An Interview with Improv Everywhere's Charlie Todd

Can I get a napkin please?
I'm gonna need some just like these
I've got three or four but I might need more!
Can I get a napkin please?

It's unlikely, but you can see this very same musical on YouTube at no extra charge. The video in question took place at Baldwin Hills Mall in Los Angeles, CA. Sixteen "agents" (as they're referred to) of Improv Everywhere, a New York-based public humor collective, made it their mission to "create a spontaneous musical out of nowhere" in a public place.

The video depicts the various agents, some posing as employees of the mall, singing and dancing to recorded music playing over the PA system, much to the shock, delight (and in some cases, annoyance) of the food court patrons. The "Food Court Musical," as the video is entitled, is one among many "missions" (the preferred term of the group, as opposed to "pranks") staged by the agents of Improv Everywhere.

Created in 2001 by improv veteran Charlie Todd, the group has "executed over 70 missions involving thousands of undercover agents," according to ImprovEverywhere.com. Todd attended college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC.) Currently, even while involved with Improv Everywere, he teaches and performs improv comedy acts at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre on W. 26th St., in NYC.

"I grew up watching SNL," says Todd of his interest in comedy. "I'm obsessed with sketch comedy. I also did improv in college...I discovered the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre when I was about 22 years old."

Besides the "Food Court" mission, IE has made itself famous for such undertakings as "Slo-Mo Home Depot," in which 225 agents showed up to a Home Depot on 23rd St. in Manhattan for a briefing. Todd instructed them to synchronize their watches and shop at Home Depot until 4:15, at which time they would all begin moving in slow motion for five minutes. When time was up, they would return to shopping normally for ten minutes.

At 4:25, they would all freeze in place at the exact same moment (again for five minutes); after it passed, the agents once again would return to normal shopping, and eventually exit the store. The video can be seen here: Improv Everywhere: Slo-Mo Home Depot. The soundtrack to the video consists of, appropriately, "Slow Motion" by the Flaming Lips, and Jewel's "Standing Still," which, coincidentally, began to play in the store just as the agents froze in place.

You may wonder whether you can suggest your ideas to the group. "Absolutely," replies Todd. "I get e-mails every day from around the world; every now and then I get a good one, and we might decide to use it." Todd's e-mail can be found at their homepage.

Since their inception, the group has gained quite a bit of media attention, particularly for certain missions. Todd has found himself doing a number of interviews for news shows, websites, and magazines. "It tends to be whenever we have a mission," he says. "When I have time, I'm happy to do them...my favorites are the ones that are live; I really had fun doing Countdown with Keith Olbermann."

One of IE's most popular videos is "Best Game Ever," in which the agents picked a random little league game in Hermosa Beach, CA, and turned it into a major league baseball game. The commissioner of the Hermosa Beach Little League gave them permission to set up their equipment before the game started, so as to pull off the mission successfully.

Among the "major league" additions to the game were mascots, a full color program, baseball card photos of the players, and play-by-play courtesy of Todd and legendary sportscaster Jim Gray (notorious for his detective-style grilling of pro players.) Unlike some of their more "mischief"-oriented missions, "Best Game Ever" received nothing but positive responses. And, thankfully, no one was kicked off the field. NBC, who not long ago accepted a pilot for an Improv Everywhere TV show, provided Gray, their Jumbotron, and a flyover by the Goodyear Blimp as surprises. Unfortunately, the show never came to fruition.

While Improv Everywhere has never technically done anything illegal, several of their missions have resulted in people's arrests. "We did a U2 mission," Todd explains, "and a few people were arrested; all charges were dropped, though. 'No Pants' had 900 participants in New York, [when we did] it for the 7th year in a row." The 2006 version of this mission resulted in 8 people being ticketed, 6 of whom were handcuffed and taken to a police precinct. They were charged with "disorderly conduct," but the charges were once again dismissed.

How do people hear of Improv Everywhere? "Most people hear about us directly from our site," says Todd. "New missions also get vlogged...a lot of people pick us up on Blinklist, Blingbling, and Reddit.

They are, however, no strangers to the news media, either. In February '05, they were featured in an issue of Spin magazine; A blurb about Charlie Todd was written into New York Magazine in its "Ten Funniest New Yorkers You've Never Heard Of"; Rolling Stone highlighted them in its '05 Hot List; and Todd was included in Time Out New York's August '07 article "Street Fighters," featuring a photo of their "Look Up" mission in Union Square. While it would be fun to describe each and every one of these missions here, you'd almost certainly enjoy watching them a lot more: Improv Everywhere: Video

While most of their missions take place in New York, there have been many offshoots. Todd is responsible for starting The Urban Prankster Network, which at present has 23,053 members worldwide (and counting.) Besides Improv Everywhere, T.U.P.N. includes Adelaide Flash Mob (Australia), Boston Society of Spontaneity, DC Defenestrators (Washington, D.C.), and Jakarta Mystifier (Indonesia.)

Even before Improv Everywhere's official creation, however, Todd was the mastermind behind some sort of mischief. He credits "Ben Folds' Last Night In Town" as their first official mission, in which "I impersonated [Ben Folds] in a bar...and fooled the entire bar." He even signed autographs and received the phone number of a female fan. Later on in 2006, Todd received an e-mail from Corn Mo, who was on the road with Folds, informing him that Folds wanted to stage a mission at one of his NY shows. This mission actually ended up unfolding (no pun intended) when Folds had Todd and two other agents impersonate the band during the concert. The mission was pulled off successfully, with hilarious results.

"I definitely do Improv Everywhere because I enjoy it," says Todd, upon reflection. "It's very fun to be an improv teacher, and run a fun website." Occasionally, however, their work has been stolen by imitators (without due credit.) A marketing company in England stole the "Food Court Musical" idea, and staged a remarkably similar show in London's Stansted Airport. Law & Order: SVU also blatantly imitated their "Frozen Grand Central" mission, in an episode featuring Robin Williams and Mo Rocca in cameos. "It'd be nice if they'd credit us," says Todd, "but we can't change that."

So, what does the future hold for Improv Everywhere? That all depends. "At the end of September, we have our MP3 Experiment...that's an annual event. It takes place in different public places." The event in question involves large groups of people all listening to the same MP3 at once on their respective iPods, and performing actions in turn.

And though the group hasn't officially won any awards for their work, Todd stresses that isn't the reason why they perform. "I guess we could get a Webby Award," he says, "but that isn't what we're after."

If you want to participate, be the first to sign up! Check Improv Everywhere's site, and become part of the madness.