Flyer on which I explained (in German) why the pigeons have to be saved

Before people think I have completely lost my mind: no, the posters and the flyer above are NOT pieces of my latest work. I did make them, but it was part of stand up comedy class. I'll tell the story behind it.

In stand up comedy class we learn how to make jokes, perform in front of others (like in a presentation) and to break free from your rigid way of thinking, which enables you to think freely during a brainstorm. It's a fun class, but it's not only about laughing. Three weeks ago we got an assignment that made the whole class anxious by the mere thought of it.

Our teacher, Peter Niehuis, brought it in a really nice way. He was so positive about our class and so convinced of our presentation talents, that we were ready for the next task: performing live on the street and collect money with it. Everybody had to choose an act, practice it and -in the end- attract the attention of shopping people on the street.

Yesterday we were all standing in the busiest shopping street of Hamburg, the Mönkebergstrasse. One by one we had to do our acts and our teacher put it all on video. One girl sold compliments to people on the street. Two guys had an act in which they pretended to fight with each other. I tried to raise money to save the pigeons.

Of course there's an overload of these flying rats in Hamburg, so there's no question that they are not extincted. But it was fun to see how people actually believed I raised money for that cause. In the beginning two little girls looked very sad when they heard the extinction story. Later on an old man walked up to me to say that this was the stupidest cause ever to raise money for. He said: "every year I pay taxes because these damn birds shit on the Rathaus!". The trick is, I guess, to stay really serious in your role and not to laugh about the reactions of people. Anyway, for me it was a nice experiment. It proves that people believe anything if you wear a tie and if you say the nonsense with a serious look on your face.

In the end it wasn't so bad, for anybody. Even the most strange acts looked like some amateur street theatre. Everybody was glad it was over, but probably everybody was also glad that they did it. For me it was a strange, but fun experience.