by Anna Weaver | Oct 17, 2020 | All Posts, tips for open mic performers
The first reason to go to any open mic is because it will be memorable. No matter what night you choose, there’s always at least one performance that you couldn’t have guessed at, had someone asked you what you were expecting to see. Spontaneous interpretive dance?...
by Anna Weaver | Aug 2, 2020 | All Posts, tips for open mic performers, virtual open mics
Here in the US, we’re at month four of not being able to gather in large groups. For people like me, that takes some of the sparkle out of my calendar—no shows to stalk and anticipate. (As a close friend of mine—who keeps a reminder of upcoming events where she can...
by Anna Weaver | Jul 25, 2020 | All Posts, tips for open mic hosts, tips for open mic performers, virtual open mics
One of the things I say a lot when I try—and I try often—to convey just how great an open mic is (or was) is that you just had to be there. In the room. In the space. With all the other people. Breathing in the poems and the music… …and the air. Which in most states...
by Anna Weaver | May 29, 2019 | All Posts, tips for open mic performers
A while back, I wrote about how to introduce yourself and your work at an open mic. This post is that post’s bookend. Open mic poets (and musicians and storytellers and comics) are an earnest lot. We’re amateurs and we know it—amateurs who aim to get better,...
by Anna Weaver | Sep 27, 2016 | All Posts, tips for open mic performers
In the last 6 years, I’ve probably gone to more than 50 open mic nights. Each night featured anywhere from 2 to 20 performers. And depending on format, those performers may’ve stepped to the mic as many as 3 times. Throwing out extremes and giving it my English...
by Anna Weaver | Sep 4, 2015 | All Posts, tips for open mic performers, US open mics
Hoo boy, if ever a blog needed a subtitle, it’s this one. I’ve been to maybe 20 open mics total, a dozen of those outside North Carolina, and at least a few of the ones I attended have moved or ceased operation. Nonetheless, and with awareness that my sample size is...
