LUYA #51: Thrills & Chills

Join us for Luya's monthly open mic! Sign-ups are first come first served, in-person and prioritize people of color. We center poetry, but we welcome storytelling, music, and other art forms, as well. Each performer gets about 3.5 minutes on the mic. If you have a track you’d like to play, please email it to our DJ. If you plan to play an instrument, please contact us so that we can make sure we have the proper tech setup for you.

This open mic’s theme is Refusal:

We are inspired by the poem Dear Kasama by Jason Magabo Perez. An excerpt: “Consider this rage divine refusal. Let us talk about such refusal. Let us talk about such dysregulation of promise.” What do you currently refuse? What have you refused in the past? What will you continue to refuse? Who refuses alongside you? How does your refusal take shape—as a shout, a whisper, or something else entirely? What is your refusal to one thing when it, conversely, becomes a yes to another? What do you promise?​

C OVID Safety + Accessibility

T hough the Chicago Athletic Association does not require masks in the venue, Luya's open mics are mask required to be inclusive of immunocompromised community members, and to mitigate the spread of COVID 19. If you forget your mask, we will have some on site for you to use!

T he Chicago Athletic Association has an accessible building entrance, elevators, and an accessible event space on the 4th floor with accessible, gender-neutral bathrooms.

W hat's Luya?

Luya is a Chicago-based grassroots poetry organization centering people of color. Founded in 2018, Luya has been featured in Chicago Reader, Sixty Inches From Center, and ABC 7 Chicago.

Featured Performer:

Caroline M. Watson (she/her) is a Chicago-based theatre artist, spoken word poet, and teaching artist. She was born and raised in Texas and is a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation.

Caroline's love for telling stories and engaging audiences is what makes her feel at home on a stage- whether she is devising a physical theatre piece, performing a poem, or stepping into a new character. Caroline has been a company member with Theater Unspeakable, where she devised new work and toured nationally performing at such venues as The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, and The Arden. She is a teaching artist and frequent performer at Filament Theatre. Caroline graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a BA in Comedy Writing and Performance.

When she isn't acting, Caroline is the producer and host of Grandma's House, a monthly poetry show and open mic. She thrives on caring for her plants, hiking, celebrating other's art, and looking at photos of dogs in cowboy hats.