Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Quick Nonfiction Read


You may or may not have heard of "Improv Everywhere," a group whose mission it is to "cause scenes of chaos and joy in public places," but you may have heard of some their better-known pranks. The founder, Charlie Todd, and one of his "agents," Alex Scordelis have compiled some of their favorite "missions" in their book, Causing a Scene.

Each of the thirteen chapters in this book detail one of Improv Everywhere's endeavors since their formation in 2002. Some have grown to be quite large scale, others are smaller, but all require quite a bit of planning and imagination. In fact, the amount of actual calculations that go into many of the pranks is quite impressive. Each description includes whether the mission had the desired effect on the public, as well as up-close and personal advice from one of the "agents" who had participated in that particular mission.

This book is a quick and entertaining read, chopped up into easily digestible chapters. Some of the pranks are downright hilarious, others will just make you smile. The basic tenets of the group are to keep on the right side of the law and not harm anyone in the process of staging their acts for the public. If you enjoy improv comedy, such as the Upright Citizen's Brigade, this book wold probably be of interest to you. To learn more about Improv Everywhere, check out their website at http://improveverywhere.com/

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