My First Ever Stand-Up Comedy Gig

by Internet

Watch the video (English subtitles available) / Download in HD / Download English subtitles

Two Manchester-based curators, Laura Mansfield and Swen Steinhauser, put on seven events over seven months in public spaces across Manchester, calling the series "Seven Sites." Siân Robinson Davies and Diego Chamy were invited to participate and chose the open-mic night, Comedy Balloon, for which they wrote a ten-minute stand-up set to be performed by Siân. Seven Sites advertised the time and place of this event with no further details. This meant that there were two audiences present on the night: those who attended the Comedy Balloon with no knowledge of Seven Sites and those who attended a Seven Sites event at the Comedy Balloon with no idea how Seven Sites would reveal itself.

The Comedy Balloon has a great infrastructure but small audiences, whereas Seven Sites has a larger audience but no real infrastructure. The merger of the two had the useful effect of providing comedians with a bigger audience, while bringing in people who might not otherwise attend a comedy night. The Comedy Balloon hosts never realized that they had hosted a Seven Sites event, and they seemed a little confused, though pleased, about the number of people in the crowd, putting it down to the Christmas market.

Siân used the pseudonym "Sarah Rews" in order to avoid being spotted as a performance artist.

Performed by Siân Robinson Davis (Sarah Rews)
Written by Diego Chamy and Siân Robinson Davis
Seven Sites at Comedy Balloon, Ape and Apple Pub, Manchester, UK
November 23, 2011