Relate Open Mic night centered around student challenges

Relate Open Mic night is scheduled for April 17 at 7 p.m. in the Mary and Al Danos Theater.

The theme for this open mic night is “Challenge” because of the different challenges students might face at this time in the semester.

“It’s really anything anybody would like to share: poetry, musical or vocal performance, monologues,” Farren Clark, speech professor, said.

Clark said he started the Relate Open Mic nights in the spring of 2011, and Nicholls has been hosting them for about seven years.

There are three every semester.

Maurice Willis, culinary freshman from Galveston, Texas, will be one of the hosts for this open mic night.

Willis has performed in previous Relate Open Mic nights and will also be performing three pieces throughout the show.  

“You put yourself out there in a very scary situation, speaking to people you don’t know, or maybe even your friends are there, and it’s scary because you don’t want to be judged, but it’s really a judgment-free zone,” Willis said.

Willis will be performing two connected poems about gun violence and one poem about his father at the event.

Grace Hebert, music senior from Galliano, will be co-hosting with Willis.

Hebert has performed at Relate Open Mic nights before and will be performing at this one as well.

“People get to see up front, close and personally what those around them are experiencing,” Hebert said.

Herbert’s performance for the event is a surprise.

In the past, she has performed in spoken word, her own compositions on her guitar, voice and acapella.

Relate Open Mic nights are said to serve as creative checkpoints within the semester and an opportunity for students to come out of their shells.