For those of you who don’t know, Improv Everywhere is a New York-based group that uses public spaces for spontaneous improv “scenes.” They’re most famous for the fake U2 concert that they staged across from Madison Square Garden a few years back.
On August 19th, Improv Everywhere struck again, with over 250 225 “agents” invading a local Home Depot, where they shopped in slow motion for five minutes, and then froze in place.
I know I promised no more video links, but hey, sue me.
[gv data="http://www.youtube.com/v/29NLOhBttxA"][/gv]
Unfiction regular & LCP player TomTom participated in the event, his first Improv Everywhere experience, and came back so excited. What is really fantastic – he’s just a minor (not even driving age, I don’t believe) and his parents take part in his crazy little things with him. Both went to the Improv Everywhere event and his dad brought him to the NY Graveyard Games and NY’s ARGfest. How cool is that?!
He reminds me, in so many ways, of DanmanD. Both are smart kids with a casual confidence about them that lets them interact well with kids & adults of all ages. I can’t help but think that wonderful parenting that not only encourages the exploration of play along with knowledge but participates along with has something to do with it.
Oh, and thanks for that video link – very cool :)
Wasn’t one of the original Lockjaw PMs a member of Improv Everywhere??
Yeah, good memory! Ross White was involved with it. He was also our project lead for a month or so before getting hit with real life and disappearing. I do wish he hadn’t though. He had some great ideas.
I’ll be the voice of dissent here… I actually think this kind of prank runs the risk of creating a bad name for public play overall. I prefer improv everywhere’s mp3 experiment, for example, which emphasizes the internal gameplay of the group assembled in public, as opposed to the external reaction of confused/in-the-dark bystanders.
Hmm, yeah. Good point, Jane. They definitely emphasize iliciting strong reactions from bystanders as what seems to be a primary goal.