SOAP LAKE — It’s 5:30 p.m. and 11-year-old Jimmy Ocampo is singing “Die with a Smile” in front of an audience of about 25 people. He’s the fourth performer to take the stage in the last half hour, and there’s a long waiting list after him. It’s Open Mic Night, and the sky’s the limit. 

“It's great to see who shows up,” said Genevieve Gray, who was taking a break from running the karaoke setup Friday. “We had a guitarist that's come from Blue Lake, and he brings his acoustic guitar, and he plays songs. We've had a piano player. We've had someone do a theater improv skit, where he made up an idea and he developed the audience. It changes all the time. We’ve had karate demonstrations and stuff … Every Friday night is different, depending on who's here, what people are performing. It's like a variety show.” 

Open Mic Night happens from 5 to 7 p.m. every Friday at the Soap Lake Community Center. Or at least it’s supposed to end at 7.

“Theoretically, we've got a two-hour time frame that we try to keep it in, but it usually tends to overflow into cleanup time,” Gray said. “It makes cleanup fun.” 

Open Mic Night has been a thing at the community center since March. It’s spearheaded by Kate Buchanan, as part of her Youth Empowerment Project. Buchanan started her project as a kind of outgrowth of art classes she taught for the Soap Lake School District. She branched out into offering classes for both youth and seniors at the community center, and one thing, as they say, led to another. 

“It’s been really beautiful because, especially for Open Mic, I have people who perform who are 18 months to 85 years old,” she said.

The setup at Open Mic Night isn’t fancy, Gray explained. The center supplies the PA system and a laptop. Accompaniment for the musical numbers is selected by searching out karaoke versions of the song on YouTube. There’s nobody with a paid subscription, so ads often play over the PA before the performer can begin. 

“It’s nice because we can use the resources here,” Gray said. “The rent on this place, we’re paying like $1 per person that attends, just for the use of the space. You can’t get that anywhere else.” 

Blake and Alicia Seim make a habit of coming to Open Mic Night on Fridays, Blake said, along with some of their children. Friday night they had five with them, ranging from 8 years old to 7 months. He sang “Lady in Red” in a haunting tenor voice, with his eyes fixed on Alicia, who — not coincidentally — was wearing red. 

“I like to sing,” Seim said. “I like doing karaoke, and a lot of places I can’t take the kids, because a lot of times it’s going to be at a bar. I’ll do some songs with the kids as well.” 

Gray said getting the young people involved is one of the great benefits of the event. Her son Leo helps out by counting the attendees and performs himself sometimes.  

“It's incredible as a parent when you witness your child finding something where they can just be fully themselves,” she said. “I'm a visual artist, and my son, he's kind of done art with me, but then one day, he said to me, ‘Mom, maybe art isn't my thing. Maybe theater.’ And I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I had no idea.’” 

Leo started out singing at Open Mic Night, she said, which led to participating in the Masquers Theater Youth Drama Camp and finally performing in the Masquers’ production of “Annie” in October. 

“I think him performing here at Open Mic was the perfect opportunity to practice being comfortable and confident and performing,” she said. “I had no idea he had such a love for music and theater and all that until it opened the door, and then we started seeing opportunities that he could get involved in the community.” 

Buchanan’s daughters, Madalyn and Emma, also are involved, although in a little different way. They take turns firing up the community center’s kitchen and offering refreshments for sale at Open Mic. This week it was hot dogs and homemade muffins, but the bill of fare varies, Madalyn said. The two hope to open a restaurant someday, she said. 

“It’s a good test kitchen whenever we try out different recipes,” she said. “We do things like gyros and mac and cheese and a lot of other dishes.” 

Open Mic Night isn’t just for performers, Gray said; it’s for anyone who wants to get out into the community on a Friday evening. 

“Maybe you're not a performer, maybe you don't like to get on stage, or maybe you need a little challenge to push the boundary of what you feel comfortable with and get a little confidence,” she said. “Or you could just come and hang out and appreciate the local talent and get to know people in the community, maybe socialize in a different way in a different setting. You never know; we've made friends with people that we've met here, and it's pretty special.” 

    Kate Buchanan, right, sings at Soap Lake Open Mic Night, accompanied by a background recording and drummer David Agliano. Buchanan started Open Mic Night at the Soap Lake Community Center as part of her Youth Empowerment Project, which works to get youth involved with the arts.
  

    Madalyn Buchanan stands in the Soap Lake Community Center kitchen, where she and her sister Emma alternate weeks making food to sell at Open Mic Night. The sisters hope to open their own restaurant someday, Madalyn said.
  

    Blake Seim sings “Lady in Red” at Open Mic Night Friday. Seim and his wife Alicia enjoy coming to the event because it’s a chance to sing karaoke in a family-friendly environment.