FIRST NIGHT VOLUNTEERS MEETING SCHEDULED

First Night volunteers meeting scheduled
YOUNGSTOWN -- First Night(r) Youngstown 2005 will hold an orientation meeting for anyone interested in volunteering for New Year's Eve, at 7 p.m. Monday in the basement conference room of City Centre One, 25 E. Boardman St.
Volunteers who donate a two-hour stint, will each receive an admission button for any of the programs and activities scheduled for that evening.
First Night, a family friendly, alcohol free celebration of the arts, takes place from 5:30p.m. until midnight, in various venues in downtown Youngstown and on the campus of Youngstown State University. There are performances scheduled for people of all ages.
For further information, please call the office at (330) 742-0445.
The fireworks displays originally scheduled for the area between the Cedar St. and South Ave. bridges, will now be held 9 p.m. and 12 midnight at the B & amp;O station.
'The Price' auditions.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Oakland Center for the Arts will have auditions for "The Price" 7-9 p.m. Jan. 10 and 11. Performances will be in early March.
For more information, call (330) 746-0404
'Steel Magnolias' parts
LISBON -- Stage Left Players of Lisbon will hold auditions Jan. 5 and 6 at the Outreach Center, 234 East Lincoln Way. The play, "Steel Magnolias" will be held on Feb. 25, 26, 27 and March 4, 5, 6. There are six female roles to be cast, ages young adults and up.
Call (330) 424-5093 for more information.
Cable ratings secret 'unlocked' by show
An audience of 1.3 million viewers doesn't sound like that much if you're CBS or even if you're TNT, but if your cable network has never cracked a million before, it's cause for celebration. the five-year-old National Geographic Channel is doing a little jig over the ratings for its new special "Unlocking Da Vinci's Code: The Full Story."
National Geographic notes that four million viewers tuned in for at least part of Sunday's broadcast, including 2.8 million for the first hour.
During the two hours that the special aired, National Geographic finished sixth among all cable networks in household ratings, beating such powerhouses as TNT, Fox News Channel and TBS.
Want to party for MTV?
If you think a kickin' birthday party means pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey, a Carvel ice cream cake and maybe an innocent game of spin-the-bottle, you're clearly not hip enough to be the focus of an MTV series. The cable network, which used to have some connection to music, will look at extravagent Sweet 16 birthday bashes in the new series "My Super Sweet 16."
MTV has ordered six episodes of the series, set to premiere after "Real World: Philadelphia" at 10:30 p.m. Jan. 18. Produced out of MTV's News & amp; Docs department, the series looks at the goofiest and most expensive coming-of-age parties available, focusing on the girls who demand them and the parents who shell out the big bucks.
"These kids are determined to go all out -- and to out-do all of their friends -- with these ultimate birthday blowouts," gushes Nina Diaz, vice president of MTV News & amp; Docs. "Our viewers are in for a wild ride as we go behind the scenes for all the drama, surprises, and over-the-top fun that make up this new breed of 'Sweet 16' parties."
Athletic comedy?
NBC has greenlit production of a pilot based in part on the egotistical athlete Leon of beer-commercial fame.
The show, called "Dante," has signed Morris Chestnut ("Boyz N the Hood," "Ladder 49") to star as the title character, a pro football player whose outsized sense of entitlement often puts him out of touch with reality, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Tony Cox ("Bad Santa") has also signed on to the cast, playing Chestnut's uncle.
"Just Shoot Me" creator Steven Levitan and John Immeseote, a former ad executive who created the Leon character, wrote the pilot script. Levitan is also executive producing, with Immeseote getting a co-exec producer credit. The show received a put pilot commitment in October.
Show delayed
The third season of "Chappelle's Show," originally scheduled to premiere in February, has been pushed back to March or April. The late launch for the Emmy nominated Comedy Central hit has been traced back to its star's health problems.
According to the New York Post, Dave Chappelle has been suffering from the flu and borderline walking pneumonia.