.)

Dollywood's season, which runs from April 3 through Dec. 30, includes seven live shows daily and six performances during the Smoky Mountain Christmas Celebration in November and December. Its shows feature country, pop, '50s rock and gospel.

Performers with Dollywood on their resumes include actor Eric Martsolf of the NBC soap Passions and country singers Suzy Bogguss and Mandy Barnett.

For more information, visit www.dollywood.com.

The Cincinnati Black Theatre Company will hold two free workshops on Saturday for people planning to audition for Showtime at the Apollo on Tour. A singers' workshop will take place from 1-2:30 p.m. and a dancers' workshop will be from 2:30-4 p.m. at the Arts Consortium of Cincinnati at 1515 Linn St., West End. For more information, call 421-1100 or visit www.cincyblacktheatre.com.

E-mail lbishop@enquirer.com