day, which was held at One World Café. Photo by Ann Schnabel.
One World Café was the stage Thursday as Writehouse Ink held its annual open mic night.
Writehouse is a student organization of writers and poets who come together to write, edit and perform.
“These open mics are sort of tradition for Writehouse,” organization president Lydia Strubhar said. “They are wonderful opportunities to express yourself, support artists and really see what your campus is doing and what your campus [is] capable of creatively.”
Bradley students and Peoria locals read poetry and short stories, played music and sang songs.
“There was an interesting range of performances,” sophomore English major Alice Allpow said. “There was some light and fun stuff, and there was powerful and personal stuff. What’s really cool is that the crowd always had the performer’s back.”
Kaydra Bui, a Writehouse member, said she really enjoyed the event.
“This was a really warm and welcoming open mic,” Bui, a junior rhetoric major, said. “It was really cool because a lot of the performers weren’t from Writehouse. I’m glad we were able to reach beyond our club and give a platform to the artists of Bradley and the Peoria community.”
Bui said she felt the audience listened to and supported her poetry reading, even through the vulnerable moments.
“The audience was really supportive and was willing to be taken to my highest highs and my lowest, darkest lows,” Bui said.
Cori Anderson, a sophomore English major, said she’s grown a lot as a performer by attending these open mics.
“Last year’s open mic was the first time I performed in front of an audience, and I was terrified that I was going to mess up,” Anderson said. “I felt much more confident this year. I’ve really fallen in love with presenting poetry because you’re really able to portray so much more emotion when performing. I feel I’m able to show the audience my own personal connection with my poems.”
Anderson said she feels there is something very “intimate” about open mics.
“There’s something really magical about expressing something secret about yourself and achieving catharsis with a crowd,” Anderson said. “There’s a weird sort of closeness when you’re on stage, a sense of intense community. I love it.”
