Auditions for the Morning Pointe Foundation’s 4th Annual Morning Pointe Foundation Seniors Got Talent show are now open.
The show is set to take place in Knoxville on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m. at The Bijou Theatre. Ten local senior acts will compete. The grand-prize winner will receive $1,000, with $500 going to the second-place winner and $250 awarded to the third-place winner.
The winner of the 2023 Morning Pointe Foundation Seniors Got Talent variety show in Knoxville, Corkey Miller, will be auditioning on the “America’s Got Talent” episode airing at 8 p.m. tonight, July 23. Showrunners discovered Miller through the Seniors Got Talent show last November when she won for her hilarious stand-up comedy poking fun at the aging process.
Originally from North Carolina, Miller is an animal trainer/animal talent agent. She has trained a wide variety of animals for TV and movies, from ants, butterflies and snakes to parrots, chimps, lions, tigers, leopards and sugar gliders. The first major movie she was involved with was “Groundhog Day” working with the groundhogs. She trained lions and tigers for 40 years before retiring.
Miller moved to Tennessee in 2007 to be with a magic show in Pigeon Forge. She has been making people laugh all her life and tried stand-up comedy for the first time four years ago.
In the Seniors Got Talent contest, Miller won the grand prize of $500, and now, she is auditioning on “America’s Got Talent” for the chance to win $1 million!
“We are thrilled to see Corkey going on to such a great opportunity!” said Miranda Perez, Morning Pointe Foundation executive director. “Seeing Miller’s achievements is amazing since one of the big points of Seniors Got Talent is to show that age is just a number – being a senior does not mean that performers are done contributing to the arts.”
All talented seniors ages 60 and older (or groups of seniors age 60+ with six or fewer performers) are encouraged to try out. Acts have included singers, musicians, dancers, poets, comedians and more.
Online auditions are open now at morningpointefoundation.com/events/seniors-got-talent/, and in-person auditions will take place Sept. 24-Oct. 6 at local Morning Pointe Senior Living campuses. Tickets will be $10 and will go on sale closer to the show.
The purpose of Seniors Got Talent is twofold: to give local seniors a place to shine, and to raise funds for the Morning Pointe Foundation through sponsorships and ticket sales.
More About the Show
The Morning Pointe Foundation hosts four Seniors Got Talent shows each year. Besides Knoxville, shows are held in Chattanooga and Franklin, Tennessee, as well as Lexington, Kentucky.
The Morning Pointe Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Morning Pointe Senior Living founded by senior healthcare entrepreneurs Greg A. Vital and J. Franklin Farrow. The nonprofit was created in 2014 and has bestowed more than 111 scholarships in the Southeast to date.
Founded in 1997 by Vital and Farrow, Morning Pointe Senior Living owns and operates 38 assisted living, personal care, and Alzheimer’s memory care communities in five southeastern states: Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama and Indiana. Local Morning Pointe campuses include communities in Knoxville, Hardin Valley, Powell, Clinton and Lenoir City. Each provides access to clinical care; meals with dietician oversight and an emphasis on fresh, local produce; a full life enrichment activity program; engaging community partnerships; and on-site physical, occupational and speech therapy services.
Morning Pointe’s 40th community, The Lantern at Morning Pointe Alzheimer’s Center of Excellence, Hardin Valley, is under development at 2433 Reagan Road. It is expected to open in early 2025.
