LASA open mics gives students a chance to perform their talents for their peers and teachers in an open environment. The entertainment at open mics includes student talents such as singing, poetry, rap, and more. Recently formed in September 2023, open mics are held in the guitar room once a month during lunch. Performers can sign up as soon as 10 minutes before the performance. Any student can go during lunchtime on the specified dates and perform their acts for a crowd of students to enjoy.
David Lester, the guitar teacher at LASA, began teaching guitar at LASA in the fall of 2021 and was inspired by Austin’s energetic open mic scene, which made him want to give LASA students a similar opportunity in school. He believes that it’s an open and stress-free way to allow students to showcase their talents and gain experience.
“Open mics are community spaces to share art,” Lester said. “Usually these are music, poetry, comedy, and dance. The LASA open mic is a space for students to share their performing art in an informal setting. We always love to hear honed and experienced performers, but the LASA open mic is also a place where beginners can figure things out.”
Junior Arhant Choudhary, who has participated in every open mic session, mentioned how the opportunity to perform for his peers has had a beneficial effect on him. According to him, many performers who attend open mic similarly feel that the environment is very positive and judgment is not a concern, and for him personally, the activity allows him to grow past his performance-based anxieties.
“The audience is very nice and very appreciative,” Choudhary said. “They don’t mind if you mess up. It’s perfectly fine. It’s a great first test audience for anything… I didn’t have to find or organize my own teams of people to perform to and to help me get over any performance anxieties.”
Choudhary added that having open mics at school is a great chance to gain experience, especially for aspiring musicians. He stated that he particularly remembered the open mic on Jan. 26, when the meeting gained an audience of nearly 30 teachers and students.
“Definitely do it,” Choudhary said. “If you’re trying to perform anywhere big, this is definitely the first place to start and try it out. The way you play when you perform changes when you’re in front of people, so it’s definitely helpful to start out and it’s a very great audience to start off with.”
According to junior Reed Winkelmann, not only do open mics give students an opportunity to look inward and find their hidden talents, but they also give them a chance to discover the hidden talents of their classmates. Winkelmann has also attended the majority of the open mic opportunities and mentions that even though he has prior experience, having that space at LASA has still been rewarding.
“I’ve been playing guitar for about 10 years,” Winkelmann said. “Every once in a while, I’ll go perform at a café… I think [at LASA] it allows people who are scared to show themselves in this small space.”
Lester believes that for students looking to share their art, or who just want to start by performing to a smaller audience, LASA’s open mics are great opportunities. Rather than starting with a large crowd, performing for a smaller, less intimidating crowd can be a good starter for budding performers and artists.
“Performance and art are tied together in a special way,” Lester said. “It’s almost like the art isn’t complete until it’s shared. It’s unfortunate that performing is a skill separate from writing or learning. You can have a song or poem perfectly memorized at home, and find holes in your memory when you perform. That’s why it’s really important to practice performing. Start small in an informal setting like our open mic, then test your chops at larger gatherings.”
