Improv Everywhere: Difference between revisions

Line 9:

* [[Anticlimax]]: To celebrate five years after what he considered IE's first mission, Charlie Todd [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBS04FZrtb4 attempted to call] one of that mission's [[The Mark|marks]] (who had given him her phone number), to see if she had ever figured out it was a prank. When he dialed, {{spoiler|a voice told him the number had been disconnected.}} Lampshaded in the Improv Everywhere book.

* [[April Fools]]: ~~Thrice,~~ IE has posted a fake mission on April 1, with the joke being on the fans of the website. In 2009, they claimed to have [http://improveverywhere.com/2009/04/01/best-funeral-ever/ crashed a funeral], and in 2010, they supposedly [http://improveverywhere.com/2010/04/01/no-underwear-subway-ride/ rode the subway sans pants and underwear]. In 2011, they created a "sequel" to [http://improveverywhere.com/2010/07/14/star-wars-subway-car/ "Star Wars Subway Car"] in which [http://improveverywhere.com/2011/04/01/jar-jar-subway-car/ an actor playing Jar Jar Binks gets beat up on a subway train.] The 2009 prank actually fooled the media as well, and was reported on as a real event.

* [[April Fools]]: Four times IE has posted a fake mission on April 1, with the joke being on the fans of the website. In 2009, they claimed to have [http://improveverywhere.com/2009/04/01/best-funeral-ever/ crashed a funeral], and in 2010, they supposedly [http://improveverywhere.com/2010/04/01/no-underwear-subway-ride/ rode the subway sans pants and underwear]. In 2011, they created a "sequel" to [http://improveverywhere.com/2010/07/14/star-wars-subway-car/ "Star Wars Subway Car"] in which [http://improveverywhere.com/2011/04/01/jar-jar-subway-car/ an actor playing Jar Jar Binks gets beat up on a subway train.] In 2013 they posted a video of what was alleged to be [http://improveverywhere.com/2013/04/01/reverse-times-square/ their operatives walking backwards ''en masse'' through Times Square]. The 2009 prank actually fooled the media as well, and was reported on as a real event.

* [[Big Applesauce]]: The group is based in New York City and performs most of its missions there, probably because it's the only place where you could get away with the stuff they do.

* [[Bavarian Fire Drill]]: See their Best Buy operation.

* [[The Cameo]]: Ann Curry has a bit part near the end of "I Love Lunch! The Musical" (see below), which was filmed for ~~the~~ Today Show.

* [[The Cameo]]: Ann Curry has a bit part near the end of "I Love Lunch! The Musical" (see below), which was filmed for ''The Today Show''.

* [[Candid Camera Prank]]: Nearly every mission is one of these, as IE usually uses hidden cameras to record the mission and capture people's reactions.

* [[Crowd Song]]: Their "spontaneous" public musicals, which they've done ~~five~~ of so far:

* [[Crowd Song]]: Their "spontaneous" public musicals, which they've done six of so far:

** [http://improveverywhere.com/2008/03/09/food-court-musical/ Food Court Musical]: Sixteen agents, posing as employees and customers in a mall food court, break into song about their collective need for napkins.

** [http://improveverywhere.com/2009/10/20/grocery-store-musical/ Grocery Store Musical]: Six agents, posing as employees and shoppers in the produce section of a grocery store, break into song about how they must "squish [their] fruit together."

Line 20:

** [http://improveverywhere.com/2011/05/09/gotta-share-the-musical/ Gotta Share]: A bunch of agents at the 2011 annual GEL conference interrupt a fake presentation with a song about their love for social media.

** [http://improveverywhere.com/2011/11/29/mall-santa-musical/ Mall Santa Musical]: Several agents in a shopping mall break into song about their desire to sit on Santa's lap.

** [http://improveverywhere.com/2014/12/16/epic-christmas-caroling/ Epic Christmas Caroling]: What starts out as a classic instance of carolers in 18th century costume at the door of a suburban home soon turns into a production number with chorus, 20-piece mini-orchestra and dancing Santas.

* [[Dead Person Impersonation]]: Done non-maliciously in the [http://improveverywhere.com/2004/02/29/anton-chekov/ Anton Chekhov] and [http://improveverywhere.com/2011/03/06/king-philip-iv/ King Philip IV] missions.

* [[Doing It for the Art]]: Of comedy. No one gets paid, and everyone participates just for the sake of causing random fun.

Line 28:

Line 29:

* [[Identical Stranger]]: The basis for the [http://improveverywhere.com/2011/03/06/king-philip-iv/ King Philip IV] prank.

* [[Interrupted Suicide]]: [http://improveverywhere.com/2005/12/10/suicide-jumper/ Suicide Jumper]

* [[The Jimmy Hart Version]]: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKB7zfopiUA Who You Gonna Call?] features one of the [[Ghostbusters]] theme.

* [[The Jimmy Hart Version]]: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKB7zfopiUA Who You Gonna Call?] features one of the ''[[Ghostbusters]]'' theme.

* [[Loophole Abuse]]: Many of the pranks bank their success on this trope, and as such it's usually exploited by the group:

** What's wrong with forty-odd people in khakis and blue shirts just standing around in a [http://improveverywhere.com/2006/04/23/best-buy/ Best Buy] helping anyone who mistakes them for employees? (Besides freaking out the management, that is.)

Line 38:

Line 39:

* [[Mistaken for Servant]]: [http://improveverywhere.com/2006/04/23/best-buy/ Best Buy]: 80 agents wearing blue polo shirts and khaki pants enter a Best Buy.

* [[New York Subway]]: A great many of their pranks are carried out here.

