What is TheMIC?
We are a community of musicians, poets, authors, comedians, performing artists and supporters.
What is TheMIC Series?
Every first Wednesday of every second month, we host a community showcase at The (legendary) Bitter End. We bring together performing artists of all types and experience levels to share with a receptive and warm audience. We also partner with a different nonprofit every month to collect donations and raise awareness. Previous organizations have included: Youth Over Guns, The Boris L Henson Foundation, The Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation, Angelwish, Villas Del Sol, and Orchestra Moderne NYC.
How did it start?
Like many great things, TheMIC essentially began by accident! In 2016, co-founders Andrew & Kathryn went to their first open mic together. They enjoyed the creative outlet and invited more friends to go to another open mic a few months later. An email chain that began by inviting friends to monthly open mics expanded to encouraging practice and sharing works in progress with one another. By November 2017, the email chain had over 80 members and Andrew proposed hosting an event to showcase the variety of performers represented on the list.
We held our first showcase in December 2017 as a one-off event, and it was such a success that everyone immediately wanted to know when the next one would be. A second edition in April 2018 was followed with the same question—“When’s the next one?”
TheMIC became a regular event in July 2018 and the internal team grew accordingly. It continues expanding to this day as we improve across all fronts: events, social, jam sessions, video, and more. The first organizational partnership was in November 2018 with Youth Over Guns. These partnerships became a regular part of TheMIC Showcase as of March 2019. Since April 2019, TheMIC has collected donations to divide 50/50 with the organization of the month, with our half going toward the growing cost of TheMIC community events.
What are the goals of TheMIC?
Our upcoming goal is to incorporate to apply to become a nonprofit. This will enable us to write for grants and get funding to expand our philanthropic series to other cities, create workshops and host other kinds of events. Donations are accepted at our monthly events, via our venmo @themicnyc, and soon we will be launching a Patreon to continue to share fundraising goals and plans for TheMIC.
Are performers compensated?
No. At the moment, our Showcase Series is an at-will performance that brings together hobbyists, amateurs, and professionals with audiences to support each other along with a partner nonprofit. All donations go towards sustaining TheMIc community and the nonprofit of the month.
What do the donations to TheMIC go toward? Is the team at TheMIC paid?
Donations cover admin costs: website, domain, emails, live stream data, video gear, and other miscellaneous event costs (signs, printed materials, walkies, etc). Though the community is at a deficit, we are aiming to save enough to incorporate and apply to become a nonprofit. The internal team is entirely all volunteer (social, event staff, designers, video editors, operators and MCs!) and we remain adamant to not charge for shows, performers, live stream or video. We want the community to be accessible to anyone who enters and if you feel compelled to donate, know you’re supporting the community to continue this monthly series and MUCH more to come.
How do I sign-up for TheMIC MONTHLY SHOWCASE?
Attend a show
You can enter your name into the sign-up queue; however, in order to perform you must attend and meet a team member at a prior show to verify your slot in the lineup.
This is so you can get a feel for what we are doing at the Give Back series and get to know TheMIC NYC Community and team members.
Email signup@themicnyc.com
Wait until we contact you back to confirm you’re in the queue!
Things to Know:
We will contact you 3-4 months out to give you your show date.
The month prior to your show, you will receive a performer survey to fill out. Submission of this confirms your slot.
You can sign up for only one show at a time.
If you miss your show date, we will do our best to get you back into another show. However, it could be another 4-6 months wait depending on show cancellations and availability.
Once you play, the process is the same - enter the queue by emailing Signup@themicnyc.com again after your performance.
How long should I expect to wait to perform at TheMIC?
Typical wait times are 4-6 months after signing up. We know it’s a long time, however, we encourage you to hook in and make some friends while you wait. We also have jam sessions and more events coming up - and the time will pass by faster than you know!
Are there requirements to perform at TheMIC?
Our only requirement is that you attend prior to performing. Anyone under age 21 needs to notify us in advance so we can give the venue a heads-up, and anyone under 18 must bring a parent or guardian for entry, but we’ve had all ages play and love it! Contact us for more information if you’re concerned—it will work out!
How can I get involved or submit feedback?
Hit up Kathryn & Andrew - kathryn@themicnyc.com and andrew@themicnyc.com. Disclaimer: we are doing our best to onboard and expand with the growing interest from our awesome community, so if we are slow to respond, it’s not YOU, it’s US! We will be in touch. ;)
