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Writers Against (Library) Piracy
12014-06-04T16:22:28-07:00Samantha Closef42637f3cf8f8e584095341d3b0809f178e3d4496104Picture of Improv Everywhere Writers and Piracy Mission at the New York Public Libraryplain2014-07-25T01:46:24-07:00Diana Lee0c994d7f9dc5ee78dc93d8c823c300c060b9c890
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12014-06-06T12:28:49-07:00Sangita Shresthova497a02d289c277275bc5ece441097deedf8135e7Browse Media LibraryGabriel Peters-Lazaro15Media Library tag for Browse Media Librarystructured_gallery2015-12-07T11:13:12-08:00Gabriel Peters-Lazaro3bc3965831120bc593545fef6d0da73657e21ea0
12014-06-06T13:43:55-07:00Sangita Shresthova497a02d289c277275bc5ece441097deedf8135e7Media About Geo-, Space, and EnvironmentDiana Lee8Media Library tag for Geo-, Space, and Environmentstructured_gallery2015-01-26T21:08:32-08:00Diana Lee0c994d7f9dc5ee78dc93d8c823c300c060b9c890
12014-06-06T13:42:58-07:00Sangita Shresthova497a02d289c277275bc5ece441097deedf8135e7Media About Economic IssuesDiana Lee7Media Library tag for Economic Issuesstructured_gallery2015-01-26T21:10:22-08:00Diana Lee0c994d7f9dc5ee78dc93d8c823c300c060b9c890
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1media/Improv.jpg2014-06-02T14:03:30-07:00Improv Everywhere34Org page for Improv Everywhereimage_header2015-11-17T17:16:20-08:00
About
Improv Everywhere is a flash comedy sketch, stunt, and prank group. Charlie Todd founded the collective in 2001, and it continues to be based in New York City but also travels with "missions" of causing scenes and playing pranks in public spaces. The group posts missions online and invites "agents" to participate in their scenes and games. Smaller, more involved missions are circulated among people who have worked with the group for a long time or have particular skills, like singing, or fit particular profiles, like being twins. Other, larger mission are open to anyone on Improv Everywhere's mailing list or who see the mission call posted online. So far, tens of thousands of people in fifteen different countries have participated in Improv Everywhere missions. Some missions, like the McDonald's Bathroom Attendant or Black Friday Dollar Store, are one-off and created to make a particular point. Others, like the No Pants Subway Ride or the MP3 Experiments, have become annual or touring missions that many people can take part in.
Improv Everywhere draws on the power of humor and joy in all of their missions. They encourage people to see public space differently or to question accepted ways the world is structured. Unlike Laughter For A Change (and despite their name!), Improv Everywhere does not actually use many techniques of improv comedy. They often prepare scenes or offer instructions for their missions and then see what happens when people play out unusual situations in public.
Documentation is a key part of Improv Everywhere's civic practice. They make sure to include special agents with cameras, both still and video, as part of their missions. They also write up each mission as a blog entry, where they can detail how the mission was planned, interesting things that happened during the mission, any consequences, and gather together all the related media.
If you're interested in Improv Everywhere's work, please go ahead and contact them here!
