'Amateuration' night offers creative outlet for students

By Sarah Szczepanski
Assistant Features Editor

It may look like a coffee shop, but there is no smoke; they may sound like professionals, but the performers aren’t yet famous.

"Amateuration," an open microphone night every Wednesday in the Sweet Shop in the Purdue Memorial Union, is a chance for anyone to get his or her start in music.

The name "Amateuration" stands for the maturation of amateurs, which is one of the goals of the night.

"It’s a place for upcoming bands to get a start and it is a creative outlet for Purdue," said Tim Hatayama, a junior in the School of Liberal Arts and one of the evening’s organizers.

Hatayama, a member of the band Sleep On It, performs every week. He said the evening generally features music, but occasionally there are acts such as poetry or comedy.

Hatayama said that because people think of Purdue as an engineering school, there are not many outlets for creative expression.

Other schools, such as Ball State and Indiana universities, have events similar to this, and Purdue doesn’t just have to be thought of as a science and engineering school, he said.

According to Hatayama, approximately 100 to 200 people usually stop by to see the Purdue Student Union Board-sponsored evening that has been happening every Wednesday since Feb. 28.

Matt Magurany, director of the Concert Committee and a sophomore in the School of Science, hopes "Amateuration" will create more of a scene for music, comedy and poetry.

"I would like to see more students move in that direction," said Magurany.

Performers do not have to sign up in advance; all they must do is sign up when they arrive. Each performance is only guaranteed 15 minutes and there is a limit of 10 acts per night.

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