Open mic at Mi Chalateca takes place outside the Salvadorian/Mexican restaurant. Outside the place seats 28 while talent performs on a nice stage replete with a couch, a table and some decorations. Open mic has been going on, I am told, about 7 months, but has only been run by its current host Elijah for a month as of this posting. The restaurant serves some good food – loved their chicken burrito – but it also serves beer, and that is a good pairing. They also have their own parking lot. Otherwise, street parking is fine. This room is for comedy only. No music or poetry. The signup sheet came out 7:15 after Elijah set up the room with his sound system he brings to the restaurant in a truck. Signup is first come first choice. I arrived quite early and just studied my notes while nursing a Corona. Well, more like I had it in intensive care. Elijah shows up as do his friends, yet when the signup sheet came out, everyone was good about letting me sign up first. As intimate as the evening was – only 5 comedians as well as the host – we talked a lot about comedy and such before the show started. I felt very welcomed, being one of two new comedians making their debut at Mi Chalateca. Elijah started the evening at 7:37pm, waiting a few minutes in hopes there would be last-minute performers showing up. Talent gets 5 minutes, the light at 4. There are no language restrictions, even if people walking on the sidewalk can hear. I must say traffic could make hearing the talent difficult. The sound system was fine, but once in a while a comedian was muffled by a vehicle lacking mufflers. Elijah opened with some material and kept the energy high between talent, either commenting on the person who was just on stage or trying new material. I went up second in the lineup. When our emcee introduced the first comedian a civilian had showed up and stayed, standing outside the fence to the outdoor seating but close to the stage to see the talent well. She stayed to watch my set then left. I saw I made her laugh a lot, but not enough that she decided to come in and watch the rest of the show. One more comedian showed up at 8:08pm, and everyone save one stayed till the end. Guys, I gotta say how much I liked this room. True, I was just performing for 5 other comedians and one civilian, it didn’t matter. They were an audience, not just talent waiting their turn. If they heard something they liked, I heard laughs. Other talent did crowd work, which only escalated the camaraderie developing among the assembled talent. I am reminded gratefully how at times the smaller audiences can be the better ones. Laughter is intimate. You must invite someone into your life in order to laugh, lower your inhibitions and walls and welcome talent wholeheartedly. Big audiences are great. But so can be the small ones. When the evening was over Elijah said, “Look me up on Facebook.” I will take him up on his invitation.
Open mic at Mi Chalateca takes place outside the Salvadorian/Mexican restaurant. Outside the place seats 28 while talent performs on a nice stage replete with a couch, a table and some decorations. Open mic has been going on, I am told, about 7 months, but has only been run by its current host Elijah for a month as of this posting. The restaurant serves some good food – loved their chicken burrito – but it also serves beer, and that is a good pairing. They also have their own parking lot. Otherwise, street parking is fine.
ReplyDeleteThis room is for comedy only. No music or poetry. The signup sheet came out 7:15 after Elijah set up the room with his sound system he brings to the restaurant in a truck. Signup is first come first choice. I arrived quite early and just studied my notes while nursing a Corona. Well, more like I had it in intensive care. Elijah shows up as do his friends, yet when the signup sheet came out, everyone was good about letting me sign up first. As intimate as the evening was – only 5 comedians as well as the host – we talked a lot about comedy and such before the show started. I felt very welcomed, being one of two new comedians making their debut at Mi Chalateca.
Elijah started the evening at 7:37pm, waiting a few minutes in hopes there would be last-minute performers showing up. Talent gets 5 minutes, the light at 4. There are no language restrictions, even if people walking on the sidewalk can hear. I must say traffic could make hearing the talent difficult. The sound system was fine, but once in a while a comedian was muffled by a vehicle lacking mufflers.
Elijah opened with some material and kept the energy high between talent, either commenting on the person who was just on stage or trying new material. I went up second in the lineup. When our emcee introduced the first comedian a civilian had showed up and stayed, standing outside the fence to the outdoor seating but close to the stage to see the talent well. She stayed to watch my set then left. I saw I made her laugh a lot, but not enough that she decided to come in and watch the rest of the show. One more comedian showed up at 8:08pm, and everyone save one stayed till the end.
Guys, I gotta say how much I liked this room. True, I was just performing for 5 other comedians and one civilian, it didn’t matter. They were an audience, not just talent waiting their turn. If they heard something they liked, I heard laughs. Other talent did crowd work, which only escalated the camaraderie developing among the assembled talent. I am reminded gratefully how at times the smaller audiences can be the better ones. Laughter is intimate. You must invite someone into your life in order to laugh, lower your inhibitions and walls and welcome talent wholeheartedly. Big audiences are great. But so can be the small ones.
When the evening was over Elijah said, “Look me up on Facebook.”
I will take him up on his invitation.