BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND ABC MAKE ME A STAR RELAUNCHES

Competition Expands To Include Younger Actors

"We are excited to announce the 2nd installment of ABC Make Me a Star, the ABC Casting Department's digital initiative to identify extraordinary talent across various platforms. After receiving an enormous response from our first ABC Make Me a Star talent competition, we are expanding the search to include actors from age 13 and above," said ABC Executive Vice President of Casting, Keli Lee.

ABC Make Me a Star launches its second competition beginning November 11, 2013 with the three week submission period ending on November 29, 2013. Actors may enter the Adult or Minor Competition - adults will be judged privately and minors will be voted on by the public. ABC will announce the winners for both the minor and adult contest January 31, 2014.

Actors can find more information and submit their auditions at www.abcmakemeastar.com or the ABC Casting Facebook page (facebook.com/abcegcasting).

MINOR COMPETITION: ABC will review the entries and select a group of minor finalists whose videos will be posted on both the ABC Make Me a Star Website and the ABC Casting Facebook Page for the public to vote on. The winner will receive a 6-month $10,000 Talent Holding Deal with ABC.

ADULT COMPETITION: ABC will review the entries to select the finalists, and then will review the finalists to select a winner. The winner of the Adult Competition will receive a one-year $25,000 Talent Holding Deal with ABC.

The winners of the first ABC Make Me a Star competition were Bechir Sylvain from Los Angeles, California and John Berchtold from Mays Landing, New Jersey. Bechir won the private competition, receiving a one-year $25,000 Talent Holding Deal with ABC. He was then selected to be part of the 2013 ABC Casting's Los Angeles Talent Showcase. John won the public competition, receiving a 6-month $10,000 Talent Option Agreement with ABC. Soon after winning the public competition, John starred in the intro videos for the 2013 ABC Casting's New York and Los Angeles Talent Showcases. John was also flown to Los Angeles to meet with industry professionals, casting directors and the Casting Departments of ABC Family, Disney Channel and Walt Disney Studios.

ABC Make Me a Star is part of ABC Casting's ongoing talent outreach initiatives, which include the New York and Los Angeles Talent Showcases, the Latino/Hispanic Domestic and International Outreach, the Asian/Pacific Islander Domestic and International Outreach and the Actor Audition Workshops.

Now in its 12th year, the New York and Los Angeles talent showcases, with over 480 participants, continues to discover, train and mentor diverse actors. Former participants include Carrie Ann Inaba (Dancing with the Stars), Jorge Garcia (Lost), Jesse Williams (Grey's Anatomy), Liza Lapira (Super Fun Night; Apartment 23).