Austin Improv

hello folks!
austinImprov (i know, i know, i tried out a bunch of different names and it just looked the best. don't drink on that hateorade.) had their plotting meeting this saturday and we have our first mission lined up and ready to go! here is the ensuing tome of a post regarding that mission from our web page:

agents:
prepare for your first successful mission in austin: operation pillow fight!

report from saturday: about 20 agents showed up to participate in our plotting meeting and we were able to garner a lot of good ideas for the future. i'll post more about those after this mission is pulled.

please pay close attention for details regarding not only this mission, but the guidelines for improvAustin in general.

improvAustin strives to undertake:
1. harmeless fun that is inclusive and takes into consideration the positive/negative effect of any and all missions proposed.
2. a supportive, encouraging and creative environment where all ideas and submissions are heard.
3. an anticipated equal leadership partnership. every member of improvAustin is encouraged to lead a mission, thus sharing the responsibility and the excitement!
4. did i mention FUN?

bat bridge pillow fiiight! deets are as follows:
we decided to go with a low-risk mission to start off, doesn't require practice nor does it threaten disruption/termination from security or business owners. we're going to watch the bats come out at the s. congress bridge, folks! bring a pillow to sit on, and join in the pillow fight once the cue has been given. after 4 minutes of "fighting" resume your seated position and maintain your watch for the bats ascent. i, agent filkins, will be the leader of this mission for lack of time to hand it off to anyone else. plus, it's fun to be the leader.

the layout:
SATURDAY AUGUST 23RD
-7:15pm all agent's in place on the hillside to the E of the bridge (sunset is forecasted @ 8:03pm that evening)
-bring yourself and a pillow. bring a friend or several and appropriate number of pillows.
-sit anywhere you like. be on the look out for other agents sitting on pillows, and locate yourself accordingly. do not approach other agents with questions or mention anything about the mission.
-7:30pm two designated agents begin whacking each other with their pillows (WHO WANTS TO VOLUNTEER? preferably 2 agents, who are on the slightly younger age spectrum of our group, so it appears a little more normal. also, they might come together so they can plan out how they'll initiate their fight.). all other agents remain seated and observe along with the rest of the crowd. start counting a minute off in your head or glance at your cell phone (or other atomic clock ordered device, so we are all on the same exact time) a couple times, letting them continue on their own for 1 minute.
-7:31pm all other agents/friends of agents initiate fights with anyone who has a pillow! do not hit to maim, folks! try to take it easy, but also make it look authentic! have fun! switch it up, fight with multiple people, going distances to make it happen. be aggressive and play to win! (POSITION FILLED BY: agent jones. who will be the "crowd stirrer" who walks around during the pillow fight and question bystanders about what is happening, who started this? why wasn't i invited? man, nobody told me this is what goes on at the bat bridge, cool!, etc.)
-7:35pm a referee (WHO WANTS TO VOLUNTEER? 1 agent who currently owns a ref shirt (or very very similar in appearance) and whistle) who has been watching all this activity from a stationary ref stance blows their whistle and all activity comes to a SCREECHING HALT. all eyes go to the ref who walks over to an agent s/he declares the WINNER (holds hand and raises it, ref like) and amidst great cheering and clapping, all agents resume their seated positions.
-any inquiries in regards to the reason behind the pillow fight should be answered with an innocuous response along the lines of "oh, i just love pillow fights!" or some such hilarity.
-8:20pm (aprox., after the bats have made their appearance) any and all agents who would like to participate in a play-by-play with the group will meet at the STEVIE STATUE on the W side of the s. congress bridge. it'll be fun to discuss how our experiences were, what worked, what we should have planned for, etc.

to recap our volunteer needs:
- 2 agents who know each other and are fairly young to be the initial pillow fighters for a total of one minute, who will then meld into the group once they join in
- 1 agent with a referee shirt and whistle to be the ref, watch the time and players closely, and declare a winner at 7:35pm exactly
- CHECK, POSITION FILLED BY: agent jones. 1 agent to be a crowd stirrer to talk with innocent bystanders in the crowd about what is going on.

parking might be something of a challenge, but just plan enough time in and you should be fine. remember all weekend street parking is free and across the bride to the S there is a gravel parking lot at the intersection of riverside and barton springs.

please post responses to the specific volunteer needs ASAP and any and all questions or concerns i haven't addressed.

good luck, i'm pumped and ready to show austin some improv on the cuff! got your game on?
-agent filkins


contact me with any questions!
-megaMelissa

megaMelissa - I am trying hard to not git my drank on, but I felt compelled to point out that the Austin Improv Collective had put in a great deal of time and effort developing a brand. For you to step in and use the name AustinImprov seems a little shady and could potentially cause some problems. I am not at all speaking for the AIC, but as a member I am concerned that any publicity of your event might cause the general public to associate your group with ours. While there is surely some overlap, they are two very different things and are not interchangeable.

Again - I am not speaking for the AIC. These are just my concerns. I was wondering to myself:

What if these missions are poorly done? or unorganized? or spark others outside of your group to do more daring/dangerous events? What if they are just poorly received by the Austin community? The AIC may be "guilty" by confusion and therefore possible lose some support. I also understand that the AIC could enjoy some unintended free publicity out of it.

