On Thursday, Nov. 16th, Brock Musical Theatre held a roaring open mic night at Mahtay Café in downtown St. Catharines.
Every year, Brock Musical Theatre (BMT) holds a series of open mic nights designed to allow club members to perform in front of the community. “Our Mahtay Night event has been a tradition for as long as we have been here at Brock,” said Cameron Playter, BMT’s events coordinator said. “[It has] been passed on by the executives and past members.”
The open mic night was executed by Playter and BMT’s team of executives. A lot goes into the preparation of an event like this, including booking the space, advertising it and getting people to sign up. But Playter says it is worth it in the end: “Leading up to the event, everyone practices in anticipation, and getting to pick your song for Mahtay Night is a big part of the fun.”
“My favourite part of the night was the participation from the members of the public,” Playter said. “It was great to watch people from the crowd get up on stage and perform, because that is exactly what we want to see at these events.” The BMT executives loved that the general public enjoyed their time with members of the club, creating a safe space that allowed people to put themselves out there and take risks. This is always a priority for the executive team.
The event, which was a big success, has spurred the Brock Musical Theatre team on. “It was really nice to see the amount of people who showed up to the event,” said Playter. As a result of this, they hope to see even more members of the public at their future events. “Music has a way of bringing people together and these events provide the community with opportunities to express themselves.” The BMT executives are excited to learn more about their community members at their next open mic night. “[We] cannot wait to see all of the incredible and talented performers too!” said Playter said.
The next Mahtay Night is scheduled for Feb. 29th, 2024.
On top of their open mic nights, Brock Musical Theatre is putting on “Carrie” as this year’s musical. The show opens on March 13th and runs until March 17th, 2024. Updates on tickets can be found at BMT’s Instagram.
“BMT aims to provide a fun experience not just for our club members, but to provide one to the general public as well,” said Playter said. The Brock Musical Theatre team hopes to continue on this path with their next open mic night in the new year.