An Interview with Improv Everywhere's Charlie Todd

The Joke May Be on You

Have you ever had tickets to the musical with a song that goes:

Can I get a napkin please?
I'm gonna need some just like these
I've got three or four but I might need more!
Can I get a napkin please?

It's unlikely, but you can see this very same musical on YouTube at no extra charge. The video in question took place at Baldwin Hills Mall in Los Angeles, CA. Sixteen "agents" (as they're referred to) of Improv Everywhere, a New York-based public humor collective, made it their mission to "create a spontaneous musical out of nowhere" in a public place.

The video depicts the various agents, some posing as employees of the mall, singing and dancing to recorded music playing over the PA system, much to the shock, delight (and in some cases, annoyance) of the food court patrons. The "Food Court Musical," as the video is entitled, is one among many "missions" (the preferred term of the group, as opposed to "pranks") staged by the agents of Improv Everywhere.

Created in 2001 by improv veteran Charlie Todd, the group has "executed over 70 missions involving thousands of undercover agents," according to ImprovEverywhere.com. Todd attended college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC.) Currently, even while involved with Improv Everywere, he teaches and performs improv comedy acts at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre on W. 26th St., in NYC.

"I grew up watching SNL," says Todd of his interest in comedy. "I'm obsessed with sketch comedy. I also did improv in college...I discovered the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre when I was about 22 years old."

Besides the "Food Court" mission, IE has made itself famous for such undertakings as "Slo-Mo Home Depot," in which 225 agents showed up to a Home Depot on 23rd St. in Manhattan for a briefing. Todd instructed them to synchronize their watches and shop at Home Depot until 4:15, at which time they would all begin moving in slow motion for five minutes. When time was up, they would return to shopping normally for ten minutes.