Posted 5:43 am Tuesday, March 19, 2013
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VIDEO: Joe Parks, 14, builds for TV audition
TylerPaper.com video
BY EMILY GUEVARA
It took about 40 seconds for 18 hours of work to fall down. But in Joe Parks' world that is OK.
Joe, 14, an eighth-grader at All Saints Episcopal School, is auditioning for the television show, "America's Got Talent."
The Tyler resident designed and built a structure that incorporated 12,500 dominoes and multiple designs including a multicolored mosaic of Howie Mandel's face. Mandel happens to be a judge on "America's Got Talent."
After building most of it over the weekend, he completed the structure and flicked the one domino that made it all fall down Monday night.
He videotaped it and will send an edited version to the show's producers to see if he has what it takes to be a contestant.
"I feel great about it," Joe said of his effort. "I think it can definitely get me into the competition."
The show, which will start its eighth season this summer, features performers from across the country, all with the desire to become stars, according to its website. Contestants have included singers, dancers, comedians, contortionists, impressionists and jugglers just to name a view. The winner receives a $1 million prize and the show often opens doors for a record or performance deal of some sort.
Although Joe doesn't necessarily have aspirations to get his own Las Vegas show, he does want to get more subscribers to his YouTube channel where he showcases his domino structures.
With his latest challenge, it was Joe who initiated the process. He submitted a video to the show in early January. It featured a previous build using 10,000 dominoes.
Last week, while on spring break vacation, he got a call back from a producer for the show.
Joe said he thinks that the show is interested in him because what he does is so unique.
The producer asked him a few questions about his work and asked him to submit another video of a domino build specifically auditioning for the show. The one request was that it incorporate a mosaic of one of the show's judges.
Joe, who has lon
g been a fan of the show, decided to use his favorite judge, Howie Mandel.
His entire design comprised more than 12,000 dominoes, a record for him. It incorporated a variety of techniques and designs, something he did to intentionally showcase his skills.
The techniques include crossing two-dimensional pyramids that are about three feet tall.
A wall of white and purple dominoes displays the letters AGT, which stands for "America's Got Talent."
The dominant feature was the multicolored mosaic of Howie Mandel's face.
Park will convert the face to black and white on the computer when he edits his video.
The rest of the dominoes are placed in multiple lines, curves, small towers and a variety of shapes.
"The thing that excites me most is whenever it all succeeds," Joe said of his structures.
If he is accepted to the show, Joe likely would be the opening act for all episodes he is on. That is because he would have to build his structures beforehand.
His parents said they are proud of his work and said he is self-motivated.
"He likes doing stuff that other people don't do," his father, Dr. Will Parks said.
Joe said if he is asked to be on the show, he will be nervous. Still, any publicity means more opportunities to share his work with a larger audience and get more subscribers on his YouTube channel.
