Urban Prankster » nyc

Surprise Surveillance Theatre

Charlie Todd — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 04:02:05 +0000

Surprise Surveillance Theater from Jason Eppink on Vimeo.

Jason Eppink just released the video from his Surprise Surveillance Theatre project.

He explains:

Surprise Surveillance Theater was an interactive theater experience, performed live for hundreds, unbeknownst to the unwitting stars of the show. It was part of the Lost Horizon Night Market, an extraordinary, modular, participatory art party that takes place in unmarked box trucks on low-traffic back streets in New York City.

The goal was to take unwitting revelers and throw them into a narrative about a black market, requiring the target to pass secret notes, have rendezvous, wear a wire, and make a mystery delivery. All of this was watched by a live audience on more than a dozen TVs showing footage captured by strategically placed video cameras, but the scope of the experience was only revealed to the target at the very end when he or she delivered a secret package to the waiting audience.

Improv Everywhere Ice Skating Prank

Charlie Todd — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 05:29:22 +0000

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For Improv Everywhere’s latest mission an ice skater stranded alone on the rink transformed from a novice into an expert in New York’s Bryant Park. The project was a collaboration with Ice Theatre of New York.

Read all about it: Worst Ice Skater Ever?

Carousel Horse Race Prank by Improv Everywhere
New Improv Everywhere: The Mute Button

Improv Everywhere’s Mp3 Experiment Seven

Charlie Todd — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 14:05:03 +0000

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Edited by Keith Haskel / music by Tyler Walker

For Improv Everywhere’s latest mission, over 3,000 participants downloaded an MP3 file and pressed play simultaneously in retail stores in Midtown Manhattan. The masses converged on Bryant Park where a series of fun activities unfolded, culminating in a huge “mummy dance party.” This was the 7th installment in the Mp3 Experiment series.

Carousel Horse Race Prank by Improv Everywhere
New Improv Everywhere: The Mute Button

Poster Boy – Gone Fishin

Charlie Todd — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 12:18:36 +0000

On February 21, 2009, an advertising firm handed Poster Boy a MoMA jacket and gave him free range of the MoMA branded Atlantic-Pacific subway station in New York. Turns out the firm wasn’t supposed to do that, and MoMA fired them. Whoops.

Check out Posterboy’s brand new book.

Via Keith Haskel

Improv Everywhere’s Black Tie Beach Prank

Charlie Todd — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 14:51:15 +0000

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Produced by Charlie Todd and Matt Adams / music by Tyler Walker

For our latest mission we had several hundred agents spend a day at Coney Island / Brighton Beach wearing black tie attire. We covered a mile-long stretch of beach with a diverse group of people of all ages (from babies to sixty-somethings) laying out, playing games, and swimming in the ocean, all in formal wear. Agents were instructed to find cheap tuxedos and ball gowns at thrift stores for the occasion.

Carousel Horse Race Prank by Improv Everywhere
New Improv Everywhere: The Mute Button

Outtakes from Star Wars Subway Car

Charlie Todd — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 17:22:32 +0000

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An outtakes video from Improv Everywhere’s Star Wars Subway Car mission.

New Improv Everywhere: The Mute Button
Carousel Horse Race Prank by Improv Everywhere

Improv Everywhere: Star Wars Subway Car Prank

Charlie Todd — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 06:39:04 +0000

(View it larger on YouTube)
edited by Matt Adams / music by Gustav Holst, arranged by Tyler Walker

For their latest mission, Improv Everywhere staged a reenactment of the first Princess Leia / Darth Vader scene from Star Wars on a New York City subway car.

Photos and report: Star Wars Subway Car

Carousel Horse Race Prank by Improv Everywhere
New Improv Everywhere: The Mute Button

Miranda July’s Eleven Heavy Things

Alex Scordelis — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 12:04:55 +0000

Miranda July, the performance artist/writer/actress/director best known for her film, Me and You and Everyone We Know, has installed her public art piece Eleven Heavy Things in New York’s Union Square Park. The sculptures, which debuted at the 2009 Venice Biennale, are designed to create photo-ops for passersby who choose to interact with the art.

New Improv Everywhere: The Tourist Lane

Charlie Todd — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 00:35:55 +0000

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idea by Jeff Greenspan / edited by Matt Adams / song by Tyler Walker

For Improv Everywhere’s latest mission, they created separate walking lanes for tourists and New Yorkers on a Fifth Avenue sidewalk. Department of Transportation “employees” were on hand to enforce the new rules and ask pedestrians for their feedback on the initiative. Enjoy the video first and then go behind-the-scenes with the photos and report on IE’s site:

Improv Everywhere: The Tourist Lane

Also check out these other recent Improv Everywhere missions:

I Love Lunch! project page

Who You Gonna Call? project page

Guerrila Handbell Strikeforce project page

Where's Rob project page

Subscribe to Improv Everywhere on YouTube

New Improv Everywhere: The Mute Button
Carousel Horse Race Prank by Improv Everywhere

New Stop Sign Design

Charlie Todd — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 18:21:37 +0000

Awesome video by Keith Haskel of a new Aakash Nihalani installation. Watch until the end.