Once a month, students and Natchitoches residents are invited to Story Brew Coffee Shop and Cafe. On top of the usual cozy, coffee shop ambiance inviting potential customers in from the riverbank of Front Street, Story Brew is the home of the

Department of English, Foreign Languages, and Cultural Studies’ creative writing monthly open mic event.
Students and potential performers are invited to perform any style of artistic endeavor, from poetry and fiction to musical performance and creative nonfiction.

Amber Beaudoin, owner and operator of Story Brew and the events the cafe hosts, stated that she wanted to make a safe space for every person to express themselves in creative ways.

As a graduate of Northwestern State University of Louisiana, Beaudoin knows what it means to be a student without a place to express themselves, and decided that she would give students that opportunity.

Regardless if students want to participate in the read, watch or just relax and have a coffee while studying, Story Brew is quickly becoming the place to do all of the above.

Beaudoin said, “From the beginning, I wanted to make a creative, family-friendly space. There are lots of opportunities and organizations that we can work with to make everyone feel welcome.”

She wants to continue her community outreach and encourage new creatives to step into their art. Without many options for students and other Natchitoches residents to share their own creative work, the most logical step for Story Brew’s outreach was to begin to host the open mic events.

Beaudoin worked with J. Andrew Briseño, assistant professor of English and a member of the Graduate Faculty, to coordinate these performance events.

“We wanted to start a tradition for students to be able to share their work.” Briseño said, “That’s the most important part of being an artist, having a place where you’re invited and encouraged to share what you create. It’s hard, being in a small town and not having a place to feel comfortable.”

The entire purpose of the open mic events is to encourage students to share their work and feel comfortable enough to accept that invitation. Briseño said that the importance of the reads can’t be overstated.

While the reads began in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Briseño and Beaudoin are taking every precaution to keep the event socially distanced and safe for every participant.

The open mic events generally take place on the last Saturday of every school month during the fall and spring semesters. Sign-up usually begins at 4:30 p.m. and the open mic begins at 5:00 p.m.,, but specific information about each month’s read can be found in the Student Messenger. This month, the open mic is taking place at Story Brew at 5:00 p.m., on Nov. 12.