Painting the City with Pranks: Improv Everywhere Raids Rockaway Beach
Improv Everywhere’s influence is quickly spreading beyond the limits of NYC. Todd’s group inspired Mallory Nezam to start STL Improv Anywhere in St. Louis last October.
“I’d learned about New York Improv Everywhere the summer prior,” Nezam said. “I love the way that Improv Everywhere seemed to surprise New Yorkers with a moment of magic in their otherwise routine worlds.”
STL’s first performance came two months after its formation. Posing as security guards at an art gallery, performers enforced ridiculous laws, fined people, roped off art exhibits, and eventually arrested the DJ.
“People loved it so much that we kept the group going,” Nezam said.
Engaging strangers in mass, seemingly spontaneous performances is fast becoming an integral piece of how American performance artists, like Nezam and Todd, utilize public space.
“Our art demands that our members consider and interact with their city and its inhabitants differently,” Nezam said. “Our art commands citizens to consider their public spaces in a new way, and to question how they act and interact in those spaces. In this way, our medium is the city. The city is to us as paint is to a painter.”
Similarly, Todd began Improv Everywhere as a drama major new to the city, looking for work in theatre or comedy. He found it on the streets of New York.
“Staging performances in public places was really just me using the only stage I had access to,” Todd said.
After ten years of causing scenes in NYC, the future looks bright for Improv Everywhere. Todd plans on continuing to liven up the city with a new stock of pranks.
“I hope we can keep things fresh and interesting, and that we keep finding new projects that excite us,” Todd said. “I’m very happy with where we are right now, and I’m continually working to keep things going on the same track.”
Interested in being a part of the fun? Join Improv Everywhere’s mailing list at www.improveverywhere.com. Look out for a No Pants Subway Ride announcement in mid-December. Don’t worry, according to the Web site, “No experience is required, just a desire to have fun and an ability to keep a straight face.”
