Project Title: OPEN MIC
Genre: Musical
Genesis: 2003
Current Status: In development

Open Mic is a musical story in development. Loosely based on my experiences performing at various live music gatherings and venues around the world, Open Mic tells the story of five musicians competing for top-dog position at a local music bar’s first ever open mic contest. What starts out a healthy game between friendly rivals quickly turns sour; as stakes are raised, past arguments and hidden animosities surface, and the quest for individual greatness threatens to undermine what this tight-knit community has always been–or at least appeared to be–a harmonious family of collaborative artists.

Plot

Five musicians. Three best friends. One spot at the top. Who’s it gonna be?

Open Mic follows the experiences of a community of singer-songwriters living in the San Francisco Bay Area shortly after the turn of the millennium. The story mostly takes place at The Corral Nevada, a music bar celebrated as much for the quality of its regular performers as for its open, accepting atmosphere. It is a haven for the many who frequent it, and especially so for best-friends John Seeker, Zayn Al-Rahim, and Lucy Biggs, who have been coming to the bar since it opened, several years prior, as a sanctuary from their own feelings of fear and uncertainty as young adults adrift in a post 9-11 world.

As the story begins the trio finds out, from owner Bob DeLacey, that the Nevada is in financial dire straits, and needs a major kick-start in revenue if it is to survive the year. That evening, at the opening night of this year’s Corral Nevada Open Mic Season, Bob announces a new format to the open mic nights. Partnering with Ned “Scowler” Evans, former major label executive, now owner and founder of the ascendant independent label X-Act Records, the Nevada will now play host to San Francisco’s soon-to-be-premier annual Open Mic Competition, an open contest for singer-songwriters across the country, the winner of whom will receive what promises to be an impressive and lucrative record deal with X-Act.

At first horrified by this apparent commercialization of the Nevada, John and Zayn, themselves both singer-songwriters, quickly realize that this competition may be just the ticket to their fulfilling their dreams of becoming global music superstars. They see their winning as being a shoe-in, as it is widely acknowledged among the patrons that they are the best regular act at the Nevada, and sign up right away. However, the spanner in the works soon arrives in the shape of Michelle Grant, a hardened indie artist whose fierce vocals and take-no-prisoners performance style quickly wows both the crowds and the competition judges. Add to this the rules of the contest stipulating “solo acts only”, and John and Zayn soon find themselves in a quagmire that threatens to destroy their friendship, and the Nevada becomes more and more ensnared in a culture of conquest and intrigue, where collaboration, understanding, and fellowship are seen only as obstacles to victory.

Characters

The Songwriters/Main Competitors

1) JOHN SEEKER
John is the main character/protagonist of the story. A soulful artist with an off-beat sense of harmony and rhythm, John often struggles to convey what he means in song; his message, though heartfelt and often beautiful, is typically obscured by an over-zealous experimentation with form. But his passionate performances, both vocally and with deft touch on the keys, always win over the crowds at the Nevada, not to mention his girlfriend Lucy, even if they don’t always understand him.

2) MICHELLE GRANT
Tough as nails with a dynamic presence both on-stage and off, Michelle comes to San Francisco from New York on a whim, in part based on a cryptic letter from childhood friend Bob DeLacey suggesting that she do so. Once there she finds herself front-runner and favorite to win at the Nevada’s open mic contest, the prize of which she believes to be the record deal that will get her out of the subways and dingy clubs and up among the stars where she belongs.

3) ZAYN Al-RAHIM
Born of privilege and terminally brilliant, Zayn is John’s best friend. Zayn carries the burden of those rare few who possess such gifts of intellect as to excel at any career path they choose. So he chose none. Smooth and debonaire in person, Zayn is everything John is not as a songwriter: simple, catchy, and user-friendly. But hidden behind this carefree way is a war that Zayn wages each day, as he tries to convince himself that he is more than merely what he represents.

4) PATRICK KENNEDY
Anti-war, anti-government, anti-smoking, anti-global-warming, Patrick is the de facto “Mr. Speaker” of the Corral Nevada; what he says is cool at the Nevada, is cool at the Nevada–though it is unclear exactly how it is he got this position. Though outwardly obnoxious, Patrick is fiercely loyal to the bar and all its patrons. When the open mic contest turns his world upside down, Patrick decides that the only way to restore order is to enter, and win.

5) JULIE BARROWS
A Nevada regular with distinct Tennessee flavor, Julie grew up in the Bay Area after her family settled there when their national tour “went broke just short of Fresno.” Now she plays in a children’s band–Jimmy Seed and the Real Barrows–with her brothers, James and Horace, the latter of whom is scheduled to ship out to active duty in the middle-east sometime this year. Though she professes to only loving Jesus and America, the truth is, as always, far more nuanced.

Development

Open Mic is currently in basic story development. More information will be available soon. Thanks for your patience!

Songs

• Be Right Here - Michelle
  DEMO VERSION
  Valerie Larsen (Michelle)

All Open Mic content and information Copyright © 2012 Adam Ismail Farouk. All rights reserved.

*NOTE* About the photos: Some of you may have noticed a striking resemblance between the icons of the characters of Open Mic and certain public figures. As many of you know, I tend to work multi-dimensionally; I’ll get an idea for a story, a song, and images, at the same time. Sadly, not being much of a character artist, I am not able to quickly sketch what I envision with enough speed and efficacy to allow me to post sketches of what my characters are telling me. I mean no copyright infringement by linking the characters to these photos, nor do I intend to make any associations of character between them. In fact, I have described my process for choosing these particular photos of these people, all inspiring and talented creators in their own fields, here. Please read and understand my intent. Thank you!