BRIDGTON – The competition was steep at the first annual Lake Region’s Got Talent! held March 9 at the Magic Lantern in Bridgton.

To screams and shouts of “Bravo” from the audience, Shannon Fillebrown, a 16-year-old junior at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School took home the top prize of $300, performing “Listen” by Beyonce. She was also awarded a consultation with Portland Models and Talent, a photo shoot with Shannon Avery Photography, a full spa package from Crystal Lake Spa and Wellness Center and a bouquet from Raymond Village Florist.

“I couldn’t believe,” Fillebrown said. “There are so many talented people here. The fact that I won is so cool and makes me feel awesome.”

Placing second and winning $200 were the Orphan Girls, consisting of Savana Bradford, Liza Collins-Schrader, Kristin Farwell, Kendyl Ridlon and Laura Taylor, all middle school students from Casco, Raymond and Windham. They also received a gift certificate from Jewlz Beyond Hair, a basic ski club tune card donated by Rodgers Ski & Sport, a CD package from Bull Moose and a bouquet from Raymond Village Florist.

The fivesome performed an acrobatic dance to Annie’s “It’s a Hard Knock Life.”

Talking almost simultaneously, their comments included, “I was really surprised when they called our name,” “We messed up sometimes, but we tried our hardest,” and “It feels good.”

Winning third place was 14-year-old Christian Martin from Stow, who played the guitar and sang “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz. Martin won $100, a CD package from Bull Moose, an all-day demo ski package from Sportshaus, a gift certificate from Pat’s Pizza in Windham and a bouquet from Raymond Village Florist.

“It felt good,” says Christian. “This week I was a little more nervous, but my dad told me the key was to put more energy into the song.”

Receiving honorable mention ribbons were Lily Schofield, Reiyn Hart and Jessica Frum.

This week’s emcee was Rosie Schacht, director of Lake Region Vocational Center, and a founding member of Lake Region Community Theatre. Judges for the show were actress Barbara Stauble, director Jerry Walker, director Rob Juergens and actor Tim Lorrain.

Fifteen acts including 22 people initially auditioned for the show in early February. Since then, in a series of quarterfinals, semifinal and now the final show, the field was whittled down to the six acts.

As the audience and performers waited for the final calculation of votes, Chris Madura shared Lake Region Community Theatre’s 18-year history through a slide show, ending with the announcement that LRCT will present “Annie, The Musical” this summer.

“This event raised close to $2,000, which we’ll use this summer to produce ‘Annie,’” said President of the LRCT Board Janet Ver Planck. “We saw many talented kids and adults. The Magic Lantern was very accommodating and the audience loved Lake Region’s Got Talent! It’s been such a fun way to show off talent to the community. We’re thankful for all the support from our sponsors, as well as all those who helped us advertise the show.”

Top finishers in the recently culminated Lake Region’s Got Talent! Competition were, from left, Christian Martin, Orphan Girls: Savana Bradford, Kristen Farwell, Laura Taylor, Kendyl Ridlon and Liza Collins-Schrader (kneeling), and Shannon Fillebrown.