There is a benevolent comradeliness at the open mic at Twin Oaks, which makes sense. Penngrove is a small community, a town with between 800 and a thousand residents. I mean, if you blink while driving through it, you might miss it. A musician himself, Robert Joseph (RoJo) has been producing and hosting for five months. Mainly he runs the room because to wants to support local talent, encourage them to perform on stage. While all genres of talent are welcomed, chiefly this room attracts musicians. Rarely do they get a comedian. The format for the open mic is simple enough. Talent gets two songs or ten minutes, sometimes more time if the signup sheet is not full. Signup starts at 7pm and it is first come first choice. The show starts at 7:30 and goes till 10pm, sometimes longer. There are no language restrictions. About halfway through the show – 8:30pm -- a “featured talent” is showcased and they get to perform for a half hour before open mic resumes. Robert doesn’t so much as start the show by going up himself and welcoming the audience or any host related duties. This room is very relaxed in that way. And there is a reason for that. A flight of four stairs separates the room where open mic takes place from the rest of the pub where the bar is located. Some seating below allows the patrons to see the stage, but mostly people sitting in the eating area and bar can’t see the stage. There are two TVs on and they are muted, and (Surprise!) there is a camera situated above the open mic room showing the stage, and it transmits live feedback to one of the TVs at the bar, so most all the patrons sitting in that area can see the show as it happens. As a bonus, RoJo may post your performance on his Facebook page, giving talent that much more exposure. Four mics are set up on the one-foot platform stage. About 16 people can sit in the audience where open mic takes place. Twin Oaks itself is a pleasant, rustic business. They offer appetizers, sandwiches, salads and soups, and sides like chili, fries and coleslaw. On top of that, they have a nice selection of beers, punctuated by the local breweries. There were already five names signed up when I arrived at 7pm. The room flows with congeniality. Robert keeps the down time between talent to a minimum, and because this is a small town, the room draws many repeat performers. As such, there was a familial feeling to the room, which may explain why RoJo doesn’t open the show with an introduction. The evening started at 7:25pm as one of the artists just started playing. Two other peeps, including RoJo, chimed in, and the three of them played, and that was the beginning of open mic. There were 11 people in the audience at that time. At the room’s maximum there were 22 people in the audience, and that’s not counting those at the bar watching the show from the camera’s POV. At the time I went up in the first half of the show, I was playing to a room of 15. I felt very welcomed. I credit that to the communal feeling permeating in the room. So many people knew each other, and new talent was received with as much enthusiasm. Guys, I must tell you: this room is not used to comedy. While I had a blast, taking advantage of the full 10 minutes allotted me, I could tell this audience hasn’t seen much standup here. Being used to music, they had to pay extra attention to my act, which asked them to stop conversing and watch. Thankfully, they did. And once they were on board, we had a great time. To any visiting comedian -- and especially those comics who live in the northern Bay Area -- stop in and do this room. They have plenty of free parking and 10 minutes is a sizable amount of stage time, possibly even doing more if the signup sheet is not that full. And the audience will accept you like a neighbor moving in next door. People around me talked to me before the show started in a “glad to know you” kind of way. And once they know you’re performing standup, they’ll respect your need for their attention, so friendly is this community.
This is such a cool and accurate review of OUR show! Thank you for stopping by and sharing with us. I do hope you will visit again LB, and grace us with your presence and comedic talents! Great Fun!! RoJo
Comedians and Poets! Come join us! you can post me at facebook.com/rojomojo525 or at rojomojo525@gmail.com for any questions or to hold a spot for you! Our OM family looks forward to meeting you and ejoying your talents!! Cheers and kind regards. rOjO.
There is a benevolent comradeliness at the open mic at Twin Oaks, which makes sense. Penngrove is a small community, a town with between 800 and a thousand residents. I mean, if you blink while driving through it, you might miss it.
ReplyDeleteA musician himself, Robert Joseph (RoJo) has been producing and hosting for five months. Mainly he runs the room because to wants to support local talent, encourage them to perform on stage. While all genres of talent are welcomed, chiefly this room attracts musicians. Rarely do they get a comedian.
The format for the open mic is simple enough. Talent gets two songs or ten minutes, sometimes more time if the signup sheet is not full. Signup starts at 7pm and it is first come first choice. The show starts at 7:30 and goes till 10pm, sometimes longer. There are no language restrictions. About halfway through the show – 8:30pm -- a “featured talent” is showcased and they get to perform for a half hour before open mic resumes. Robert doesn’t so much as start the show by going up himself and welcoming the audience or any host related duties. This room is very relaxed in that way. And there is a reason for that.
A flight of four stairs separates the room where open mic takes place from the rest of the pub where the bar is located. Some seating below allows the patrons to see the stage, but mostly people sitting in the eating area and bar can’t see the stage. There are two TVs on and they are muted, and (Surprise!) there is a camera situated above the open mic room showing the stage, and it transmits live feedback to one of the TVs at the bar, so most all the patrons sitting in that area can see the show as it happens. As a bonus, RoJo may post your performance on his Facebook page, giving talent that much more exposure. Four mics are set up on the one-foot platform stage. About 16 people can sit in the audience where open mic takes place.
Twin Oaks itself is a pleasant, rustic business. They offer appetizers, sandwiches, salads and soups, and sides like chili, fries and coleslaw. On top of that, they have a nice selection of beers, punctuated by the local breweries.
There were already five names signed up when I arrived at 7pm. The room flows with congeniality. Robert keeps the down time between talent to a minimum, and because this is a small town, the room draws many repeat performers. As such, there was a familial feeling to the room, which may explain why RoJo doesn’t open the show with an introduction. The evening started at 7:25pm as one of the artists just started playing. Two other peeps, including RoJo, chimed in, and the three of them played, and that was the beginning of open mic. There were 11 people in the audience at that time. At the room’s maximum there were 22 people in the audience, and that’s not counting those at the bar watching the show from the camera’s POV. At the time I went up in the first half of the show, I was playing to a room of 15. I felt very welcomed. I credit that to the communal feeling permeating in the room. So many people knew each other, and new talent was received with as much enthusiasm.
Guys, I must tell you: this room is not used to comedy. While I had a blast, taking advantage of the full 10 minutes allotted me, I could tell this audience hasn’t seen much standup here. Being used to music, they had to pay extra attention to my act, which asked them to stop conversing and watch. Thankfully, they did. And once they were on board, we had a great time. To any visiting comedian -- and especially those comics who live in the northern Bay Area -- stop in and do this room. They have plenty of free parking and 10 minutes is a sizable amount of stage time, possibly even doing more if the signup sheet is not that full. And the audience will accept you like a neighbor moving in next door. People around me talked to me before the show started in a “glad to know you” kind of way. And once they know you’re performing standup, they’ll respect your need for their attention, so friendly is this community.
This is such a cool and accurate review of OUR show!
DeleteThank you for stopping by and sharing with us. I do hope you will visit again LB, and grace us with your presence and comedic talents! Great Fun!! RoJo
Comedians and Poets! Come join us! you can post me at facebook.com/rojomojo525 or at rojomojo525@gmail.com for any questions or to hold a spot for you! Our OM family looks forward to meeting you and ejoying your talents!!
ReplyDeleteCheers and kind regards.
rOjO.