Samuel (Uel) McGinnis

November 20, 2025 | Open Mic Night | One Market Plaza / The Smart Collective | San Francisco, CA

Open mic nights are one of my favourite environments to perform in. There is an openness and generosity in the room that you don’t always get in more formal performance settings. The audience is there to be surprised, and everyone on the bill is rooting for everyone else.

I brought the puppet to the One Market Plaza open mic hosted by The Smart Collective and had a brilliant time. Performing alongside musicians, poets, and other artists in a community space like that is a good reminder of why live performance matters. The puppet always gets a reaction at an open mic.