The Mic Drop

 Think+DO Tank is proud to present our new monthly open mic night, THE MIC DROP! 

Hosted by award-winning poet Omar Sakr at the TDTF Community House in Fairfield, on Fridays at 6pm, this is a night for everyone and anyone: if you have a story to tell, a poem to share, a song to sing, a rap to beat, a joke to light us up or a story to enthrall, don't be shy! 

We have a small stage, a mighty mic, and a warm welcome waiting. Our Community Director, Afaf Al-Shammari, will even cook us a beautiful, refreshing cup of mahalebia to share on the night. It's free! Why? Because we want it to be. Because we're tired of feeling isolated. Because we want to connect. Because there's a million reasons not to, and art doesn't need to answer to any of them. 

We love stories, we love sharing, and if you want to be part of it, register here! If you're a musician with tech requirements, please get in touch in advance so we can ensure you have everything you need - everyone else wanting to perform can sign up on the night. Don't worry about coming at 6pm on the dot, the run sheet roughly goes like this: 6pm-6:30 Omar stressing, 6:30pm-7pm food and vibes, 7pm-8:30pm performances, 8:30-9pm pack up!

This THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 26th, our featured guests are YUMNA KASSAB and MONIKKA ELIAH.

Yumna Kassab is a writer based in Sydney. She is the author of The House of Youssef, Australiana and The Lovers. Her latest book is Politica, which she says is an imaginary history of the Arab world or else a feminine telling of politics. Her books have been listed for the Miles Franklin Award, Stella Prize, Victorian Premier's Literary Awards, Prime Minister's Literary Award, Queensland Literary Awards and NSW Premier's Literary Awards. She is the inaugural Parramatta Laureate of Literature.

Monikka Eliah is an Assyrian-Australian writer and performer from Fairfield. She has participated in National Theatre of Parramatta’s Page to Stage program, Playwrights of Parramatta, CuriousWorks Breakthrough Screen Writing Program and STC’s Rough Draft. Her work has been published in The Big Black Thing, SBS Voices, Sweatshop Women, Racism: Stories on Fear, Hate & Bigotry, Runway Journal, Southerly, Kill Your Darlings, The Lifted Brow and Meanjin. She received the Southlands Breakthrough Award 2018, the Wheeler Centre Playwright Hot Desk Fellowship 2020, an Ausco Resilience Grant 2021 and the Wheeler Center Next Chapter Award 2022.