Performers for Open Mic Night start preparing

Junior+Angelina+Beukemann+practices+her+ukulele+in+the+Senior+Commons.++She%E2%80%99ll+be+performing+at+Open+Mic+Night+on+Friday.

Juliana Fimiani

Junior Angelina Beukemann practices her ukulele in the Senior Commons. She’ll be performing at Open Mic Night on Friday.

Juliana Fimiani, Staff Writer

On Friday, March 8 an Open Mic Night will take place in the cafeteria.

French teacher Gina Burich, as adviser of the junior class, is organizing the event and says any student can participate.

The types of performances vary from singing solo or with a band, spoken poetry, and comedy skits.

Junior Maddie Foresta will be singing one of her original songs called “Different Breed.” “I want to do it because it’s a great opportunity for me to share my music,” she said. “I prepare by practicing at least once a day to warm up my voice to make it sound as good as possible.

“I will continue to practice daily prior to the performance, and thankfully I did not need to make any accommodations to my schedule because I perform regularly and this is just another platform for me to do at the school,” Foresta said.

Junior Angelina Beukemann is singing and playing “Somebody Else” by the 1975 on her ukulele. “I perform at Open Mic Night because I like to sing and play even though I’m not the best. I practice singing and playing every day, even if it’s not the song I’m performing. Music is one of my biggest passions, so getting to participate makes me feel like all my practice is going toward something.

I did have to call off work to come perform, but it’s worth it since open mic night is my favorite event of the school year,” Beukemann said.

Along with the various musical performances, there will also be plenty of comedy. Junior Malik Thomas is doing a comedy skit of ASMR. “I want to do this because I love ASMR, and I think it will make the audience laugh,” said Thomas. “It’s funny, satisfying, and weird in a good way. Since I’m kind of a pro, I don’t practice much but I am trying to figure out which things would sound best.

My friends are probably going to want to hangout, but I’m going to convince them to come see me at Open Mic Night instead!” Thomas said.

Diverse forms of poetry seems to be an ongoing theme for performers. Senior Grace Yoo will be performing two of her spoken word poems entitled “Bike Rides” and “Tsunamis.” “Personally I love performing; it is where I feel most comfortable. I think there is something so pure about standing in front of a crowd of people whose voices are all silent just to hear what you have to say,” said Yoo.

Yoo said she has techniques that help her prepare for when she performs her poetry. “Often times I will read my poems to friends or family or to myself in the mirror to become more familiar with the pauses in my writing. I do this also to get in touch with the cadence of my pieces. Generally just repeating my writing over and over again helps me to become more natural when presenting.”

Yoo says she practices reading her poems aloud once every couple days. “I wouldn’t necessarily call it preparing but rather just sharing the works that I am excited about.”

Yoo did have to shift her schedule around in order to participate. “Well, initially I was supposed to go to North Carolina to visit a friend for her birthday, but last second I decided to move the trip to the week before so I could make the Open Mic!” said Yoo.

Admission to Open Mic Night is a small fee of $5, and doors will be open from 7pm to 10pm.