The full moon in Pisces brought together writers, poets and musicians to a rooftop in Bushwick, Brooklyn on Saturday, Sept. 14. Promptly at 8 p.m., papers began to shuffle. People entered and greeted each other. Attendees sat in a semicircle that faced the Manhattan skyline, as if to reflect the shape of a crescent moon.
Moon Mic is a free monthly open mic series created by New School students Dany Mangrove and Jasmine Respess, and held on the night of every full moon. It is open to the public and New School Community.
When Mangrove and Respess first met, they discovered that they both had Cancer moons, and similar interests. “We met, and knew instantly that we had work to do,” Mangrove told the Free Press.
Mangrove and Respess initially created Moon Mic as an online website for New Schoolers in the writing program to share their work. It has since expanded into an actual open mic, and still features artists on their website.
“We wanted an open mic without barriers,” said Mangrove, who shared that access is the “most important” aspect of Moon Mic and why it was created. “[When we created Moon Mic] we made sure there weren’t as many rules or timestamps [as other open mics], and never made anyone submit anything first for approval.”
When attendees of this past month’s meeting first entered the space, they found a list of names on a table to the right along with a microphone stand adorned in lightrope. The list was updated throughout the evening, as creators walked in and secured their spots to perform.
Mangrove and Respess opened the night with their individual works. “You can come be a part of Moon Mic too,” Respess told the crowd, “We’ll take your portrait for free, you need that if you’re a writer. We’ll do a video in the place of your choosing.” Photos and videos of each writer or artist on the site are shot free of charge.
Mangrove, who is earning an MFA in poetry first shared her poem, “How I Prayed to Carrie Fisher,” with the audience. She dedicated it to those who struggle with bipolar and borderline personality disorders. Respess is currently earning a dual MFA in poetry and non-fiction, and read her story, “Bad Girl” aloud.
Mangrove and Respess then read each performer’s name from the list, and gave the performers five minutes to share a poem, song or other written creation. A polaroid photo was taken of each performer.
Among the performers of the night was Javen Parson, a Lang first-year student who is interested in studying poetry and creative writing. “This is exactly what I imagined Moon Mic would be like,” said Parson, “I saw the poster for this event in Lang and told my friends I had to go.”
Parson, who performed in the middle of the evening, said to the audience “I wrote this on the train on the way here,” His friends cheered after he shared his poem, “It Won’t Be a Moon.”
Moon Mic then welcomed their two featured guests, poet/writer Khadija Daneilan and vocal artist, Jahsamir. Featured guests in the open mics share a series of poems or songs, and are given additional time and longer sets.
Singer Julie Campus also performed her track, “Hold Me,” on the rooftop. “I haven’t sung [solo] like this in four years,” Campus told the Free Press, and also shared that she enjoyed Moon Mic’s “supportive environment.”
The audience was composed of New School students, writers from the general public, and Brooklyn residents. Mangrove and Respess hung up posters for the event on walls in Eugene Lang and in Brooklyn coffee shops to attract performers for their Saturday night show.
“Something like Moon Mic didn’t exist, therefore we made it exist,” Respess said. She shared that other NYC-based open mics are not accessible to everyone, and how she and Mangrove aspired to make a more inclusive space.
“In a lot of open mics there’s a drinking culture, you feel like you have to drink. There are spaces we’ve been to that aren’t physically accessible, especially in Manhattan. If you have disabilities or even anxiety, it’s very difficult. We wanted people who may not feel comfortable in typical open mics to be more comfortable,” Respess said. “As a writer, you have to put yourself out there to get rejected, and we didn’t want that in our space. You won’t be rejected unless you’re doing something harmful.”
“If you don’t consider yourself a writer, it’s still an acceptable place to perform,” Mangrove added, “We built it so that the primary source of it is something that you can use to build your own authorship.”
After everyone completed their respective performances, Respess and Mangrove thanked the crowd that began to disassemble and depart.
“We’d love to have more undergrads come to our events,” Respess told the Free Press, “People seem to be really excited about the open mics.”
The next Moon Mic set will take place on the eve of the upcoming full moon, which will occur on Oct. 13 in Aries.
