If you are a performer or a would-be performer, one of the most difficult problems is to find a place to give a show. It is no use to just sit around in your living room, so one of the best solutions to this problem is to go out and find an open mic, or an open microphone night at some local bar or caf?.

Many bars and cafes offer live entertainment on a nightly basis, but some of them leave one day a week for unpaid entertainment and they allow performers to get up on the stage for 10 to 15 minutes.

There are some benefits to be had by performing at one of these open microphone sessions. The first and foremost is that you get experience in performing before a live audience. Practice makes perfect. If you want to become a great entertainer, then there is no better practice than getting in front of a real audience.

Another great thing is that you get a chance to find out which of your songs are ?hits.? By watching the audience reaction you can see which songs move the audiences and which songs put them to sleep!

Perhaps the greatest benefit of performing at an open mic is that you make contacts with other musicians and promoters. In many cases, a good performance at an open microphone evening can lead to a paying gig at the same venue where you performed. If you do a good job then the open mic is almost like an audition for a paying performance.

Now that you can see the benefits, the question is how to go about it. First you have to find out where the open microphone evenings are happening. Do a search in Google, for ?open mic, your city or state? or go to openmikes.org and you will find some venues.

Once you find a listing on the Internet the next thing to do is to call and find out if the information online is accurate. Some times venues stop the open mics or move them to different evenings and times. You can never know for sure unless you call up and find out. When you talk to the venue find out when the sign-up time begins. This is a very important detail; if you are too late for a sign-up you may not get to perform at some of the most heavily booked venues.

After you confirm the time and place of the open mic, then the next thing to do is to practice the songs you are going to perform. Normally you will get a chance to perform two or three songs at most, but keep another song in reserve (because if they like you they may ask for one more.)

When you get to the open microphone venue, sign up and get ready. Tune up your instruments before you get on stage. You only get a small moment in the limelight, so don't waste it in tuning up etc. When your name is announced, get up to the mic and ?break a leg.?