Crowd Control on Hiatus

Will and Brittany here! As the year comes to a close, we’ve been reflecting on the future of Crowd Control and evaluating our role in hosting the open mic each month. After 2 ½ years, we’ve made the decision to place Crowd Control on hiatus. This choice comes after much consideration, driven primarily by personal responsibilities we are each taking on. We are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have been part of the Dallas cultural arts community, and we cannot thank you enough for your support, encouragement, and creative inspiration from day one.

When we started Crowd Control at Mudsmith in July 2017, we barely knew anyone, and over the years, the open mic has allowed us to connect with so many incredibly talented and wonderful people in Dallas. One of the things we’ve both cherished most about Crowd Control—and we think we can speak for each other here—is how the number of people who came just to support, watch, and hang out often matched or even surpassed the number of performers. That support is essential to sustaining any cultural arts community, and it’s been inspiring to witness that firsthand at a simple open mic. We’re proud of the eclectic and welcoming energy you all brought each month, creating an atmosphere that was organic and unique—a community we could never have planned, but one we were fortunate to be part of.

We’d like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Mudsmith Coffee and Bar for helping us get started, and to Sundown at Granada for taking a chance on us and hosting us for the past year and a half. The staff have been incredible, and their dedication to supporting the local arts community in Dallas has been evident every step of the way.

• • • • • •

This isn’t goodbye forever, just goodbye for now.
We love y’all.

#GirlsClubDallas

photos by James Coreas

I had the opportunity to attend Granada Theater’s Girls Club event on Saturday, where I represented Spontaneous Afflatus. The event, which celebrated women in the arts and entrepreneurship, featured live music, specialty cocktails, and an artisan marketplace. It was a privilege to connect with a diverse group of women artisans, crafters, and business owners from the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

There’s nothing more fulfilling than seeing women support one another, and I left feeling inspired and grateful to be part of such a dynamic community. The outstanding music, exceptional talent, and vibrant marketplace made for an empowering and memorable evening.

Deep Vellum Books

I had the honor of typesetting three remarkable chapbooks published by Deep Vellum, supported by a grant from the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs:

• Dallas Spleen by Mike Soto

• El Poemario del Colibrí/The Hummingbird Poems by Edyka Chilomé

• Everything Good is Dying by Fatima-Ayan Malika Hirsi

It was truly rewarding to contribute to the presentation of these works through thoughtful layout design. The book launch and reading on Friday, August 30th was a resounding success, with the event reaching full capacity. It was inspiring to see the Dallas community come together to support the growth of the literary arts.

A Year of Point of Departure

Over the past year, Christopher Moock (of Forecast Gallery) and I have collaborated on a literary interview series called Point of Departure. This project has given us the opportunity to engage with various members of the Dallas literary community and explore their work on deep, personal level. Working with Chris has been an incredibly rewarding experience—he is exceptionally talented, and I’m grateful that our ideas aligned and the timing was perfect for us to bring this project to life together.

I’ve always been drawn to the in-depth, one-on-one interview format. From Inside the Actors Studio with James Lipton and Krys Boyd’s Think, to the Bret Easton Ellis Podcast and more recently, Debbie Millman’s Design Matters, I find it fascinating when two people sit down for an open conversation. These exchanges often lead to moments of discovery—whether about the individuals involved or the world around them. Dallas is home to so many brilliant writers and poets whom I admire, and it has been a true pleasure to use this format to shine a spotlight on the talented individuals doing remarkable work in our city. #literarydallas

You can check out our latest interview with the talented poet, Sebastian Hasani Páramo, on Wavelength! 📚