Perhaps the best attended monthly event in Plymouth Housing Group history, Open Mic night continues to draw people in!
Story and Photos by Plymouth Housing Group staff members Theresa Hohman (Building Manager), Brandon Getz (Building Manager), and Maia DeMers (Housing Case Manager).
Before Plymouth Place’s Open Mic, there was Open Mic at Plymouth on Stewart facilitated by Plymouth building manager Jackie Rome between 2007 and 2009. But Jackie thinks its history may go back further to an Open Mic Night at Plymouth’s St. Charles Apartments in Pioneer Square, led by then building assistant Ronnie.
The event is now in its second year at Plymouth Place on lower Queen Anne.
Today the evening consists of an eclectic combination that might include spoken word, jazz saxophone, blues, original pieces, jokes, and a few country songs that somehow work together perfectly. Staff and tenants play for the crowd and play for each other – the trust and intimacy tangible.
The skill level varies from budding performer singing perfectly off-key to seasoned musician capable of mesmerizing from the first note – but no one seems to notice. Every single person who performs receives the same rapt attention, respect, and love from the crowd.
As Brandon describes it, “Tenant and staff labels disappear and it is about people being people – vulnerable and supportive at the same time. Everyone is real.” Maia adds, “It is amazing to witness a person opening up for the first time in years – with immediate benefits.”
How is this possible? – through an exchange of love! Participants express their love of music, poetry, audience and performance – and audience members mirror the love back through their attention and appreciation. The exchange nourishes and heals.
For example, there is a tenant we’ll call “Donna” – a one time professional musician robbed her of stability by mental illness. After her first performance, she told her case manager Maia that it was the first time she had picked up her guitar in years. In the years following that session, “Donna” appears to be happier and less symptomatic. Maia believes that because Donna has reclaimed the creative outlet that allows her to best express her truest self, her life has changed for the better.
Or take Nate – a soft spoken guy who likes to blast original surf punk songs. He told Brandon that he found it extremely difficult to get up for the first time and perform in front of everyone – as he suffers from extreme social anxiety. He said that his continued participation makes him feel like he is a part of the community.
In the end, Open Mic Night speaks to the transformative power of music – and love! Or perhaps – as Brandon says – Open Mic Night is simply “about people being people.”
Read more about community-building at Plymouth’s amazing annual holiday party.
