On April 20th, 2022, BDP held the final Open Mic Night of this spring semester for students to perform for their fellow students before the spring semester ends and Stoutonia was able to speak with some of the performers.
One of the performers was Emmett, a freshman that sang a song while playing his guitar. When describing why Emmett came out to Open Mic Night, Emmett said, “It’s just a distraction. I’m tired of this semester, so I thought I would come out here and perform.” In discussing what he enjoys about Open Mic Night, Emmett stated, “I like the feel when people clap for me. It makes me feel accomplished.” When asked about performing at Open Mic again, Emmett answered, “Yes, it’s fun so why not.”
The next performer was Carson, a sophomore that performed stand-up comedy. Carson started performing at Open Mic Night after losing a Rock, Paper, Scissors bet that led him to continue to perform. Carson explained, “It’s a judgment-free zone. The people are nice and I enjoy seeing them perform as well.” When talking about stage fright, Carson mentioned, “I suffer from a little bit of anxiety, so I practiced in front of my roommate and make sure to have most of my friends come out to support me.” Carson described his comedy style, “I do a lot of movement with my jokes. It’s a mixture of vocals and body movement.”
The last performer was Aliayah, a freshman that performed a song as she did at the previous Open Mic Night this semester. Aliayah clarified, “I have grown up singing and it relieves my stress. It’s also a lot of fun too.” Aliayah claimed, “I like to think that my singing lifts peoples’ spirits. Open Mic Night is also fun to watch as well as performed.” Aliayah concluded, “If I can find any open mic night beyond Stout’s, I would do it. As is, I will keep performing at Stout’s Open Mic Night for fun.”