Quaint and cozy Beans Coffee Shop came alive last Wednesday night, as English honors society Sigma Tau Delta and “Foothills Journal,” DU’s annual visual and textual magazine, hosted the third open mic night of the year. Students came together to perform and hear everything from spoken word poetry to an a capella rendition of Lorde’s “Buzzcut Season.” After the success of last quarter’s two events, Sigma Tau Delta and “Foothills” came together once again to present this open mic night on Apr. 16.

“The first one had an awesome turn out. We had people sitting on the floors,” said Sigma Tau Delta Vice President and “Foothills” Assistant Managing Editor Annie Wiegel. On Feb. 4, The Clarion reported that more than 35 people were in attendance that time, with about 20 of them sharing their creative work.
By midway through last Wednesday’s event, Beans was once again filled with creative voices and eager listeners. About two-dozen creative pieces—poetry, short stories and music—were shared by the crowd of nearly 30 students.
“[The first time] we actually advertised it as [only] creative writing pieces, but there was a musical group that came and it was so cool. So now we’ve opened it up to where people can do musical performances or stand-up,” said Sigma Tau Delta President and “Foothills” Prose Editor Kayla Coburn.
Music played a big role in the event this time around. The open mic night opened with senior Mike Schutte’s original piece on the guitar, “Whiskey on the Bible.”
“I like supporting on-campus events like [this]. I think it’s a great kind of thing. And I know it’s primarily spoken word, but this is how I speak my word,” said Schutte.

DU’s all-female a capella group First Edition performed two songs as well, a fun interlude between the many rich prose pieces. First-year Garrett Biggs was among those sharing his writing; he read an original short story called, “A Letter to Patrick, for I Didn’t Bring Flowers.”
“I like doing readings. It’s nice to have people hear your work out loud,” said Biggs. “When it’s read [on the page], it takes away certain nuances that you want associated with the language. I like to read it out loud so [the audience] hears it exactly how I hear it.”
Biggs’ work and the work of the other performers matter to Coburn and Sigma Tau Delta. Showcasing student work is biggest goal they hope to accomplish with events like these.

“I want to make sure it brings awareness to the creative writers and performers at DU,” said Coburn. “It’s a very comfortable atmosphere, and it’s non-judgmental. We encourage people to share their work because it deserves to be shared and heard.”
Coburn and Wiegel understand the need for a safe, comfortable space when it comes to students sharing their work.

“People here are super welcoming,” said Wiegel. “Everybody here is just interested in hearing each other and sharing. That’s all what these things are about.”
Looking forward, Coburn and Wiegel both hope open mic nights become a regular occurrence—be that monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly. Those who performed seem to share this sentiment.

“I would hope that they keep doing it, to get more people to come out. It’s great to hear people’s stories,” said Schutte.
Given the welcoming and warm environment Coburn and Wiegel sought to create, they also encourage new performers to attend future open mic events.

“If they want, they can come experience it first,” said Coburn. “And if the mood strikes them, then [the performers can] read.”
Biggs said, “If you write something, don’t be afraid to share it. Inherently, we are afraid as writers to share our work because it’s an uncomfortable thing to give something so close to you to everybody. So I would just say, simply, don’t be afraid to share that part of yourself.”
Part of sharing is knowing there will be a receptive audience, Schutte explained.

“If the hesitations are about the whole public aspect, this is just a really embracive environment,” he said. “Everyone’s on the same page in terms of the courage it takes to tell your story through whatever medium you have.