Sierra Sevilla is a Chamoru /Filipina multidisciplinary theatremaker in London, originally from the island of Guam . She received her MA in Applied Theatre from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, and went on to help start theatre companies here in the UK and in Guam. A facilitator, director, and now writer/performer, she creates art showcasing and celebrating the diaspora, as she believes that embracing these narratives can help fight political rhetoric demonising immigrants.
Sierra joins us on Close-Up Culture to talk about her show, For The Love Of Spam…
Hi! First things first, how are you?
Excited and scared and nervous and hopeful!
In your own words, can you describe for us what your show is about?
For the Love of Spam is a one – woman show, dedicated to canned meat a nd colonialism. It tells the story of my frankly concerning love of Spam, as I ate it in different contexts. And it eventually tells the tale of how Spam came to even exist in the Pacific and Asia, and how its presence puts whole nations lives at risk. It’ s a hilarious show, featuring puppetry, movement and live cooking on stage!
And if you were to condense that into three words, what would they be?
Hilarious, wild, and delicious.
What has preparation for the Fringe looked like for you so far?
Various runs and rehearsals to help get the show as smooth as possible. Lots of pep talks to myself in the mirror. Lots of Spam consumption – just the way I like it!
What do you want audiences to take away from seeing your show?
How much Spam means to me. Where the hell Guam even is. How food can represent so many different things. And just how absolutely nuts my sense of humour is.
How did you come up with the concept of your performance?
It genuinely started from a therapy session I’d had , where I was distraught that my husband didn’t eat Spam. From there, I realised Spam meant so much more to me than just a tin of meat. Then I connected Spam to modern day colonialism and felt there was something really interesting and unheard of there. So I drunkenly told my friend (now director) Izzy one night at the Pleasance London bar, and the next day she was asking to see a script! And here we are, just over a year later taking the show to Edinburgh with the Pleasance!
Edinburgh Fringe is certainly an incredibly busy event, what are you most looking forward to doing whilst there?
Seeing other shows and meeting other artists. Also, haggis.
Where can people catch your show this summer?
You can taste… I mean, catch, For the Love of Spam, at the Pleasance Courtyard Beside. 14:10, for the whole of the Fringe (31st July to 26th August). Just not on Wednesdays. Even Jesus had to rest on the 7th day, ya’ll!
And where can people follow your work?
You can follow me on Instagram, as that’s usually the best place to find me: @SierraSaysBuenas
Finally, what would be your dream venue or theatre to perform at?
Is it cringe to say that I’m already kind of performing at a dream venue? LOL I guess I’m a cringe person so it’s fine. The Pleasance team has been amazing during this whole process, and I’m so honoured to be performing at their iconic Edinburgh venue!
SHOW LINK: https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/love-spam
TWITTER / X ACCOUNT: @ SierraSBuenas
INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT: @SierraSaysBuenas