I can’t say for sure how human were these real moments, but I can say that Thompology , KORe, and I made our way to Improv Everywhere’s latest MP3 experiment in San Francisco this past weekend held in the beautiful Mission Dolores Park.  The event, or experiment, involves quite a bit of human interaction, but most of it is very brief, and all of it is mostly scripted.  How real can your human moments be when they’re pre-written for you?

Don’t get me wrong, the event was a smashing good time, filled with moments of shaking, smiling, shading, rounded out with a gloriously epic balloon battle.  For forty-five minutes we, thanks to the Improv Everywhere folks, owned the park.  The innocent bystanders, in all their less-than-candid confusion, moved to the edges of the park to witness first hand the fun being had by several hundred MP3 Experiment participants.  Amazing, to say the least.  And for that same forty-five minutes, Thompology, KORe, and I owned the event.

It’s a pleasure to take part in something that one and a few others have spent so much time to orchestrate.  Improv Everywhere took their show on the road and invited anyone and everyone to take part.  All we needed was a colored shirt, a balloon, an umbrella, and a willingness to momentarily  relinquish our free will and restraint.  Sure, no problem.  Any opportunity to interrupt the food-eating of an unsuspecting couple is a registered good time in my book.  High-fives all around and, oh, can I hug your bike before I chase your tiny dog around the park.  Excuse me, I’m living an adventure here, please don’t interrupt.  But do enjoy the show.

I accept that the intent of the gathering is not to meet new people but to perform on a larger stage — I get it, I like it.  Except, I want to do it on my own terms and not in an effort to be anti-whatever.  (They slipped that in there at the end, but we’ll see how they play it on the final cut.)  I would much rather talk to strange people on the sidewalk than play thumb wars in a park with a person being told to engage.  There is nothing frightening or scary about doing what you’re told to do in a public setting that’s more than publicly acceptable.  There’s nothing to lose.  There’s nothing to gain.  I’m left sitting bored.

This isn’t meant as a cut on the Improv folks.  They’ve done a good thing, and they did it very well.  I’d encourage anyone interested or curious to give these guys a chance, interact in one of their shows, and definitely visit their web site to watch some of their past performances.  What I am trying to say, though, is that I expect a whole lot more from myself.  I eat these types of social activities for breakfast.  Meeting new people is not difficult.  Entertaining and confusing unsuspecting folks is not a challenge.  I require more.

Real Human Moments? was first posted to justinll.com on October 5, 2008.