I’m always surprised to see Charlie Todd‘s face on camera. You’d think the founder of Improv Everywhere – an urban prankster/public-performance-art/comedy/kinda-live-action-graffiti group – would keep a lower profile. In my mind’s eye, he’s as covert as Banksy and never leaves his home/secret control tower. And if he did ever leave his home/secret control tower he’d be wearing one of of those Neckface or Subcomandante Marcos masks so people would know he means business, but still wouldn’t know his face. But I suppose staging innocuous spectacles in giant commercial chains, Grand Central and NYC subways is different than “defacing” public property and leading indigenous peoples on a violent insurrection.
In any case, Joanne from Rocketboom has a good interview with Todd where he talks about the genesis of the concept and how he organizes “scenes of chaos and joy in public places.”




