Open mic producers, musicians, comedians and many other talents will perform at three different venues this weekend as part of the House of Tea anniversary celebration.
Open mic producers, musicians, comedians and many other talents will perform at three different venues this weekend as part of the House of Tea anniversary celebration.
There’s something to be said for open mics and those who organize them. Whatever work they do, they are always aware of three things. They will not be drawing portraits of famous artists. They may not earn much through ticket rush, or even expect a large audience. They are absolutely essential for promoting and developing indie talent in the city.
One of these many platforms is House of Tea, which has been a stepping stone for many budding artists in recent years. Set to turn four later this week, the House of Tea team plans to celebrate for other platforms in the city, bringing together all open mic producers from Chennai for a slew of events.
“The idea is to include every single production house that does open mic on a regular basis,” says Thomas Davis, founder of House of Tea, “so we have High On Art which organizes open mic in Pondicherry, as well With Chennai platforms like On That Note for music, Tanglish Comedy and Argora for comedy, Removed Drafts and an unexplored mic for poetry and storytelling, and production houses like Mahad Productions, Chennai Thiruvizha and Untold Knack that specialize in all kinds of host of art forms. ,
Crowd gathers at the last Untold Knack open mic
What kind of talent will they bring to the stage as a total of 16 production houses come together for one evening? “They won’t,” laughs Tom, “they will be taking the stage themselves. Everyone who runs these production houses is trained or talented in the art form. Most of their time is spent organizing and promoting these shows, That’s why they rarely get a chance to hold the mic and perform. That’s exactly what they’ll be doing at House of Tea, where each team is given 10 minutes to perform as they please.
Is this an exciting prospect for these manufacturers? Abhirami Rao, co-founder of One Jobless Mike, says the team is thrilled, and preparations are already underway.
“Sreekumar is a captivating storyteller, and I come from a poetry and theater background. We plan to combine these elements to make a collaborative piece that, we hope, packs a punch,” says Abhirami, who has helped create safe creative spaces in the city, such as The Queering. Open mic with mic as well as many poetry and storytelling. Many cities.
The spectacularly lit terrace of House of Tea is exclusively for new or emerging talent
The event is for much more than just helping producers steam up. As always, he has his cast and audience. With each production drumming up their community and an active community in their circle, “There are many people in other parts of Chennai who don’t know about them but would love what they do. So in an event like this, we can bring our audience closer together,” explains Tom. “If you know us, you know our community but maybe others don’t. I want this to be a one-stop shop for people to explore all the open mics in town, because there’s something to do every day.” It keeps happening.”
“It’s great for AUM. Producers from the open mic community meet each other at shows, but this is the first time we’ll be in the same place on different art-based platforms. These circles for our audiences and artists.” It means a lot to meet more people through social media and network further. It is in everyone’s interest to share our space,” says Abhirami.
She recalls, “House of Tea was one of the first places where I got a chance to express my talent; As my co-founder Srikumar B. Thomas has always been a supporting pillar, and it is a great pleasure to be back again. ,
an untold habit event
Each of these platforms has played a similar role for one of the city’s existing talents. Whether an aspiring musician, standup comedian, spoken word poet or storyteller may be planning a sell-out show in large arenas, he or she must plan to build a relationship with their audience. They need to know whether their compositions have the potential to strike a chord; stir a feeling; Have a genuine, roaring, rude bout of laughter. They cannot do this without experimenting in front of an audience, and they cannot expect such audiences to pay. Which is why, in any city with a growing crop of talent or a growing “indie scene” there are also an increasing number of open mics where people can walk in and experiment.
For the anniversary of House of Tea, the artists who got their first stage here are back. “In our first show, on July 17, 2018, on the terrace of House of Tea, a band named Kodari performed. The band members have since moved to other cities, but their frontman is coming back to sing for us in The Republic,” says Tom.
Apart from the main event at House of Tea, Mobreyes Road at 6 pm, there will be an indie music lineup at The Republic in Adyar at 8 pm and a standup comedy show at Gears & Garage, Nungambakkam at 8 pm. It’s all on July 17th. For the full lineup and other details, visit House of Tea’s Instagram page.