The Improv-Everywhere-style freeze today at Berri-UQAM metro I told you about was a crazy success (much to my surprise). About 50-60 people showed up, then entered the metro station and gathered in the area around the puck on the mezzanine. For five minutes, they all stood frozen, quiet, as regular travellers passed them by.
There’s talk on the Facebook page of organizing a second one some time in March, or perhaps other IE-inspired activities. I’ll keep you updated, of course.
I’ll have more to write (and show) about this later. In the meantime, here’s the first video that’s been uploaded showing what happened. In it, you can hear the loud, spontaneous applause that took place among participants just as the freeze came to an end.
The usual caveats apply: It’s being loosely organized by random people, publicized almost entirely through social networks, and with very little notice. It might be wildly successful with hundreds of participants, or there might be three people there who decide it’s not worth it embarrassing themselves alone.
Nevertheless, here’s the skinny:
Saturday, February 23, 5:30pm at Parc Émilie-Gamelin (a.k.a. Berri Square, at Berri and Ste-Catherine, just outside the Ste-Catherine exit to Berri-UQAM). A re-enactment of the Grand Central freeze, in which participants suddenly stop in mid-step (or mid-kiss, mid-puff, mid-fall, etc.) for a few minutes, attracting the curious glares of passers-by.
(Since this would be the first such event for most of the participants, I imagine they won’t be as strict about having people hide their cameras, which means passers-by will quickly conclude it’s some sort of public exhibition.)
For those of you with moral objections to that site, here’s the details:
Saturday, Feb. 9, 3pm-5pm
Top cloor (Niveau Cinéma) of the Eaton Centre, McGill metro
Sign in when you arrive at the checkpoint with your team name and members (up to three)
This is a free, all ages event
Rules:
Do not leave the underground city. You are using the honor system.
You will need:
a bag
a bit of money (no more than 5$)
something to take pictures with (a camera phone is OK)
something to tell time with
Time – You have from when we release you until 5:10 on the judges’ timepiece (official time). If your entire team is not back by then, only what has arrived will be counted.
Points will be awarded once per team for each item on the list brought to the finish.
Toronto’s No Pants Day appears to have been quite successful, getting media attention from both the Star and the Sun. (Though the presence of two newspaper photographers probably gave it away somewhat.) Improv Everywhere, from whence the idea originated, is still compiling reports from No Pants Days around the world.
