Comedy Club Prank

[Gordon Bressack]

I would like to organize a prank in which we fill a comedy club in Los Angeles with Agents who WILL NOT LAUGH at anyone or anything! Flop sweat will ensue!

And yes, this is an evil evil thing!

[Jim MacQ.]

This is why I was not at all happy when Agent Todd changed the name of this site from Improv Everywhere to The Urban Pranksters Network. We don't do pranks. Pranks have victims; we don't. When we surprise somebody with a stunt, they get to laugh too.

Just forget that the word "prank" is up there. Forget about pranks. Change your approach. Don't think about putting something over on someone or fooling someone. Think in terms of creating the unexpected, producing surprise, maybe provoking a little thought about something. Think of ways to enlist and engage the public to participate in our shenanigans.

"Cause if this group is going to be about irritating people, humiliating them and mocking them, I have better things to do with my time.

[Michelle Guthrie]

This is mean. I would never do it, or anything mean-spirited. There is enough of that vibe out there.

[Magnetic Lobster]

I've written and performed standup comedy for about 4 years. Any comic who has been performing long enough has had an occasional really bad night and has learned to deal with it. I'm not sure this would generate the reaction you're hoping for.

Also, if this is to take place at an actual comedy club, the participants have to be wiling to spend the cover plus two drink minimum, which is kind of pricey for an evening of not laughing. If you pick a free show (there are a lot of them), comics are more likely to be trying out new material, so not getting laughs might not be such an unexpected event.

[Jim MacQ.]

Count me out. This idea is the exact opposite of what GuerilLA is supposed to be.

[Agent Tuttle]

Totally agreed.

[Doug Jones]

Mag Lobster, I know how that feels- I once did a four minute set about Jack Kevorkian that got Not. One. Single. Laugh. After my fourth or fifth gag bombed, I got pissed off and did the entire set anyway.

It wasn't until much later that I realized that the night I died on stage, I did it to myself- with a routine about suicide.

Count me in, the worst audience I've ever experienced was a room full of comics at a comedy workshop.

[Agent Tuttle]

I'm going to agree with you and 49 by just coming out and saying it's not practical, positive, productive or worth the effort in general. We could do a stand-up type of mission, but it should be very different.

[Katy (Agent 49)]

This is pretty mean-spirited, which to me, goes against what I love about Improv Everywhere. I vote nay.
In response to Agent Tuttle though- you mean Ghosts of Pasha? I feel like I got an Improv Everywhere email about them playing a gig in NYC recently, so I don't think they broke up. They were, however, kinda bummed about it, I do remember that.

[Agent Tuttle]

Yeah, what she said.

[Agent Tuttle]

If the comics aren't funny, this will be easy. But I don't think it will be, besides if we FILL the club, who's the audience? Just the poor comic? It's much more GuerilLA to have an agent comic obviously NOT funny and only agent audience members laugh their asses off. The rest of the people just don't "get it."

[Gordon Bressack]

That's a good idea too. But the original idea is a bit bigger. The idea would be to tape the show, of course, so that a viewing audience would appreciate the comic's angst, but I also love the reversal. I don't see why we couldn't do both.

[Agent Tuttle]

I just thought that GLA was about giving people a live experience. We've never done one that had a video-only pay off,... probably because there really is no pay-off in that we don't get to see the reaction of the intended audience (except from the one comic) or learn much from it.

This kind of reminds me of the NY (I think) mission where agents made up hard-core fans of a newly formed band, followed them around and went to all their shows. It seems positive, but when they found out it was a joke, they were mortified and the band folded.

Years ago my cousin and I tried to ride a rather mild roller coaster with a straight face while having a serious conversation about coffee filters. It took about five rides before we could do it. Unless the comics really do suck, it might not be as easy as you think.