Where’s Waldo Flash Mob this Saturday!

Have you seen this shirt?

Do you remember the Where’s Waldo picture books from when you were a kid? Improv AZ is creating a real-life Where’s Waldo scene!

We will supply the actual Waldo. What we need is a group of people who look similar to Waldo, but don’t have every aspect of Waldo’s look.

Waldo has a very distinct look:
1. Red & White Beanie
2. Glasses
3. Red & White Striped Shirt
4. Blue Jeans

We want you to wear up to three elements of Waldo’s look, but NOT all four. Do not dress exactly like Waldo. Just look a little like him and have fun with your Waldo-like outfit. You can wear strange variations of the outfit, too, or any combination of red and white clothes! Don’t sweat it if you don’t look like him exactly.

When: Saturday, April 23rd, at 1:00pm

Where: Tempe Marketplace (McClintock & Loop 202)
We will be in the open area in front of Dave & Busters and California Pizza Kitchen!

You should not plan to be at the location area earlier than 12:45pm otherwise it could become obvious what is about to happen. At 1:00pm, go into the designated core area and act normal – mingle with others, talk on your phone, walk around, and act like you normally would in a public place.

Act as if there’s nothing unusual about how you are dressed and if asked, you have no idea why others around you are dressed similarly. At 1:30pm, disperse from the area and continue on with your day as if nothing unusual had happened.

You can also RSVP on Facebook for the event, and tell your friends!

Phoenix First Friday Freeze

First Friday FreezeMay Day in Phoenix; and what better way to celebrate the beginning of the long hot summer than a group freeze in the midst of Phoenix’s First Friday festivities.

Sometime after 6:30 p.m. groups of revelers, approximately 40 in total, converged at the intersection of 5th St and E Garfield, mingled in with the crowds of patrons, artists and passerby’s, inconspicuously waiting. At about 6:50 p.m. balloons were released to the sky signaling the group members to hold that pose and hold it and hold it some more.

A few people were frozen checking their cell phones, or reading a map. I froze in the process of being fed a scoop of ice cream, which dribbled into a mess on the ground. One person froze tying his shoe, and another froze in mid marriage proposal. Definitely lots of creativity in the poses and participants!

Soon crowds gathered; some shocked, some confused, some awed, all mostly amused, to witness the event.

In the true pagan spirit of the holiday, members of the AZ Cacophony Society captivated the crowd by decorating the freeze participants with beads, starry sunglasses, makeup and even making an impromptu human May Pole with streamers.

Then, as suddenly as it began and not a moment too soon for those in pose, it was over at the sound of what could be described as an asthmatic air horn. Everyone quickly dispersed to enjoy the rest of their usual First Friday experience.

Several people have posted videos on YouTube, including alacritae, ballergrlHeather, and this one from RelGirl8:

Victorianladyaz1 was one the freezers, and left the video camera on the whole time. Watch this video to check out the curious people walking around and trying to figure out what was going on.

We have one more “official” video coming, and will post that as soon as it is ready.

There are also some nice pictures showing up in Flickr. Be sure to use the tags “improvaz” and “phxfreeze” on Flickr so we can find them.

If you were part of the First Friday Freeze or witnessed it firsthand, post your thoughts in the comments below!  If you want to get involved in future pranks or flashmobs, keep checking this blog or join our Facebook page.