It. Was. Sweet.

"Writers Gone Public" at Shambaugh Auditorium was a big hit last night. (No photos, unfortunately. I didn't want to be the one dork snapping pictures and lighting up the room with his flash.) There was music, food, drinks (non-alcoholic, of course), and reading. The turnout was actually pretty good at the beginning, near my predicted 50-60 people. But many writers left after reading their work on stage. Selfish bastards. Actually, I should've joined them. We all had work to do last night.

So the crowd gradually thinned out. But I would've hated for a bunch of people to leave before I read my piece (which I should post here), so I made myself stay for the whole thing. And I'm glad I did. (Not just because that meant I got more cheese for myself, either.) The writers here, as you might imagine, have all created interesting stuff - some good, some great, some not-so-good - but none of it was boring. And some of it was even uncomfortable, in a good way. I'm just glad I didn't have to follow anyone who wrote a devastating piece about a dead relative or friend. ("Hey kids, time for some jokes! Uncle Ian's gonna tell you about all the times he's gotten pulled over while playing 'Norwegian Wood' on his car stereo!") The night took on a natural rhythm; there was a good balance between serious and funny work.

How'd I do? I KILLED, baby! No, it was extremely gratifying to have the audience laugh when I meant them to laugh. They even laughed in places I wouldn't have expected, which was a pleasant surprise. No one told me I was twitching nervously. My voice didn't crack. My hand didn't shake while holding the microphone. And I didn't hold it too close or too far from my face either. Actually, I was VERY relaxed. Maybe that was because I was largely among peers. We were all very supportive of each other. It was a great experience, but kind of a blur in my memory. I hope I get to do it again very soon, and I will make sure to appreciate everything much more.

Thanks to Amy Leach for "volunteering" me to participate. I've learned a lot from her this semester and she trusted me enough to give me a long creative leash, which is exactly what I wanted and needed. And I didn't know this until last night, but she is a hell of a violin player!