* [[Non-Indicative Name]]: They call themselves Improv Everywhere...but they don't do much [[Improv]]; the events are more like elaborate pranks, and are almost always planned out in detail. They also aren't as "everywhere" as they seem; despite the logo on each video showing the entire U.S., almost all official events take place in [http://improveverywhere.com/2010/11/16/mission-map/ Manhattan.]

* [[Non-Indicative Name]]: They call themselves Improv Everywhere... but they don't do much [[Improv]]; the events are more like elaborate pranks, and are almost always planned out in detail. They also aren't as "everywhere" as they seem; despite the logo on each video showing the entire U.S., almost all official events take place in [http://improveverywhere.com/2010/11/16/mission-map/ Manhattan.]

** The "Improv" bit of their name is a bit of an [[Artifact]], in that the first IE missions had ''very'' little planning and were in fact improv routines and techniques sprung on an unwitting public. Charlie Todd actually teaches and performs improv for the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre.

* [[Not Wearing Pants]]: [http://improveverywhere.com/missions/the-no-pants-subway-ride/ No Pants! Subway Ride] Now done annually.

* [[Novelization]]: Of sorts. ''Causing a Scene'', co-written by Charlie Todd, documented some of IE's more memorable missions, and included tips from agents about how readers could run similar pranks in their own cites.

* [[Obfuscating Stupidity]]: Most mission agents are told to pretend they don't know anything about the mission. Also, [http://improveverywhere.com/2009/11/30/wheres-rob/ this guy]

** Plus, some of the paranoid guards are ridiculous. "Thomas Crown Affair! Thomas Crown Affair," shouted one real worker in the Best Buy, as if "were using [their] fake uniforms to stage some type of elaborate heist." “I want every available employee out on the floor RIGHT NOW!”

** Plus, some of the paranoid guards are ridiculous. "Thomas Crown Affair! Thomas Crown Affair," shouted one real worker in the Best Buy, as if they "were using [their] fake uniforms to stage some type of elaborate heist." “I want every available employee out on the floor RIGHT NOW!”

* [[Our Ghosts Are Different]]: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKB7zfopiUA&feature=player_embedded Who You Gonna Call?] Apparently these ghosts like to read books, use laptops and check words in the dictionary.

* [[Pillow Pregnancy]]: The pregnant lady in the grocery store musical isn't really pregnant.

* [[Retraux]]: Parodied with the [http://improveverywhere.com/2005/08/28/old-timey-1997-photo-booth/ Old Timey 1997 Photo Booth].

* [[Retraux]]: Parodied with the [http://improveverywhere.com/2005/08/28/old-timey-1997-photo-booth/ Old Timey 1997 Photo Booth] and the [http://improveverywhere.com/2013/06/17/the-1860s-bar/ 1860s Bar].

* [[Rooftop Concert]]: Once got a cover band pretend to be [[U2]] and play some of the band's songs on top of a Manhattan rooftop ([[Shout-Out|in reference to]] the band's [[Music Video]] for "Where The Streets Have No Name") when the real band was scheduled to play at Madison Square Garden.

* [[Rule of Fun]]: Improv Everywhere actually distills the [[Rule of Fun]] into clean, alternative energy.

* [[Shirtless Scene]]: [http://improveverywhere.com/2007/10/17/no-shirts/ No Shirts]: 111 male agents enter an Abercrombie & Fitch store and take off their shirts.

* [[This Is My Side]]: [http://improveverywhere.com/2010/06/08/the-tourist-lane/ The Tourist Lane]: Agents draw a chalk line down a sidewalk, dividing it into a "Tourist" lane and a "New Yorker" lane.

* [[Time Stands Still]]: [http://improveverywhere.com/2008/01/31/frozen-grand-central/ Frozen Grand Central]

* [[Time Stands Still]]: [http://improveverywhere.com/2008/01/31/frozen-grand-central/ Frozen Grand Central].

* [[Wacky Marriage Proposal]]: [http://improveverywhere.com/2002/06/09/will-you-marry-me/?/ Will You Marry Me?]: An agent enlists the help of strangers in a subway to hold up signs to propose to his "girlfriend" (who is actually his wife).

* [[Wedding Day]]: [http://improveverywhere.com/2009/06/02/surprise-wedding-reception/ Surprise Wedding Reception], obviously.

* [[Weirdness Censor]]: Defying this is a recurring theme.

* [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?]]?: "[http://improveverywhere.com/2008/04/07/best-game-ever/ Best Game Ever]": A Little League ~~kids'~~ baseball game gets the trappings of a pro game, with a huge influx of fans in team colours waving banners with the players' names, vendors giving out food and programs, mascots, a "Jumbotron" video screen displaying the action, camera crews, CBS Sports commentator Jim Gray providing commentary and the Goodyear blimp passing overhead displaying messages for both teams.

* [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?]]?: "[http://improveverywhere.com/2008/04/07/best-game-ever/ Best Game Ever]": A kids' Little League baseball game gets all the trappings of a pro game, with a huge influx of fans in team colours waving banners with the players' names, vendors giving out food and programs, mascots, a "Jumbotron" video screen displaying the action, camera crews, CBS Sports commentator Jim Gray providing commentary and the Goodyear blimp passing overhead displaying messages for both teams.

** [[Star Wars|Imperial Stormtroopers]] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5gCeWEGiQI&feature=player_embedded capture Princess Leia on the New York subway].

** [http://improveverywhere.com/2002/09/14/the-amazing-stuntmen/ The Amazing Stuntmen]

** [http://improveverywhere.com/2002/09/14/the-amazing-stuntmen/ The Amazing Stuntmen].

** [http://improveverywhere.com/2014/04/01/spider-man-in-real-life/ Spider-Man in Real Life]. Most of the "[movie] in Real Life" operations, in fact.