Improv Everywhere
Founded | New York, 2001 |
---|---|
Founder | Charlie Todd |
Type | Organization |
Focus | Comedic performance art group |
Area served | US and worldwide |
Method | Various missions and events organized locally and globally |
Website | improveverywhere.com |
Improv Everywhere (often abbreviated IE) is a comedic performance art group based in New York City, formed in 2001 by Charlie Todd. Its slogan is "We Cause Scenes".
The group carries out
While Improv Everywhere was created years before
In 2019, Improv Everywhere produced the Disney+ live-action series Pixar In Real Life, which premiered on 12 November 2019, with twelve episodes set to release monthly.[6][7]
Background
After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,[8] Todd started the group in August 2001 after playing a prank in a Manhattan bar with some friends that involved him pretending to be musician Ben Folds.[9] Later that year Todd started taking classes at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City where he first met most of the "Senior Agents" of Improv Everywhere. The owners of the theatre, The Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB), had a television series from 1998 to 2000 on Comedy Central. While primarily a sketch comedy show, the UCB often filmed their characters in public places with hidden cameras and showed the footage under the end credits. Both the UCB's show and their teachings on improv have been influential to Improv Everywhere.[1] Todd currently performs on a house team at the UCBT in New York, where he also taught for many years.[10]
Missions / events
All the missions share a certain modus operandi: Members ("agents") play their roles entirely straight, not breaking character or betraying that they are acting. IE claims the missions are benevolent, aiming to give the observers a laugh and a positive experience.[11]
Frozen Grand Central
Improv Everywhere's most popular YouTube video is "Frozen Grand Central", which has received over 35 million views.
Fake U2 Concert
On 21 May 2005, IE staged a fake
Look Up More
This 2005 performance piece, marking the biggest mission to that date both in logistics and personnel size, on line at Youtube with about 2 million views;[18] shows 70 agents performing timely choreographed moves while situated in each of the 70 windows in a large six-floored Manhattan retail store. The performers were all clothed in all black and were instructed to espouse directions (written down on palmsized sheets) unique to their spot (window). The performance lasted about 4 minutes and included a solo dance by three performers and the spelling of 'Look Up More' with 4-feet tall letters hold up by 10 of the performers.
References
- ^ a b "FAQ". Improv Everywhere. Retrieved 2008-10-05.
- ^ YouTube
- ^ "NBC Pickups". Variety. New York: Reed Elseiver. 29 January 2007. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ISBN 978-0061703638.
- ^ "We Cause Scenes". wecausescenes.com.
- ^ "Pixar In Real Life". Improv Everywhere. 2019-12-02. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
- ^ Improv Everywhere [@ImprovEvery] (November 15, 2019). "Yeah, they are releasing them one at a time. There are 12" (Tweet). Retrieved 2020-05-30 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Charlie Todd". Improv Everywhere.
- ^ Gallagher, Brian Thomas (June 12, 2008). "Prank You Kindly". New York Magazine. New York: New York Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ^ "Charlie Todd". Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ^ Hockamn, David (February 27, 2005). "When Chekhov Meets Whoopee Cushion". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- YouTube
- ^ Glazer, Eliot (August 24, 2009). "The 100 Most Iconic Internet Videos". urlesque. AOL, Inc. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ^ "Improv Everywhere on Nightline". YouTube.com Videos. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ^ Morgan, Spencer (June 29, 2009). "The Art of the Prank". Maxim.com. Alpha Media Groups Inc. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- ^ Robertson, Campbell (May 25, 2009). "Where the Streets Have No Shame". New York Times. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
- ^ "Vh1's Greatest Pranks on Video". vimeo. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
- YouTube
Further reading
- Charlie Todd and Alex Scordelis, Causing a Scene, HarperCollins, 2009