Improv on TODAY makes strangers happy
Posted: Wednesday, November 04, 2009 1:27 PM by Ryan Osborn
From TODAY associate producer Shawna Thomas
The first text message I received this morning was from my fellow journalist and friend Matt, who lives in Washington, D.C. It said, “Shawna on the Today Show!!!!!” (That is a direct quote. There were actually five exclamation points, which means he was very excited because journalists never write that way.) After that, the flood of texts, e-mails, g-chats, Facebook postings and Twitter shout-outs started coming from friends and family as the show aired across the country and they got to experience Improv Everywhere’s "Food Court Musical 2."
Improv Everywhere (IE) is the brainchild of Charlie Todd who says it is “at its core, about having fun.” It’s also about creating a unique experience for those who are lucky enough to see the “mission” live.
Photo Credit: Katie Sokoler
Selfishly, one of the best parts of doing this are the great and jealous reactions you get from your friends when they see the videos. But you know what’s better? Making complete strangers happy in real life.
I got involved with IE through a friend who knows Charlie and I have participated in huge events like the "No Pants Subway Ride." I've also done smaller ones like the musical featured on TODAY and the "High Five Escalator." I have a theatrical background that comes in handy but is not necessary for creating these experiences. Even in a wonderful place like New York City, our lives become routine and mundane and being a part of this group shakes up my life and gives a little gift and a story to people who happen to stumble upon it.
The odd thing about this mission is that I’m also an associate producer for NBC News. So I not only understand what goes into making the “prank” awesome but what goes into making compelling television and sometimes those two things are incongruous.
We had to sing the song about seven times to make sure TODAY got all of the great shots the producers needed. We tried to wait long enough between each performance to make sure we had a new audience every time, but at a certain point you just have to make television happen. It ruined the element of surprise but allowed us to let even more people in on the secret since it eventually aired on national television.
And that’s the great thing about working with an outlet like TODAY on a project like this. Millions of people got to laugh along with us this morning instead of just the 50 or 100 people who were lucky enough to be at Trump Tower on the right day at the right time.
I made people -- including my mother in Houston (HI MOM) -- smile this morning. That’s pretty cool. Check out the video here:
