After more than 20 years of providing Sidwell students with a forum to show off their talents, the school’s monthly Arts Guild open-mic night has broadened its appeal by attracting different kinds of performers and performances, according to organizers.
“Recently students have made it more inclusive and a safer place to perform as opposed to having to be super proficient at [their act],” says David Merlin-Jones, the current faculty adviser for the event, which is considered a student-led club.
“We have people who are refining their act and just want to perform in front of other people something they wrote, and there are also people up there who have never sung in front of an audience before and they’re just getting over their fear of speaking in public.”
Started in the 1980’s by a small group of students, the event originally only featured folk acts, and was largely reserved for upperclassmen to perform, says Merlin-Jones.
More recently, however, it has grown more diverse in the scope of its audience, performers, and even location.
“In the last year or so, there have been a lot more non-singing acts. Things like stand up comedy, monologues, dancing; people have even read college application essays they didn’t end up sending in,” says Imani Pugh ‘17, one of the four club heads.
Gil Thompson, who served as the club’s faculty adviser from 2008 to 2012, said a key event in Arts Guild’s evolution was the decision in 2012 to move from the Rosenberg Theatre to the Robert L. Smith Meeting Room. The Meeting Room allows for more interaction between the audience and performers due to its modern features and open floor plan.
The club also has begun running events in front of the entire student body during the school day and at the Fox Den to increase Arts Guild’s visibility, Pugh said.
Amelia Paulsen ‘19, says she likes “how accepting and relaxed everyone is about performances. My favorite part is hanging out with friends before and after as well as watching friends perform.”
Hannah Wilson-Black ‘19, says singing during last year’s all-school Arts Guild on Founder’s Day is one of her favorite memories from her time at Sidwell.
“I really liked the all school Arts Guild because everyone really remembered what I did, and when you have a lot of other people interested in what you’ve created, that’s something that’s really cool,” she said.
Thompson remembers Mark Sundermeyer ‘10, who adapted classic rock songs into modern, multi-instrumental music and went on to work in the music industry, as being particularly influential in the development of Arts Guild.
“Recently students have made it more inclusive and a safer place to perform as opposed to having to be super proficient at [their act],” says David Merlin-Jones, the current faculty adviser for the event, which is considered a student-led club.
“We have people who are refining their act and just want to perform in front of other people something they wrote, and there are also people up there who have never sung in front of an audience before and they’re just getting over their fear of speaking in public.”
Started in the 1980’s by a small group of students, the event originally only featured folk acts, and was largely reserved for upperclassmen to perform, says Merlin-Jones.
More recently, however, it has grown more diverse in the scope of its audience, performers, and even location.
“In the last year or so, there have been a lot more non-singing acts. Things like stand up comedy, monologues, dancing; people have even read college application essays they didn’t end up sending in,” says Imani Pugh ‘17, one of the four club heads.
Gil Thompson, who served as the club’s faculty adviser from 2008 to 2012, said a key event in Arts Guild’s evolution was the decision in 2012 to move from the Rosenberg Theatre to the Robert L. Smith Meeting Room. The Meeting Room allows for more interaction between the audience and performers due to its modern features and open floor plan.
The club also has begun running events in front of the entire student body during the school day and at the Fox Den to increase Arts Guild’s visibility, Pugh said.
Amelia Paulsen ‘19, says she likes “how accepting and relaxed everyone is about performances. My favorite part is hanging out with friends before and after as well as watching friends perform.”
Hannah Wilson-Black ‘19, says singing during last year’s all-school Arts Guild on Founder’s Day is one of her favorite memories from her time at Sidwell.
“I really liked the all school Arts Guild because everyone really remembered what I did, and when you have a lot of other people interested in what you’ve created, that’s something that’s really cool,” she said.
Thompson remembers Mark Sundermeyer ‘10, who adapted classic rock songs into modern, multi-instrumental music and went on to work in the music industry, as being particularly influential in the development of Arts Guild.
“He made it so it became more and more popular to see those acts," Thompson said. "When he graduated, the popularity seemed to hang on anyway and the idea really stuck with people.”
Moving forward, Imani says that the club’s leadership “wants to collaborate with Students For More Art [to further develop the event] because at Sidwell the arts aren’t as well supported as athletics, and I think we can work together as a community to change that.”
Merlin-Jones adds, “the key is to just get different kinds of people to do it. You really got to go see it to really understand what it’s about.”
The October Arts Guild will be held on October 28th from 7-9pm in the Meeting Room.
By Kelly Anderson, Horizon Staff Writer, October 2016
Moving forward, Imani says that the club’s leadership “wants to collaborate with Students For More Art [to further develop the event] because at Sidwell the arts aren’t as well supported as athletics, and I think we can work together as a community to change that.”
Merlin-Jones adds, “the key is to just get different kinds of people to do it. You really got to go see it to really understand what it’s about.”
The October Arts Guild will be held on October 28th from 7-9pm in the Meeting Room.
By Kelly Anderson, Horizon Staff Writer, October 2016
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