reports – Page 3

January 14, 2013 by Ruth Carter 1 Comment

No Pants 2013 Recap – The temperature dropped, and so did our trousers!

The overnight freeze warnings did not deter our 350+ participants from dropping their pants at the 5th annual No Pants Light Rail Ride. This event is part of the Global No Pants Subway Ride, which was started by Improv Everywhere in 2002.

A balanced mix of newbies and veteran pantsless riders braved the cold and started the ride from three different locations. This was the first year we had groups switch trains mid-ride. Every time a group disembarked and boarded a new train, they ended up on a train with another group of pantsless people from our group – talk about awesome timing!

We had our usual reactions from people who were shocked and surprised by the display of legs around them. Our group did an excellent job of maintaining the front that we weren’t part of a larger event but that it was just a coincidence we all forgot to put on pants that day. There were a few pantsed people who were frustrated that they couldn’t figure out what was going on, and some even made disparaging remarks to our groups’ captains. They didn’t understand that nothing they could say would make us put on pants or feel bad about rocking our undies in public!

We also had at least five people who didn’t start the ride with the group drop their pants and join in the fun. We love growing the group as we roll across town.

One interesting thing to note – the group that started from the west side encountered light rail security at back-to-back stops. They said they were there to do random ticket checks, but we’re pretty sure they wanted to check out everyone’s underwear.

After all the riding and changing trains, our group met up at Angels Trumpet Ale House, a great place in Phoenix for craft beer and having fun. We had a blast mingling, sharing stories, and taking pictures for over an hour before dispersing. Some people stayed at Angels Trumpet while others moved on to other downtown establishments and the rest of us hopped back on the rail and headed for home.

No Pants Light Rail 2013 group shot courtesy of noocar — No Pants Light Rail 2013 group shot courtesy of nooccar

Kudos to the photographers from Phoenix New Times, College Times and AZ Central who dropped their pants and were not obtrusive in their coverage like we ask (check out their photos!). Sadly, other news outlets weren’t quite so considerate, and seemed a little surprised when we told them to get lost. You’ve got a whole year before next time to get some nice underwear and more discrete cameras, guys – get on it!

Behold, the most excellent video from the ride!

Thanks to everyone who helped make this event a huge success and a special thank you to Angels Trumpet Ale House for hosting us. Please check out the photos from the 2013 No Pants Light Rail Ride on Flickr and subscribe to our YouTube channel so you get videos on future pranks and flash mobs.

If you want to stay in the loop about our future shenanigans, including our secret flash mobs and pranks, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter.

December 17, 2012 by Jeff Moriarty 1 Comment

Gifts for Strangers handed out some holiday cheer!

On Saturday, December 15th, Improv AZ and over a dozen agents braved the cold and rain to spread some unexpected holiday cheer in downtown Phoenix as part of Gifts for Strangers.

Started by Improv In Toronto in 2010, “Gifts for Strangers, is a world-wide cause to spread kindness and goodwill around the world, just through simple acts.” Groups in 33 cities all over the world gave small gifts to strangers in their communities on the same day. Our agents were motivated to make others happy and give to others with no expectation of anything in return. Several people came with bags of gifts to give and their children in tow.

Our agents walked around downtown Phoenix and greeted strangers with “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” and offered them a gift. Some of them were leery of the surprise gift, but many of them were happy to take our gifts. The children who were offered gifts were ecstatic. Some people were so touched by the gift their eyes filled with tears and they hugged our agents.

One agent included money in her gifts. She saw a gift recipient take the $10 that was in his gift and give it to someone else who needed it more than him.

We walked the streets giving gifts for about 30 minutes before regrouping to share stories from our gift giving adventures. From all accounts, this flash mob was a huge success.

Happy Holidays everyone from the crew at Improv AZ! We hope to see you at our events in 2013!

October 22, 2012 by Jeff Moriarty Leave a Comment

Zombathalon – Zombie race training flash mob

We’re back! After being on hiatus for much of the year, Improv AZ is back in action. It feels so good to be doing flash mobs and pranks again!

The undead race the living

There are a lot of organized zombie walks these days, but we wondered what people would do if a zombie outbreak happened somewhere they really didn’t expect?

horde of shuffling zombies — Zombathalon zombies in training

On Saturday October 20th, we organized a small group of pranksters to invade the Arizona canal to scare and entertain unsuspecting runners. We picked a section of the trail that’s a common route for runners and bikers who are training for races this coming winter. We thought a little Zombie outbreak might give them some extra… motivation… to run fast!

Warning: Zombie Outbreak sign — Runners were warned!

Thirteen zombies gathered at 6:45 am near the canal at to put the final touches on our costumes. We paled our skin, blackened our eyes, and covered ourselves with gooey blood, fake wounds, and ripped clothes. We hung a big yellow signs smeared with blood at end edges of the zombie invasion area: Warning: Zombie Outbreak.

The invasion began at 7 am!

We groaned and stumbled towards the people who were walking, running, and biking along the canal. Some people laughed and high fived us. One woman let out a blood curdling scream. Another runner complained, “I see you guys in my dreams. Can you stay out of my run?” while someone else told the zombie wearing a tattered bloody business suit, “Hey Wall Street, you had it coming!”

Runner escapes zombies — This guy did NOT want to be zombified!

Due to the angle of the sun, some runners couldn’t see more that the outlines of our bodies shuffling towards them with arms raised as they approached. It was only when they got closer that they could see our pale skin and still-wet blood.

One guy seemed genuinely disturbed by the zombies around him despite the fact that he towered over everyone in our group. We think he might have had zombiphobia. Two runners split up when the first runner labeled him the slower of the two, and thus the better candidate for our breakfast. His friend took proved him wrong by taking off at a speed that would have put the Road Runner to shame!

We also scared a few dogs. We probably smelled funny.

The zombie invasion lasted until about 7:30 when our bodies were sore from limping and our throats hurt from moaning and grunting. We took some great zombie pictures and dispersed just as fast as we assembled.

Check out this video with some of the great reactions we got from the runners:

If this is the first time you’re hearing about this event, that’s because this was a secret flash mob that we only announced to our mailing list. If you want to get involved in future events, get on our email list!

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Zombathalon, and all the runners we had fun with so early in the morning. We hope we made your run more interesting!

The undead race the living

Hi there!