Students will have the opportunity to act out a skit, sing a song or perform anything that they want at the “No Shame” open mic night 7 p.m. Saturday Sept. 23

The 24-hour open mic night will go until 7 p.m. the following day.

Frank Monier, a senior theatre arts major, said this is an opportunity for students to present or perform any subject that they want to.

“It can be anything. They can get up there and sing a song or do a dance,” Monier said. “A lot of people want to write, so they are going to write something, get a team of actors and perform it.”

Moiner said the open mic night has been on campus before, but has not been performed within the last few years.

Even though the event is 24 hours, participants do not have to stay for the entire time.

Participants will meet at 7 p.m., talk about how the night and then take a break around midnight to let people sleep, Moinier said.

He said during the break, students can still perform or use the time to build sets and prepare for their performances if they need to.

Moinier said the performances will either take place in the Globe/Theater or Black Box, but students can perform other places too.

“If you want to perform on the steps or in the quad, no one is going to stop you. It really depends on the person’s material,” Moiner said.

Senior psychology major Gabrielle Going said the event is like an art festival, and people who write short stories or plays typically never have the time to present their work.

“This 24-hour festival is time for their work to be shown,” Going said.

She said the event is not just for theatre majors or minors, but it is an opportunity for anyone to perform.

Students getting to showcase their art and feelings without judgment is the biggest benefit of the festival, Going said.

“We have talent shows on campus, but if you audition and don’t get (the part) or your schedule is busy and you cannot perform in a show, then you can’t show your art,” Going said, “With this event, (students) can talk about whatever they want to talk about.”

AJ Fournier can be reached at 581-2812 or ajfournier@eiu.edu