(cc) sheiladeeisme on Flickr

About 30 people came out for Improv AZ’s Fake Protest #2 – Down With Sequels! We gathered at the intersection of 20th Street and Camelback Road in Phoenix and lined the street where cars waiting for the light to change could see us. Everyone made their own signs that protested nothing.

These were some of the more memorable signs:

• Honk If You <3 Badonkadonk
• Ask Me About My Vow of Silence
• Down With Elevators
• I Had Friends On The Death Star
• I Just Spent 9 Months On The Inside (this sign was held with a baby)

We also yelled various nonsensical things at passing cars, like, “I like glitter,” “My arms are sore,” and “I’m a pedestrian.”

The responses are the most entertaining part of these things, and we had every kind you could imagine. Some people tried to ignore us. Many people smiled and honked their horns, while other people tried hard to ignore us. A fire truck stopped at the light held asked what we were protesting, then gave us a monstrous honk when they found it was for fun.

A few passersby who struggled to wrap their brains around the fact that dozens of people would spend their Saturday morning standing on a street corner with funny signs. Nearby mall security and the Phoenix Police made a few passes and checked us out, but let us carry on.

One of the best reactions came as we were wrapping things up and taking our final group picture. A woman came up and thanked us because she was having a really bad day until our display of absurdity made her smile. She turned her car around and stopped just to let us know. Perfect!

Lots of photos of the fake protest are on Flickr, thanks to talented  Phoenix photographer, Sheila Dee. If you have your own pictures on Flickr, use the tags “improvaz” and “fake protest” so they show up in our search. You can also tag yourself in our Fake Protest Facebook photo album.

Thanks to everyone who came out – another flash mob should be announced soon!

Down With Something!

Grab your posterboard and Sharpies! It’s time for another fake protest!

This Saturday, September 24th at 10am, we’re going to let loose with another round of ridiculous signs, chants, and overall silliness.

Remember, don’t protest anything real – just have fun! We had some awesome signs at the first Fake Protest earlier this year.

• Stupid Should Hurt
• Don’t Worry – I’m From The Internet
• Cap’n Crunch Hurts My Mouth
• Honk If You’re Horny
• Mona Lisa Was Framed
• Why Not?

Have fun being creative. These signs need to be easily read by people driving by. It’s best to use bold colors and lettering, and at least a 22”x18” posterboard. Feel free to coordinate your outfit with your cause. Check out the video from the first protest for more inspiration.

Feel free to chant during the fake protest. It’s fun to have everyone chanting 3-word chants in unison and have all of them be different.

Spread the Word

Please Tweet about this, RSVP on Facebook and please share it will all your friends! Bring out as many people as you can!

When and Where

We will be protesting at the intersection of 20th Street and Camelback Road. We had such a good experience here at the first protest, we decided to use it again. Parking is available in the shopping center on the southwest corner of the intersection, near Best Buy.

Show up around 9:45 for last-minute instructions and to divide everyone up into teams, get the cameras going, etc. We’ll protest for at least half an hour, and take it from there to see how well it’s going.

See you on Saturday!

About 60 boisterous passionate people, armed with homemade signs, bundled up on a cold cloudy day along a busy intersection to protest… nothing!

The group lined both sides of the intersection at 20th Street and Camelback, holding signs with sayings like:

• Fines for Flatulence
• Honk If You’re Horny
• Private Protest – Please Look Away
• I Want More Tortillas with my Fajitas
• Cap’n Crunch Hurts My Mouth

The group held their signs and chanted (each person chanting something different) for about 30 minutes. Some people laughed, honked, and waved while other drivers averted their eyes, trying to be oblivious to the commotion. It’s amazing the lengths some people will go to not to smile.

Toward the end of the protest, a police car drove by and asked what was going on. When she was told that the protest was just for fun, and no actual cause was being protested, she said, “That’s awesome.”  Check out the event video:

There are also some pictures in the Fake Protest Facebook album you should check out.

After the fake protest, the group gathered for some final pictures and dispersed, already contemplating what sign they wanted to make for the next protest. There are just so many non-existant causes, and so little time.

(cc) monkey_bob99x on Flickr

UPDATED: Location information now posted below!

People protest all sorts of serious things, and we think it is about time we protested something utterly and totally ridiculous. Or even many utterly ridiculous things!

We are having a fake protest where a group gathers with signs (BYO sign) but all the signs have nothing to do with any of the other signs. We are NOT protesting anything serious or political. All the signs should be purposely silly, so leave any real grumbling about immigration, same-sex marriage, and all that at home!

Instead let your creativity shine and come up with something that is funny, irrelevant, and will make people wonder just what the heck is going on!

Examples of Good Slogans for Signs:

• I Hate Signs
• Down with Sunshine
• Math is Sexy
• Han Shot First
• Jill Pushed Jack
• Save Ferris
• I’m Lost
• Honk if Elvis Lives

Get the idea?

