There is something to be said for open mics, and those who organise them. For all the work that they put in, they are always aware of three things. They will not be drawing famous artistes. They cannot earn much through ticketed crowds, or even expect a large audience. They are absolutely essential for indie talent to foster and grow in the city.
One of these many platforms is House of T, which has been a stepping stone for many up-and-coming artistes in recent years. Set to turn four this weekend, the House of T team plans to celebrate with a nod to other platforms in town, bringing all open mic producers of Chennai together for a multi-venue string of events.
“The idea is to include every single production house that does open mics regularly,” says House of T founder Thomas Davis, “So we have High On Art that organises open mics in Pondicherry, along with Chennai platforms like On That Note for music, Tanglish Comedy and Aragora for comedy, Deleted Drafts and An Unexplored Mic for poetry and storytelling, and production houses like Mahad Productions, Chennai Thiruvizha and Uncalled Knacks that host all kinds of art forms.”
With a total of 16 production houses coming together for one evening, what kind of talent will they be bringing to stage? “They won’t,” laughs Tom, “They’ll be taking the stage themselves. Each of the people running these production houses are trained or talented in the art form. The organising and publicising of these shows takes up most of their time, so they rarely get to hold the mic and perform. That’s exactly what they will be doing at House Of T, where each team will be given 10 minutes to perform what they want.”
Is that an exciting prospect for these producers? An Unexplored Mic co-founder Abhirami Rao says the team is thrilled, and preparations are already afoot.
“Srikumar is a captivating storyteller, and I come from a poetry and theatre background. We are planning to combine these elements to do a collaborative piece that we hope packs a punch,” says Abhirami, who has helped create safe creative spaces in town with AUM events like The Queering Mic, besides a host of poetry and storytelling open mics in multiple cities.
The event is meant for more than just helping producers let out steam. As always, they have their artistes and audiences in mind. With each production out drumming up an active community in their community and within their circles, “there are many people in other parts of Chennai who don’t know about them, but would love what they do. So at an event like this, we can bring our audiences together,” points out Tom. “If you know us, you know our community but probably not others. I want this to be a one-stop shop for people to explore all the open mics in the city, because there is something or the other happening every single day.”
“It’s great for AUM. Producers of the open mic community meet each other at shows, but this is the first time that we will be at the same place across different art-based platforms. It means a lot for our audiences and artistes to meet more people and network even further through these circles. It’s in everybody’s best interests to share our spaces,” says Abhirami.
She recalls, “House Of T was one of the first places I got to express my talent; as did my co-founder Srikumar B. Thomas has always been a supportive pillar, and it’s such a joy to come back again.”
Each of these platforms has played a similar role, for one or the other of the city’s current talent. Before an aspiring musician, standup comedian, spoken word poet or storyteller can plan for sold-out shows in large arenas, they have to plan building a connection with their audience. They need to know if their creations have the potential to strike a chord; stir an emotion; coax out a genuine, roaring, impolite bout of laughter. They cannot do this without experimenting in front of an audience, and they cannot expect such an audience to pay. Which is why, any city that has a growing crop of talent or a burgeoning “indie scene”, also has a growing number of open mics where people can walk in and experiment.
For House of T’s anniversary, the artistes who found their first platform here are coming back. “At our very first show, on the House Of T rooftop on July 17, 2018, a band called Koadaari had performed. The band members have since moved to other cities, but their frontman is coming back, to sing for us at The Republik,” says Tom.
Besides the main event at House of T, Mowbrays Road, at 6 pm there will also be an indie music lineup at The Republik in Adyar at 8 pm and a standup comedy show at Gears & Garage, Nungambakkam at 8 pm. All of this is on July 17. For the full lineup and other details, visit House of T’s Instagram page.
