2025 - 2026 FACTORY student led: Mike Check

Mike Check is a series of open-mic gatherings that invites participants to take over the stage during DAI confluences for some good ol’ fashioned comic relief (or, obviously, anxiety relief and over-sharing). Each iteration will have a different focus where participants can share their preferred form of content–spoken word, singing, poem reading, letter sharing, comedy skit, powerpoint presentations, etc…–on stage.

VISIT THE 2024 -2025 ITERATIONS HERE.

SEPTEMBER 29, 2025 

03. In the Middle

Led by Ayse Idil Idil, Henriks Eliass Zegners & Javier Rodriguez PerezCuriel

When: 20:30 - 22:00 

Location: Ballroom

DAI can feel like a liminal space, somewhere between not-real and sur-real. As we start a new study term together, for some a return and for others a fresh beginning, let's come together and ponder: How can we imagine ourselves always in the middle? 

In Deleuze’s philosophy, the “middle” isn’t a fixed midpoint between two ends, but rather a space of emergence, growth, and becoming.
But can we trust the process? Spiraling in a world that's like a washing machine, how do we know if we are spinning on the fast cycle if everything around us is spinning at the same speed? And what if, after all the efforts we put into always being in the middle, all we ever end up being is "mid"?
Let’s find out! 

Come and tell us how you found yourself here, what were some beginnings and endings for you that brought you to this insane-bonkers middle (of the storm, of nowhere, of these amazing people), what's happening in your worlds, what you are spiraling around or what spirals around you.  

New acts will be prioritized, otherwise slots are first come first serve, and a maximum of 10 minutes each.