Picture a small stage with a chair, lamp and rug. That’s where you’ll find intermediate school Principal Dan Casey as he emcees the Broadalbin-Perth elementary drama club’s first Coffeehouse Open Mic Night on Friday, March 22 at 6:30 p.m. in the middle school gym.
The Coffeehouse Open Mic Night is open to the public. Tickets will be $5 at the door with concessions available. There will also be a raffle where two people will win dinner at a local restaurant and tickets to Phantom of the Opera at Proctors.
The event will feature 13 student and staff performances of songs, dramatic readings, puppetry and magic to raise money to rent lighting and sound equipment for the elementary drama club’s production of Schoolhouse Rock, scheduled to run May 10-12.
Seventh-grader Ephram Harvey is performing in both the May production and the Coffeehouse Open Mic Night. The performing gene runs in the family because younger brother Seeley, fourth grade, will put on a puppet show at the Open Mic Night.
“‘Excited’ would be the word that I would use,” program director Jen Szumowski said. “They like to get up in front of an audience and perform.”
But it’s not just the students who are excited to perform. Fourth grade teacher Kelly Hanson will perform a dramatic reading with her daughter, Isabella, who is a third-grader at the intermediate school. Teachers Allison Renda and Jen Wilcox will dance to 90s music. Jon Aery will play a song on his ukulele. Middle school counselor Jen Steele, who is also a local singer, will perform a song.
“It’s a nice thing to get the kids to get some more experience of being in front of an audience,” Szumowski said. “It promotes a great staff atmosphere. I’m just hoping that it’ll be a great time that we’ll have lots of fun memories from. I also hope that it brings the community together.”