by Hope Kahn

A constant stream of hearts floated up on @nextnowfestumd’s Instagram Live Thursday night during the Terpoets open mic where five performers took to the screen. 

The performers traded the annual NextNow Fest’s traditional stage at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center for Instagram Live as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Completely virtual, the NextNOW Fest hosted workshops, performances, artist talks, live DJ sets, visual art exhibitions and more for students from Sept. 8 to Sept. 12. 

“I think when it comes down to performing virtually there are more flexibilities performing over the computer,” Terpoets President Shanice Silva said, who performed two pieces at the event: “Thanksgiving feast” and “Thank you for giving me something to believe in.”

“With that being said, the in-person performances can feel a little bit more homey depending on the environment,” said Silva, a junior public policy major and creative writing and Latin American studies minor. The Livestream fluctuated between 25 to 36 viewers throughout the event.

Terpoets has performed at the Fest, which is traditionally a two-night event, for a few years now, according to Megan Pagado Wells, the Associate Director of programming for The Clarice’s Artist Partner Programs. Since starting the festival in 2014, Wells said that they have learned that the Fest is one of the events on campus where students get to meet other creative students interested in different genres of art.

Four poets and one singer performed at the open mic night. “That’s what I love about Terpoets open mics, it’s never just poetry,” Silva said while on the Livestream.

Junior Robert Wolle, who makes music under the name “Praeter,” kicked off open mic night by performing his song “Venus.” Wolle, a physics major, immediately received a flood of positive comments. “Never stop, so beautiful,” from @asposato17, and “how raw and beautiful! Nice work, Rob!,” from @la_floyd appeared on the screen as he performed.

Sophomore Maia Foley, junior Hadas Sandalon and senior Ambi Narula were the remaining poets who performed at the event. Foley, a percussion performance and music education double major, performed her piece “Maslow,” while Sandalon, a flute performance and English double major performed her piece “Tale of the old wizard and the great lizards.” Narula, a journalism major and creative writing minor, performed her piece “Panic Attack.” 

Narula, the former president of Terpoets, said that she thought the event went really great. Prior to the pandemic, Terpoets would have one or two open mics a month. Once Milkboy Arthouse closed in College Park, finding performance space was harder, she said.

Despite the limitations of the pandemic, Silva said Terpoets will continue to hold virtual meetings and open mic nights throughout the semester.

“I know that this isn’t exactly like the same vibe as our usual open mics,” Silva said. Before the event, she expected general unease from the performers, but also their excitement for trying something new.

“[That] feeling or like the little bit of a rush after performing. Once it’s done, it’s just like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe I just did this,’” Silva said.