Date: Saturday, April 9th
Time: 1pm – 1:30pm
Location: We will be doing this at 20th St and Camelback. Park by the Best Buy on the SW corner, and meet in the parking lot near the Comerica Bank with your signs around 12:50 for a quick briefing. Depending on how many show up, we may split up and tackle different corners.

Since we’re going to be on street corner, our signs need to be big with clear lettering. It would be best to use 22”x28” or 24”x36” poster board for your sign – available at Walgreens, Michaels, or an office supply store.

If you’re on Facebook, you can RSVP for the Fake Protest flash mob event and share it with your friends!

If you have any ideas for slogans or questions about whether your slogan is appropriate, please share them as comments below.

The following is a recap of the 2009 No Pants Ride that happened nearly a year ago.  It was the event that got ImprovAZ started, so I didn’t have a place to post it at the time. It’s been a fun year since this happened, and if you’re interested in the No Pants Ride coming up January 2010, join our mailing list or watch this blog!

I used to do improv with the Oxymoron’Z and Jester’Z troupes here in Phoenix, so have long wanted something like Improv Everywhere to get rolling locally. I know, I know… Improv Everywhere isn’t really improv, but they’re cousins enough that I longed, nay, yearned.

So last January I decided to help give it a push and organize an Arizona version of the No Pants Ride as part of the Improv Everywhere global No Pants Ride. It seemed like a great way to break in the Valley’s new fangled Light Rail. Shorthanded as “nopantsaz” on Twitter and Flickr, the ride was an almost unqualified success.

Planning

I had no idea what to expect up front, or if there would be a mass chickening out at the last minute. I secured about 10 stalwart companions to ensure I wasn’t alone, but in spite of 100+ RSVP’s on the Facebook group I figured we may top out at 30 people total. Wanted to keep it super simple since this was our first event and the Light Rail system isn’t that complex. Two starting points, one finish point, coffee, then return. Piece of cake!

Biggest worry was that Light Rail or security would shut us down. I’d checked with the police that wearing your underwear in public was legal, so it came down to whether there would be a disruption that they thought would interfere with the line operating.

Launch!

The plan was to catch the first train past 3:00 at the Apache and Dorsey station in Tempe. Trains run about every 15 minutes, and one left around 2:50, so I expected one around 3:05.  Nothing. I got paranoid at one point they halted the train to get security out there. By 3:00 there were easily 90 people on the platform. I walked up and down the line a few times trying to spread people out and giving instructions. It’s a tad awkward to ask “Are you here to take off your pants” to strangers, in case you’ve never done it.

It was worse because of a local cameraman who clearly had never heard of “subtle” or “covert”. I asked the media I spoke with to meet us at the end so as not to blow our coverage, but this guy had a full shoulder camera and kept it right in my face. He asked me things like if it was illegal, which had me uttering the truly brilliant line that we weren’t “breaking the law. We were just… fluffing the law. Frosting the law.” Right. Moving on.

Ride Out

The trains were PACKED! Figuring another wasn’t coming for 15 minutes, we found space and as soon as the train began moving, dropped and hid our pants. Not easy in a full, moving train, but I think there were a lot of contortionists present. Reactions varied from shock to amusement to horror. An older woman seated next to me grumbled to anyone who would listen how terrible it was that we were being obscene in front of children, even though it was just a bunch of bare legs. You’ll see a lot more skin on the Rail in August in the Valley, that’s for sure.

After a while people began cheering when non-participants joined or left the cars, and the people riding for a while started to relax into the joke. I loved the look when people got on, pressed together with the crowd, then glanced down and realized there were a lot fewer pants than people.

We rode to the Campbell and Central station for a much needed break.

Coffee Pit Stop

The media was waiting in force at Lux coffee shop when we arrived. All attempts at being nonchalant about the affair were long gone. We strode with pride over to Lux, and the shop ambiance took a sharp dive off a cliff as the Pantsless Army queued up for beverages. “Puzzled” doesn’t quite cover the looks the patrons were shooting us.

At this point one group went to George & Dragon Pub, still pantsless, to knock back a pint. Others reboarded the train for the ride back.

Ride Back

It was less eventful overall, but had some better reactions because the train was more open. People were crowding near the doors to avoid mingling with the pantsless. One gal actually ran off the train after she asked me a question about which stop she should use, then realized the situation. She decided the current stop was just peachy keen by her without another word. Pulled back in around 5:30, for a 2 1/2 hour event.

Afterthoughts

The event was a blast, and I met some great people. There is a pile of excellent pictures and a great video (bel0w).

Also major thanks to Heather, TJ, Tyson, Clintus, David, Evo, Brian, Jill, RailLife, Lux, and everyone else who chipped in and spread the word. It was a community effort.

The media’s involvement was a mixed blessing. I think it helped show that this was intended to be fun and nothing bad came of it, but totally destroyed the covert nature of it. I got some tips from the national IE group about this, so will apply it a bit different next time.

We now have this blog, and an ImprovAZ Facebook Page that we’ve been using to organize new events. Personally, I think Phoenix needs more events like this. Shake things up, give people something to talk about, just have fun. Too many people in this town just ask Why, and I think more need to be asking Why Not?