story and video by Victoria Richardson, photos by Arinna Hoffine

Video source link: http://youtu.be/ZayPYQ6pr2Q

As sophomore Allison Nagle ascends the steps of the Nelson-Atkins Museum leading to Open Mic Night, a sliding door opens to welcome her, and she enters a glass-walled room where the sun would’ve beamed if it were earlier in the afternoon.

“Are you performing tonight?” a girl named Clara would have asked her if she had come before the show started: 7 p.m. However, Nagle had to rush from work to even arrive before the show ended, practicing her poems once or twice along the way. Now, she quietly moves to find a seat as a girl at the front of the dimly-lit space sings along to a guitar.

She finds an older-looking teenager holding a sheet filled with names and asks him if she can perform tonight.

“You would be next,” he says.

She suddenly loses her confidence. She just got here; she hasn’t had time to prepare herself. Instead of taking her place in the front, Nagle finds a seat among the other students, suddenly afraid for their eyes to be focused on her.

On Friday, Sept. 19, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art’s Teen Advisory Group (TAG) held the first Open Mic Night of the season. Composed of 15 high school students, TAG works for most of the year to plan events that attract teens to the museum.

“Our purpose is to engage teenagers,” TAG member Clara Davison said. “To help them see [the art] in new, cool ways.”

According to Davison, Open Mic Night is “a great place to take risks,” and any talents are welcome.

“If someone wants to come and work out a math equation, cool,” Davison said. “There [are] no rules, except for not being inappropriate…since we represent the museum.”

According to Davison, TAG meets every two weeks to plan events such as fashion shows, bonfires, battles of the bands and dance parties, but, because Open Mic Nights are monthly, these nights receive a considerable amount of attention during meetings.

“They weren’t planning to make it a regular thing,” Davison said, referring to the TAG members who planned the first Open Mic Night. “Last year we started having Open Mic Night every month because it was so popular.”

Though “encountering all this incredible art steps away from you” is one of Davison’s favorite parts of Open Mic Night, she believes “the coolest part about Open Mic Night is encountering your peers.”

Because TAG wants to set an “intimate” environment, Davison said, Open Mic Night is open to teens only.

According to Bishop Miege High School senior Amelia Romine, the Sept. 19 Open Mic Night was not her first time performing, but performances like these help her to feel more comfortable doing what she loves.

“I really like to make people laugh,” Romine said.

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According to Romine, whether teens are performing for the first time or not performing at all, everyone should feel welcome to attend Open Mic Night.

Davison shares this opinion with Romine. Open Mic Night is “an honest place for teenagers to share their experiences,” according to Davison.

“It’s a safe space,” Davison said. “No one’s going to judge you.”

Reflecting on Open Mic Night, sophomore Allison Nagle admits she was “naturally self-conscious” before she decided to take the stage. However, her observations as she sat in the audience calmed her down.

“I just kind of watched people,” Nagle said. “Nobody was judging. People were there to listen.”

It’s like when she was a little kid at the lake. She would sit on the dock, staring at the shimmering wakes, too afraid to jump in. Too afraid, that is, until she heard the excited screams of others as they took a leap of faith.

That’s what Allison feels now as she watches other performances. The longer she sits watching other students do what they are passionate about, the more excitement she feels to share her poems with everyone as well.

“I’m going to do it,” she tells herself and the TAG member signing up performers. Suddenly, she’s not nervous anymore. She’s calm and ready. She can’t wait until she hears her name. When it is called, she stands, adjusts the mic, takes a deep breath and begins.

Fast facts about TAG:

The Teen Advisory group works to connect the Nelson-Atkins Museum to teens and adults through event-planning.

About 12-15 high school students are chosen each year.

The positions are paid, and the competitive interview process begins mid-June.

To be considered for an interview, students must first submit an online essay.

Members plan events from August until June.