Andrea Hochkeppel is trying to live the theater major’s dream-to become a “Gleek.”

The Communication senior submitted a video entry to a contest sponsored by Fox Chicago and found out she came in third place Monday. The contest’s first-place winner was guaranteed to have his or her video shown to the producers of “Glee.” Entries were whittled down to a top 20, from which viewer votes determined the winners.

Hochkeppel said she will have another opportunity to get a foot in the door at the fictional McKinley High.

“Probably what I’m going to do is make a tape for the national casting call,” she said.

She said she will have a bit more creative license with this next entry.

In her contest entry, Hochkeppel performed “This Little Light of Mine.” Her rendition included an arsenal of luminous props, ranging from cupcake and candle to LED flashlight to faulty desk lamp. She said her song choices were limited to certain titles within the public domain.

“I looked through the list of songs and thought this was the one I could do the most with vocally,” she said, adding the song also lended itself to an acting performance more than most of the other choices.

The first-place winner, Ty Baumann, also sang “This Little Light of Mine.” He shot his entry in his bathroom and began by holding his foot by his head in an arabesque-like stretch, showcasing his flexibility.

Baumann incorporated acting into his song’s introduction.

“Thank you for having me on your TV slash computer screen today, ” Baumann said. “Now, I’m not going to be one of those kids that tells you that they’re so passionate about this and that they would do anything for this. You know, I’m not going to be one of those people who says, ‘I was born for show choir! Please put me on ‘Glee!”” His introduction started out calm and ended in a mock-manic rant.

Arielle Kresich, the second-place winner, performed a slow, riff-tastic version of “Amazing Grace,” choosing to breathe between the last two syllables of “amazing,” then performed a monologue.

“I call this skit ‘Karaoke Night,'” she said before starting her audition.

Other local Fox stations held the same contest.

Hochkeppel said her love of singing, dancing and show choir attracted her to “Glee.”

“‘Glee’ is right up my alley,” she said. “It’s a little bit cheesy, a little bit quirky.”

– ALI ELKIN