Poetry & Prose Virtual Open Mics- Live On X Hosted By C.B. Mottor
Purpose: We’re here to have a good time and get comfortable with doing readings for a live audience. A well-delivered live reading is performance art in and of itself, and our open mics offer a comfortable place to practice and perfect it.
Vibe: Fun, low pressure, and supportive. No assholery allowed. Grab a glass of wine, crack a cold one, eat a gummy.
Frequency: Open mic live spaces are held twice each month.
Hosted by: C.B. Mottor- Poet, Writer, Photographer, and founding editor of Shadow Dog Lit, and various guest co-hosts
Event Length: We don’t know yet! At least 90 minutes??
Piece lengths: Under 500 words. Time slots are calculated based on your word count and scheduled to allow for introductions and applause.
Details, rules, and other stuff:
Pre-register to secure time slots. (Not required, but highly suggested for the full benefits of participating)
We make intro cards for all pre-registered participants. Intro cards will be posted in the Space thread when they are introduced. (See example) We’ll include your links in that post. Apart from being your introduction and spotlighting your links, this will help organize the thread and keep comments related to your reading all in one place. It will help a ton if you follow Shadow Dog Lit and C.B. Mottor on X. If you do, we’ll give you a boost and hype your current projects across all our X profiles, on the SDL website, and beyond in the days leading up to the Open Mic. (If you’d rather we not, just let us know on your preregistration form.)
Pre-registered participants who indicate they are willing to act as the audible live audience will have open microphones to allow for applause. If your mic is open, please refrain from speaking out of turn or interrupting hosts and readers. Remember that no one is here to be critiqued or reviewed. Participants may ask for feedback in the space’s thread under their intro comment, but unsolicited opinions, criticisms, or suggestions are not welcome in the live space. This is a space to gather and practice in a judgment-free, supportive atmosphere. Be aware that C runs a tight ship and doesn’t tolerate rule-breakers or rude behavior. She does encourage supportive applause, overlapped with the occasional woo! and whistle, and quick statements of praise (“Nice!” “Good Job!” “Well done!” “Hauntingly beautiful!”) This is about building confidence. We NEVER want a participant to be met with *crickets* after performing their reading. If your mic is open, the assignment is to hype, support, and encourage like it’s how you pay the bills.
Prior to the event, all pre-registered participants will receive the scheduled lineup and other necessary information via email.
Please note- We can not accommodate time slot preferences or make changes to the schedule after it is made available.
Intro Card Example:
Click to enlarge.
We’ll use your X profile pic unless you send us a headshot. Send headshots to
Pre-Registration Form
Not pre-registered?? Come anyway. Not everyone who pre-registers shows up, so we’ll be looking to fill their time slot. After pre-registered folks do their readings, we’ll ask if anyone else wants a turn at the mic. We’ll do our best to hang out as long as we can, depending on time constraints.
Donations: The Virtual Open Mic Series is a completely free virtual community program offered by Shadow Dog Literary Inc., but we’ll be collecting donations to fund SDL’s upcoming grant program LIT AT LARGE, a program designed to start poetry & prose open mics in communities across the USA, providing a platform for local literary talent, broadening the reach of literature, and introducing poetry and literary prose to a wider audience.
Replays- All open mic events are recorded and posted on the SDL website, YouTube, X, and various other platforms.
GUEST HOSTS WANTED!
We’re looking for guest hosts! Guests to host alongside C.B. Mottor. Guest hosts aren’t paid, but may plug their current projects and we’ll promote you on our website, in the Shadow’s Call newsletter, on all the SDL social media channels and on C’s X page. We’re looking for personable, encouraging folks active in the writing community. If this sounds like you, shoot us an email or message us on X.
NOTICE: Abuse, threats, harassment, and mistreatment directed toward any member of our staff, guests, or contributors on or off our platforms will result in being permanently banned by Shadow Dog Literary Group and from its partner programs, including but not limited to its current and future holdings, publications, platforms, events, social media pages, outreach and support programs, grants, scholarships, contracts, prizes, awards, etc. and reported to the authorities as necessary.
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