On Thursday, 87 young women from across the country gathered in Toronto to compete for a spot in CBC’s Over the Rainbow talent competition.

Over the Rainbow will cast the role of Dorothy in a new Mirvish production of The Wizard of Oz in Toronto next fall.

The CBC talent competition has held auditions across the country – in Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Montreal, Halifax and Toronto – and the 87 women chosen in that process were in Toronto to audition.

Just 20 will get a chance to go on to Dorothy bootcamp, where they will hone their singing, dancing and acting skills. Then just 10 will compete in the final Over the Rainbow competition, to be broadcast in the fall.

Stephanie Gorin, the Mirvish casting director who is a key judge in the competition, spoke to CBC about the qualities she is looking for in a Dorothy.

“Fabulous voice, something about their personality – it just glows when they sing and they can tell the story. We want to believe them when they sing that song,” she says.

She welcomed the chance to choose from a large pool of talent.

“I think the great thing about having the CBC have this here is I can go across the country and do this. For many shows we don’t have the publicity behind us, so not everyone has heard 'Come on out, you really do have the opportunity,'” she said.

Winning the competition will give one young woman the chance to start a promising stage career.

In 2008, Elicia Mackenzie won the chance to play Maria in The Sound of Music in the CBC reality show How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? She went on to roles in We Will Rock You and Rock of Ages. The 20 Dorothys who will be sent on to the next round will be announced next week.