Walls Hosts First Open Mic Talent Show

Walls students have always demonstrated their talents through performances in shows and concerts. This year has given students another opportunity: a Talent Show. On Thursday, Oct 24, students had their first opportunity to showcase their skills in an open mic event, where they presented poetry, guitar playing, singing, rapping, monologues, and more.

Simone Abiy ('28) hosted the open mic because she “wanted to try out public speaking.” She shared, “At first I was nervous, but then it was fun because the audience was engaging.”

Liv Tyndall, the new Theater department director and the organizer of the Talent Show, explained that the open mic serves as a place for students to test out or showcase creative work they’ve been developing. “This is a great place for that because there are no stakes besides getting up and having fun with everyone.”

A standout performance, according to Ms. Tyndall, was Tomas Parodi’s rendition of “Psycho Killer” by Talking Heads. “It’s like a weird vibe to perform at an open mic, and I had so much respect for him getting up there and doing that. It was really cool. I really liked how he chose that song, got up there, and did it, and led the way.”

At the open mic, several scheduled performers didn’t show up, leaving empty spots that were, in the spirit of community and bravery, filled with spur-of-the-moment karaoke performances. Ms. Tyndall mentioned, “We had a karaoke phenomenon at the last one, which was great and really cool, and we can totally make a venue for that, but we would love [more] prepared performances.”

Some of the impromptu performances included Evelyn Webster’s (‘28)  surprise performance of “Love Is An Open Door” from Frozen. She said, “The audience was very supportive and made me feel uplifted and positive about the Walls community.” Vivian Astmann ('28) performed a ChatGPT-generated rap about being a freshman. She decided to perform after realizing there were open spots, explaining, “No one else was going, so I took initiative and decided to just do it, to make memories.”

The plan is to continue the open mic as a monthly event, with performances scheduled for a Thursday or Friday during the last two weeks of every month. Ms. Tyndall noted, “Unofficially, [Mr. Mathews and I] were thinking we might have a showcase of some kind at the end of the school year.” This showcase would feature the best acts from the open mic, formatted like a talent show.

Ms. Tyndall closed by emphasizing the value of the open mic space: “It’s a really great space to try things you might be scared to try. It’s not just for students to make a fool of themselves; it’s also for teachers. See what others can do at this school and show what you can do yourself. So I encourage people to sign up!”