The men of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated are currently searching for the next college star at Eastern.

“College Star” is going to be the first talent show hosted by Alpha Phi Alpha, and the show will be interactive. In between acts, there will be dance contests, giveaways and other activities to engage the audience.

Auditions for College Star will be from 6-8 p.m. today in the 7th Street Underground.

Alpha Phi Alpha will include a modern-day mix of entertainment inspired by “Soul Train” and “Showtime at the Apollo.”

Alpha Phi Alpha decided College Star will be streamed live on multiple social media platforms, and it will be their first time going live for an event.

College Star will have one grand-prize winner, but the prize has not been yet disclosed.

Alpha Phi Alpha hopes to make College Star a statewide event, and possibly nationwide in the future.

The auditions will be in five-minute intervals, and the members of the fraternity will then choose seven acts to appear during the show.

Participants of the auditions will be notified between Thursday night and Friday by phone or email if they will be a part of College Star.

Tylen Elliott, a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, is in his second semester of planning events for the fraternity.

“I think this is important because it’s good to showcase new talents on campus,” Elliott said. “We have talent shows every year, and we show a lot of the same acts and it’ll be exciting to see some fresh faces.”

Elliott said his favorite part with planning the event is looking forward to the outcome, and he likes the turnout so far.

“When you plan something, there is a hint of nervousness like ‘Is this going to work out?’ but a lot of people (have) been talking about it so I’ll say it’s good,” Elliott said.

Elliott said this is a way to bring students together since this is the first show of the year, and he hopes for high attendance for when it is time for the actual show.

“I think everything is going well,” Elliott said. “It’s good to see people’s reaction to the event.”

College Star will be at 6 p.m. Saturday, September 17 in the Grand Ballroom of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

Prices for the tickets will also be announced later and will be available for purchase after auditions.

Janet Pernell can be reached at 581-2812 or jopernell@eiu.edu