Variety Found at Open Mic Night

While campus is accustomed to Centertainment Productions bringing entertainment to students, Friday night had students bringing entertainment to Centertainment during Open Mic Night.

Seven acts performed on stage in the Encore of the Dreyfus University Center, some performers reading poetry, some giving comedy acts and others performing live music. While the poetry readings and comedy acts featured one performer each, the musical acts ranged from solos to duos to an entire band.

Acts signed up in advance for 10-minute time slots at Open Mic Night.

“The more people that you get involved and wanting to come to these, it’s very helpful,” said Caitlyn Suszek, stage coordinator for Centertainment Productions. “Sign-up sheets don’t always work though… I learned that the hard way the first time I ran this event… I found the most efficient way is to label it as sign-up for a one 10-minute time slot. That gives them the ability to go up, set up, and come back down in 10 minutes.”

The Encore was arranged with circular tables encompassed by four chairs each scattered around the room. This informal style mirrored the relaxed tone of the evening’s event.

Kimberly Juchniewich, junior biochemistry major, attended Open Mic Night.

“I thought it was really good,” Juchniewich said. “And I appreciate how easy-going it was, especially the last group. They improvised a lot, and I liked that.”

Zach Miller, junior psychology major, and Peter Lawrence, junior wildlife ecology major, came to Open Mic Night as a guitar duo. The pair performed with a drummer they met while at Open Mic Night. The group performed three original songs titled “That’s Okay,” “Jamaica” and “It Never Ends.”

“I just wanted to spread a little happiness,” Miller said. “Seasons are changing and things are kind of starting to dwindle down, and I wanted to spread what I have inside just to kind of warm people up a little bit. That’s kind of like the biggest thing for me, just kind of taking what I have and spreading it in a good way. And definitely just seeing it light up people’s eyes.”

Open mics give a variety of performers a chance to reach a new variety of audience members.

“People are definitely more welcome to come up on stage and sing and do what they have,” Miller said.  “You get a blend of different people, you don’t get just the same kind of crowd where it’s like a house show… You definitely get a nice blend of rappers, poetry, people like me, just a good blend of that.”

The welcoming environment and variety of acts are made possible by the people who organize the event.

“I had to go out of my way to be more inclusive,” Suszek said. “With Open Mic Night, the biggest thing is to be as inclusive as possible, so we get a variety like this.”

Kathryn Wisniewski

Reporter

kathryn.e.wisniewski@uwsp.edu