Anyhow, these are just questions that came up for me. I am not suggesting that your events will not be successful. It is just that the decision to call yourself AustinImprov affects more than just those that choose to be a part of it. I hope you will take that into consideration as you move forward.

Best of luck with the pillow fight. It sounds fun!

I love Improv Everywhere and completely, fully support these kinds of events in Austin. I hope to get involved and do some of them with you guys at some point.

but I would like to request that you guys use a different name. I think it's the considerate and respectful thing to do. We've spent the last four years trying to build something in Austin under that very name, with that website.

But you are a bad-ass for making this kind of thing happen. Do we know you already? Are you an improviser in Austin? If not, come hang out and say hello.

I agree with Ted. Brand recognition/differentiation aside, I think you'd be better served avoiding the already overloaded term "improv". There's a national chain of standup comedy theaters called The Improv, and there's improv the artform. Plus, Improv Everywhere publicly acknowledges that their name isn't the best. From their FAQ:

[quote]Our one request is that if you start your group you do not use “Improv Everywhereâ€

i hear your concerns and was slightly confused as to your direct unhappiness. please note, i typed the name incorrectly. i chose improvAustin, on the improv everywhere network as the group name for the austin chapter. now that is the same just reverse order of words as austin improv, so it might be confusing yet. i will consider changing the name to something more distinctive and different from your organization. in NO way do i want to steal your reputation and i support your hard earned level of quality. thanks for your kind responses. just so new and haven't really had time to think of something better. i'm open to suggestions!
-megaMelissa

agentImprov wrote: in NO way do i want to steal your reputation and i support your hard earned level of quality. thanks for your kind responses. just so new and haven't really had time to think of something better. i'm open to suggestions!
-megaMelissa

Sweet. Good to hear. I definitely think you'll find a lot of people here that can help with your events.

Here are some name ideas off the top of my head:

Mission: Austin
Austin Street Theatre (a more accurate description than improv, anyhow)
Austin Theatre Squadron
Austin Prankster Society

I can do better than that. I'll return with a longer, better list.

Spontaneous Austin (SPA), delivering creative SPA treatments to the citizens of Austin.

Kathy Rose Center wrote:Spontaneous Austin (SPA), delivering creative SPA treatments to the citizens of Austin.

NICE!!!

Melissa,

Just wanted to offer something from my experience of having gone on a couple of Improv Everywhere missions in NYC.

You want to have all your agents meet at a neutral location first before heading over to the location of the mission.

The reasons are multiple:
- for you to see exactly how many agents you have there for this mission.
- so the agents can know who is in on the joke. That way, if they are alone, they can couple up with someone else and will not then target the non-initiated with their pillow fighting. Also, when they get to the site, they can see where agents have already planted themselves, so that they spread out the pillow fighting as much as possible.

Also, you might want to show everyone a cue that is more imperceptible to the average joe, both for starting the pillow fight and ending it.

One of things that adds the veneer of surreality for ImprovEverywhere tasks are the fact that things just all of a sudden start and all of a sudden end and no one is the wiser afterwards.

The way you have it now is it looks like two people start a pillow fight and then everyone else is inspired to do the same. Also, if you have everyone sit back down afterwards, they are going to be asked questions by everyone there. ImprovEverywhere missions usually end with people leaving the site so that people won't know why and how what happened happened.

If you need a suggestion for a possible cue, I would suggest you show up at the mission with a bright red umbrella. When you open it, everyone starts pillow fighting, when you close it, everyone suddenly leaves. Something like that.

I hope that is helpful.

Sounds like a fun mission. Wish I was going to be in town.

Roy Janik wrote: Austin Prankster Society

oh, what about Trickster Society? i just see Anansi, Coyote, Raven and Loki all sitting around, sipping tea.

i love this idea. wish i was around more to participate. le sigh...

I'm not a fan of "pranks" and "tricks," which often have malevolent intent or "fun" at the expense of others. As I understand it, Improv Everywhere has more benevolent & broader objectives, creating a sense of curiosity, wonder or amazement.

Kathy Rose Center wrote:I'm not a fan of "pranks" and "tricks," which often have malevolent intent or "fun" at the expense of others. As I understand it, Improv Everywhere has more benevolent & broader objectives, creating a sense of curiosity, wonder or amazement.

I agree, but Charlie Todd of Improv Everywhere runs the Urban Prankster site, so I think they make use of the term themselves.

Kathy Rose Center wrote:I'm not a fan of "pranks" and "tricks," which often have malevolent intent or "fun" at the expense of others. As I understand it, Improv Everywhere has more benevolent & broader objectives, creating a sense of curiosity, wonder or amazement.

I would call quite a number of the missions on ImprovEverywhere pranks. I wonder if the security people at Best Buy or Home Depot were truly delighted with what was going on. I am all for missions that are more benevolent, like the pillow fight or "best game ever" - or just anything that doesn't involve stressing people out.

I'm a big fan of this stuff, whatever you call it. I just don't get why you have to call it improv.