(or the B.O.M. as I like to call it –the Bowland Open Mic)
Sup brethren,
I’d just like to take some time to introduce the fantabulous Open Mic Night we have going on here in Bowland College. The Bowland Open Mic is just like every other open mic except that it’s not. What makes ours special is that, while we do have absolutely stellar and eclectic range of pseudo-professional artists down (primarily courtesy of Lancaster Uni’s Events and Promotions co-ordinator Joseph Gardner). We also welcome and encourage people who wouldn’t necessarily perform
to take to the mic and give us what you’ve got.
A case in point is the new-and-improved ‘Poetry Wheel’* which takes place in your host’s phone – a complex antennae which detects creative inspiration in electrons in your brain, and assigns willing participants a text to read out
dramatically (for instance, Austin Prescott Durant – incidentally, the newly appointed Bowland Men’s darts captain – was called upon to produce a dramatic reading of the Vice Chancellor’s end of term email). Of course, attendees are not obliged to perform, but all I will say is that anyone who is courageous enough to take to the mic (either musically or via a dramatic reading) will receive a free drink courtesy of our enigmatic bar manager, G. Naturally, the performance must be of a satisfactory length and performed with gusto. The key word really is gusto.
That’s not to say we only welcome singers and those with dramatic voices. In the past, our college-famous Open Mic Night has seen beatboxers, groups singing a capella and interpretative dancers showcasing their unique talents to an awestruck audience (you’d be surprised how many talented beatboxers there are floating around…). Each, of course, is worthy of G’s complementary drink.
So do come down. Our first one will be on the Friday of Week 2 –that’s the 16th- and it’ll proceed fortnightly from there. It’s an excellent opportunity to meet new people, appreciate new varieties of art and, quite crucially in my view, improve your public speaking/performance skills. Yep, I really can’t emphasise enough how liberating it is to get up there and unleash your artistic talent upon the world. And I’ll be more than happy to hand you your first free drink myself, if you’re brave enough to perform 😉
Your faithful host,
JIM
*Strictly speaking, it should be called ‘The Dramatic Text Recitation Wheel’, but that’s not half as catchy, is it?
The Bowland Lady 