Open Mic gives students a chance to showcase their talent
by Jamilah Alsharif

The perfect moment for many songwriters and poets occurs when they are standing in front of an audience performing their pieces. On Wednesday, November 4, students had the chance to listen to performances and poetry recitations presented by their peers at the Open Mic, an event hosted by the SLAM Poetry colloquium. The event attracted dozens of students into the lunchroom after-school.

Giovanni Monterroso, Adv. 103, performs at Northside's Open Mic. Photo by Jamilah Alsharif.

“The turnout was great,” Ms. Nora Flanagan, English department, said. “I’m happy that there were students that showed up who were outside of BSU (Black Student Union), JSU (Jewish Student Union), and the SLAM poetry colloquium.”

The event kicked off to a start with Tasha Viets-Vanlear, Adv. 101, who read a love poem she wrote. Some of the poems were also performed by duos. One of the poems recited by a pair was “Two I’s,” performed and written by Ben Winnick, Adv. 208, and Tyler Sauter, Adv. 200.

“[Tyler] said some witty things,” Winnick said. “I typed, and the poem just developed organically. The only trouble we really had was getting it memorized in such a short time.”

There were other performers who were not completely prepared until the very moment they had to go up to the microphone. Geovanni Gomez, Adv. 105, was adding some finishing touches to his poem while he waited for his turn.

Katherine Graden, Adv. 200, and Adriana Inojosa, Adv. 201, begin their rendition of "I'm Yours." Photo by Jamilah Alsharif.

Among the students who wanted to display their musical talent were Adriana Inojosa, Adv. 201, and Katherine Graden, Adv. 200. Inojosa sang a rendition of “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz while Graden strummed away on her guitar, accompanying Inojosa.

“It was the first time we tried it together,” Inojosa said. “I’m surprised we were even able to get through with it because I was so nervous right before I got up there.”

Although nerves were getting to a couple of the performers, there was a “highly supportive environment” that “boosted the student’s confidence.” However, many felt the supportive environment was disturbed when a couple of performers walked out of the event before it was over.

“It was really annoying how they just kept opening and closing the door while someone was trying to read their poem,” Brendali Rios, Adv. 306, said. “I was trying to pay close attention to Luis. His poem was really deep.”

Luis Mesa, Adv. 207, wrote a poem called “One Piece.” Mesa is part of BSU and volunteered to perform at the Open Mic at one of the club’s meetings.

“I was nervous at first,” Mesa said, “but I just looked at my friends and pretended I was talking to them. I was inspired by the fact that my friend got shot.”

Inspirations came from everywhere. Patrick Duffy, Adv. 205, wrote a poem called “Ode To Commode,” where he expressed how sorry he felt for toilets in a humorous manner.

“I’m just jealous of the relationship people have with toilets,” Duffy said.

There had been problems with getting students involved with Open Mic, but a couple of teachers taking part in the event asked their students to participate, many of whom were willing to join the event’s performance roster.

“There were no technical problems,” Elisha Miles, Adv. 110, President of Black Student Union, said. “We had a list of people that were coming and I believe that everyone showed up to perform.”

Either way, many in the audience were impressed by the end of the event, which consisted of over 20 performances.

“I’m hoping for more Open Mic’s this year,” Shariell Crosby, Adv. 207, said. “Even though I would not go up there, it would be cool to hear from more talented students.”