Spectators and artists pose together at the Ewing Open Mic Night on Dec. 12, 2013. Pictured are Bill Ullrich, Ruth Savage, Greg Rapport, Lisa Smith, Keith Swango, Chris Geary and Vince Bonfanti. (Photo by Mel Bailey.)
Ewing Open Mic Night organizers Greg Rapport and Bill Ullrich play their guitars to test the acoustics at the Ewing Community Center, where the event is being held every month.
Artists share feedback at Ewing Arts Commission Open Mic Nights
By Lacey Ross
By day, Ewing resident Bill Ullrich is a self-employed handyman. He changes gutters, installs windows, paints houses and works on all kind of home repairs. But that is only one side of him.
By night, Ullrich, who also serves as the chairman of the Ewing Arts Commission, is part comedian, part musician.
He can be found performing every second Thursday of the month at the commission’s Open Mic Nights at the Ewing Senior and Community Center. The concept for the events, which run from 7-9 p.m., was developed by Ullrich, along with his longtime friend, Lawrence Township resident Greg Rapport.
Amateur singers, song-writers, comedians, musicians or spoken-word artists are invited to come out and participate in the events, which Ullrich said are unlike any other open mic performances in the area.
The commission kicked off the first two events on Nov. 14 and Dec. 12. While only five artists participated in November, 10 musicians battled the cold to take part in December, Rapport said.
“Since it was a small group, we performed in a round table instead of a more formal stage style,” he said. “Everyone had a great time.”
Inspired by their own love for music and performing, Rapport and Ullrich began developing the Open Mic idea in September. Ullrich, who plays guitar, said he loves the challenge of trying to capture the attention of an audience.
“It’s a rush for me,” he said. “Also, what’s a rush is when somebody says, ‘Try it a little bit this way and see if that works,’ or if somebody says, ‘Do you mind if I do this with you?’ Suddenly, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts and that’s exciting.”
This focus on collaboration and growth is what sets the commission’s open mic apart from other, similar events in the area, Ullrich added. While typical open mics encourage artists to simply perform for a few minutes in front of a crowd, Rapport and Ullrich’s concept is to develop a community of performers who work together to improve.
“What we are trying to do is not to sell alcohol,” said Rapport, who performs comedy in addition to playing guitar, bass and drums. What we are trying to do is develop a community of people who are trying hard to be better at performing. Our performance is very pure in that pursuit.”
The goal is to bring a steady group of local talent together to strengthen performance skills and build confidence until everyone is ready for a larger audience, Ullrich said. At other open mics, an artist might drop by, perform a song and then leave. That is not the venue the Arts Commission is looking to provide.
“I’m looking for a group of performers who would like to make a commitment, not just a snap decision the night of whether or not they want to perform” Ullrich said. “I’d like to see them more involved in the process. I’d like to see them set up and clean up and participate in the innovation of the process, rather than just showing up, performing and leaving.”
The commission tried hosting a steady open mic event in 2011, but the idea behind it was more about individual performer trying to bring in an audience, Ullrich said. This time, the performers can support each other as their own audience until they are ready for more.
The Community Center, located at 999 Lower Ferry Road, is the perfect venue to set a “calm, relaxed and informal atmosphere,” Ullrich said, because there is no intimidating stage to stand on and everyone is on the same level. Ullrich also eases the tension by volunteering to perform first to break the ice.
“They can see that I’m not perfect,” said Ullrich. “I’m not professional and I can’t hit every note, but they can see that I’m trying and I’m having fun.”
Not only is it a “safe” place for performers to experiment, but Rapport also said that holding the events from 7-9 p.m. is perfect for amateurs, who most likely have full-time jobs and cannot be at a bar into the middle of the night.
“Most open mics don’t start til 9. If you’re lucky, you are getting home at 2-3 a.m.,” he said. “We want to encourage the artist to actually work to support themselves and not be poor, and the only way you can let them do that is if they can get some sleep.”
In a few months, Rapport said he hopes to see the concept develop into something bigger that could eventually attract a much larger audience.
“I would like to see it grow into a community of artists of many different ages, who practice their craft,” he said. “Then I would like to see those artists be able to come together in a variety show format that we could perform at Ewing High School or some large venue like that.”
In the meantime, Ullrich said spectators are welcome to attend to get a glimpse of local talent and provide feedback and suggestions to help strengthen their performances.
“If they are interested enough to come and listen to us and laugh at us, laugh with us, that sort of thing, that’s certainly fine,” he said. “I think it’s important for us as performers. We have to figure out how to reach out and grab an audience. We need to be able to sit in a room and do our thing and we have to somehow get a group of people pay attention to us, and that is helpful about having an audience there.”
Through the open mic, the Arts Commission is able to offer creative residents an opportunity to hone their talents and express their art.
“It provides local artists a venue to get their stuff out,” said Ullrich. “At least a bunch of musicians can get together once a month and we can all sit around and listen to each other perform. If it’s as fun for them as it is for me, they will want to come out and do it.”
Performances in 2014 are scheduled for Jan. 9, Feb. 13, March 13, April 10, May 8, June 12, July 10, Aug, 14, Sept. 11, Oct. 9, Nov. 13 and Dec. 11. Performers must be at least 18 years old. Those who are interested in participating should contact Bill Ullrich at (609) 954-5235.