Open Mic? Let’s Do It!

One Year On…

Today, those delightful people at Facebook reminded me that a year ago, I posted my first mention of my Open Mic in Delicious Café in Harrogate. It was to be a real event for real people, reading out loud (or rather, as I was to discover, ‘performing’, beautifully) their favourite pieces of writing.

Pre-2020, my classes were in small venues but it’s all on Zoom these days. In a perfect world, I’d plump for the in-person teaching but in the imperfect world of my afore-mentioned poor hearing, this isn’t possible. I was so close to giving up teaching altogether pre-Covid. It’s not really cricket when you’re having to guess what your writers have written – not fair and not useful. Covid, aka the introduction of Zoom, made continuing possible. It’s easier to lip read because people naturally look at the camera when they speak, and tend to speak one at a time. The acoustics are also better.

You know, I think this is the first time I have mentioned Covid in a positive light in anything I have written – hurrah to that! This is Nice News, after all 😉

Already having transferred some courses to Zoom, I sent out a survey to current and former students to see what, if any, new courses they’d be interested in. The over whelming response was for an Open Mic and this surprised me. I’d only included it as a last minute extra, when I’d been musing about how sad it is that writers spend soooo long on their own writing, and sometimes, nay, fairly regularly, at least for months and months anyway, with nobody but themselves being privy to their stories and other missives.

Open Mic it was, then.

I was extremely trepidatious (I love a chance to use that word, I think it might be my favourite, that, and ‘discombobulated’ 😉). I’d never hosted an Open Mic before. And only ever been to comedy open mics and that didn’t help because they were always so hilarious, and so professional, that it was more off-putting for little old me, than inspiring.

I know how to set up a class, a course, a one day event, but how did it work for an evening event and where an audience is required? How would I find and engage an audience with very little (for ‘very little’, read, ‘none at all’) budget to advertise? What if the open micers’ writing just didn’t hit the spot and the audience were silent (for all the wrong reasons)? How would this impact my time, my other work, knowing that I’d make very little from it at the very least, and probably a loss? What if open micers signed up and the audience filled the venue, except the weather was awful and all the open micers unilaterally decided they’d give this one a miss?

Incidentally, the weather was, indeed, absolutely dreadful on that rain soaked first event in January. So much so, I was still hugely concerned en route to the event that it would be, ahem, a wash out, and was already planning my apology to the wonderful owner of Delicious, Olivier.

That little voice in my head always wins on these occasions. Even though I still go through the process of pretending to myself that I could Just Not Do It and spare myself the angst. No, the little voice chirps in: 1. if you don’t do it, you’ll never know, and 2. if you don’t do it and someone else does, how will you feel? Annoying as this little voice is, I know resistance is futile.

So, the first event took place on 25 January this year - more about that, here. And it’s safe to say that it was a success - phewey - because we are fast approaching the final Open Mic of 2024 on Thursday 28^th November, and looking forward to next year.

Psst! The twelve-performer line-up for November was already full within a week of September’s event, and the reserve list, too. But we can always find a little spot for more members of the audience. Join us? Find out more here.

Quite honestly, the Open Mic is such a tonic. The writing is so entertaining and performed so professionally. We have such a broad range of writing, whether poetry, fiction, non-fiction, memoir, short story, children’s, poignant (so many pin drop moments) and often hilarious (so many ‘raise the roof’ moments, too!) We had a couple of actors perform one writer’s equally clever, as life-affirming, short play. We’ve had performance poetry where we get to join in – with gusto. One writer’s poetry and short stories strike such a cord, that she regularly shares a hug with audience members in the break. Another writer had to be cajoled into reading in the first event, and yet ten months later, has just published her first anthology of poetry. Reader, the anthology is fabulous. A great range of heart-stabbing poignancy, with some whimsical humour in there too*.

Am I proud of our open micers? I certainly am. Am I glad I have that voice which gives me a shove when every other ounce of my being is pushing me towards the ‘easy option’? With bells on. Am I looking forward to the last event of the year? Oh yes.

Would I like you to join the enthusiastic audience? Yes, yes, yes. Please join us! Let’s make this the biggest event of the year, see 2024 out with a bang. Any questions? Please ask👇

Do you have any stories of that voice pushing you forward, or open mic experiences – wonderful or even, otherwise?? Please do tell👇

(*You can find this and other published works on my Open Mic Wall of Fame on my website, here)