by Hima Mouli, I B.A. English
“The stage is not merely the meeting place of all the arts but also the return of art to life.” - Oscar Wilde
On Tuesday, 30 July at 3:30 pm, students began to gather at the CC Block Conference Room for a special event, the first of its kind -- ‘Mic Drop’. An event organised and conducted by the students and staff of the department of English, Shift II, “Mic Drop” was a unique showcase of a varied array of creative talents right from spoken word poetry and original songs to puppet shows and group dances.
The event kicked off with budding poets sharing their poems, some of them performing for the first time. They guided a rapt audience through a plethora of emotions, touching upon various subjects. There were poems about sexuality and gender disparity, poems about life and death, poems expressing love and pining, and even poems that boldly took on social issues such as AIDS and sexual abuse.
Then, the students performed original songs. Poems were set to music and performed, addressing subjects like being marginalised and wanting freedom and the feeling of being invisible. The emotions conveyed combined with the lyrical and musical aspects of the performances enthralled the spellbound audience.
Following this was a puppet show; a creative interpretation of the poem ‘Telephone Conversation’. As the poem was read out, it was enacted with puppets, bringing in a visual element as it highlighted the problem of racism.
As the show progressed, a group dance to the song ‘Speechless’ was performed. The dancers portrayed the powerful message of the song by dancing with their mouths taped and peeling off the tape as the song ended with the words, “I won’t go speechless”. The symbolic reference to empowerment through speech indeed left the audience speechless.
After the dance was a dramatized reading performance wherein one performer red aloud a haunting passage about feeling alone in a crowd as a group of girls in golden masks moved about her, dramatically portraying what she read.
The event concluded with a few solo and one group singing act. The songs include popular numbers from well-known artists like Demi Lovato, Shakira, Miley Cyrus and Alessia Cara. The group song even had an accompanying mime presentation to the song, ‘Scars To Your Beautiful’, ending the show on a positive note of self-love and acceptance.
The event had encouraging numbers in terms of both participants and audience. The audience were quite attentive and enthusiastic and the performers did not disappoint. Anjana, one of the performers, commented, “We’re able to hear so many different voices and perspectives.” Latibha, another performer, described the experience of performing as “quite liberating.''
“I’m really happy that students participated and made this event a success,” Said Ms.Vidhya, a teacher of the English Department. As Shalini and Angelina, two members of the audience put it, “The performances were mesmerising and overwhelming. It was both entertaining and eye-opening.”