Creative Writing Club is hosting their annual open mic night, themed “Embracing Embers,” in the Community Room at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 11.
The event is a collaborative effort led by advisers Merrick Ramza and Tara Deleon, along with the club’s 10-15 members. Together, they brainstormed ideas, chose the cozy winter theme, and organized the date, time, and venue.
“The whole thing is a collaborative effort. We want to make sure that the students, being that they’re what run the club—they are the reason why the club lives and breathes—they had a lot of say into what the theme was, where they wanted the location, what dates work, what times,” Ramza said. “Mrs. Deleon and I are more of just advisers that are thankful and happy enough that our students are so involved that they want to organize it themselves.”
“Embracing Embers is basically, like, the fire. We’re thinking of a cozy fireplace. You know, [the] winter theme is our whole thing,” Deleon said.
Everyone, including non-club members, is welcome to grab the mic and perform a piece at the event. Students are encouraged to share a poem, sing, rap, tell short stories, and more. Participants can sign up through the club’s Google Classroom link, where they can also submit their pieces for review.
“That way we can preview the pieces ahead of time, make sure everything’s okay and appropriate to read out loud. Deleon and I just want to make sure that we’re creating a safe environment,” Ramza said. “So if they have pieces readily available, fantastic. We want to hear them, but to sign up on that sign-up sheet and link their pieces, so that way we know, yep, this is good to read. This is appropriate.”
Deleon is particularly excited for the senior performers, noting how special this event is for their final year in the club.
“But specifically our senior, Ariella Correa—she’s in my class right now. She’s been in the club three years, and she’s incredible. She’s just extremely talented, so I’m looking forward to hearing her pieces,” Deleon said. “All anyone who performs—I get very emotional and excited about it.”
The open mic night provides an opportunity for students to reveal their talents and creativity to one another in a supportive space. The Community Room was chosen to foster a relaxed and intimate atmosphere, as opposed to the formality of a larger stage.
“The club members thought that the Community Room was a better fit for the amount of people that we currently have. We’re a smaller group, and we don’t anticipate that people would feel very comfortable going on a stage and performing their work as much,” Ramza said. “The Community Room felt more relaxed. It felt more intimate and less spotlight—literally and figuratively.”
Ramza emphasized that open mic nights are a powerful way for students to express themselves and build confidence.
“Open mic nights are rad—that just expressing yourself and sharing work with other people openly is a powerful thing to do, and it’s a vulnerable thing to do. So it’s really great to recognize people who do it,” Ramza said.
Deleon highlighted the importance of showcasing the often unseen talents within the student body.
“I think it’s so important that students here at WEGO understand the talents that everyone has. I don’t think they know about them,” Deleon said. “There’s a lot of hidden talents that people have that just don’t get seen on an everyday basis. I think they get seen in my class, but maybe not outside of it. So that’s our goal—just to let people express themselves and have a place to do that.”
