The Might of the Mike

When I first started writing poetry, it was more of a cathartic process for me and poetry was limited to written word. This was the only way, that I felt that I could vocalise my emotions. There is this magic behind writing poetry. It  has this inexhaustible ability to comment on things that affect everyone and in an extremely intimate and detailed manner. 

Poetry can even outlast the number of changes in the society and yet find resonance in our behaviour. We make use of just words and words alone to create a poem but these metaphors, images, phrases, ideas and experiences, when weaved together impact us on so many levels. 

I was introduced to 'spoken word' a few years ago and realised that there were so many other ways to express oneself. Spoken word was much more than simple poetry; it went beyond it and focused on the word play of the poem.

Public recitation and performance of the poem gets highlighted and the voice plays an active element. Poetry becomes a vocal art as the poet brings his/her own experience to it, intonation, changes it according to their sensibilities, pitch and stress and the use of pauses. 

  

Spoken word poetry performances were one of the many methods, under the broad umbrella of open mike to express oneself.

So what is an open mike all about and what does it include?

An open-mike (microphone) is a live show, which usually takes place at a coffee shop, nightclub, comedy club or even a pub, and people who are amateur performers or even professionals get a chance to perform in front of an audience. These acts are mainly focused on poetry and spoken word, music and comedy.

A performer is given a microphone to perform with and usually performs on a stage. Most often, they have to sign up in advance for a time slot to perform at open-mikes. Such events are looked after and conducted by someone known as a Master of Ceremonies (M.C. or emcee/compere/announcer/host). 

The Open-Mike  scenario offers a refreshing change, where even amateur talent (emerging artists, writers, poets, singers, and musicians ) can be spotted and even put to test (perform in front of a live audience). Right from singers, rappers, spoken word poets, musicians and storytellers; there is room for everyone who has talent.  

In Mumbai, the open mike scenario has been catching up big time over the past several years with many artists expressing themselves. No matter what kind of an artist you are:  you can surely find a spot for yourself. Besides this, it's a fun way for people to showcase their talent, right from solo performances (acoustic) to group (band) performances.

Some of the popular open mike platforms include Caferati @Prithvi,Tall Tales, Poetry Tuesdays, The Big Mic and the Open Mic Night at Canvas Laugh Factory. In addition to this, there are many other well known groups such as Hamster Comedy Open Mic, Unofficial Ratatouille, The Viral Fever, All India Bakchod and Chalta Hai which are also gaining tremendous popularity amongst this genre.

Moreover, this is the day and age of social media and its involvement in spreading the popularity of the 'open-mike' can not be ignored. Facebook plays a very important role in informing people about open mike events and videos and photos get shared and commented on, further galvanising the sense of the community.

Everyone is looking for ways to promote their work and it becomes so easy to publish videos on YouTube and other social networking sites. You can guarantee a considerable amount of viewership for your video just by employing a clever marketing strategy and a combination of talent.