EROT presents 'The Haunting Hour,' connecting creatives through performance

On Thursday, the Carolina Union Auditorium hosted Ebony Readers/Onyx Theatre for their fall showcase. EROT is the oldest spoken word group on UNC’s campus, as well as the University’s only historically Black poetry organization. 

President Mariah Snuggs said that the organization is open to Black and Brown students with interests in writing and performing their own original works. 

“Our organization is kind of like a supportive collective of Black and Brown artists that we use to churn out ideas with each other, get support and talk about how to help the community,” she said. 

The showcase, titled "The Haunting Hour," featured two acts of spoken word poetry and a multi-genre, performance-filled intermission. The theme of haunting was left intentionally vague, allowing for each performer to explore what truly haunts them. 

“We all got around the table and we decided we could write about past ghosts or things that haunt us as kind of an umbrella topic for processing trauma,” Snuggs said. 

Poets chose to interpret the theme in a variety of ways. Some focused on childhood experiences — alcoholic parents or absent mother figures. Others were haunted by lost or struggling loved ones. 

Snuggs said that, ultimately, she hopes EROT can help performers feel inspired and empowered to take up space unapologetically. 

“That’s all I’m really hoping for people to get out of our show, is just like that feeling of getting some power back in them and realizing their individuality is important and necessary,” she said. 

Taylor McGlashing, EROT’s social media manager and a performer,  said that writing their piece for the showcase allowed them to better acknowledge and process their own experiences. 

“Hopefully I can nod at that and say, ‘Yeah, that was something I went through,’ or ‘that’s something that I felt and didn’t enjoy’ or ‘that made me feel upset or alone, and that’s okay,’ like those feelings can resurface in like this safe way,” McGlashing said. 

A key aspect of creating a safe space to process past experiences through poetry is EROT’s emphasis on community, which Snuggs, McGlashing and new member Ling Xiong all mentioned as part of the group’s appeal. 

Xiong said that EROT has allowed her to meet and bond with people she otherwise would not have met. She also said that it gives her the opportunity to engage with the humanities as a STEM major. 

McGlashing said that EROT’s status as a historically Black organization, specifically, has created a unique sense of community for them. 

“We understand each other,” they said. “We haven’t lived all the same experiences, but there is always a space in EROT for just to hold someone and be like, ‘You know what? Yeah, I see you,’ and that has been the shining star for me.” 

EROT not only works to create a sense of community within the group, but also between performance groups on campus. 

Snuggs said that EROT especially focuses on forming connections with other organizations that historically connect communities of color, such as UNC Blue Lightning and Kamikazi Dance Team, both of whom performed during "The Haunting Hour’s" intermission. 

“We love to collaborate with people and present a diverse scene of the arts throughout our show,” Snuggs said.

EROT’s next performance is scheduled in partnership with the LGBTQ Center at the Transgender Day of Remembrance on Nov. 19th. While following performances have yet to be announced, Xiong assured that the organization would continue to explore their passion for performing. 

“I think you can expect more great poems, but with more shows that are bigger, better, more raw,” she said.

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