Ian On The Red Dot

Via Tomorrow.sg, I learned of a Singapore group that is carrying out Improv Everywhere inspired missions. You can see the video of their first mission here.

You can join the Singapore based group here.

There is something interesting about the group and I wonder if it mirrors the society we have come from. The IE Global site was started on 24th Jan 2008.

21st Feb, a post was put by the guy who started the Singapore group on the site. The emphasis in bold is mine.

I’ve realise that there have been an overwhelming increase of people who are interested in doing improv acts here. So for the sake of keeping order and most importantly peace, I am proposing a system of organisation for Mission:Singapore.

The Hierarchy will be as follows:

This will be the tentative structure of our group so do leave your comments if you want any suggestions for improvements.
Implementing a structure is important as to avoid an eventuality where missions cannot be carried out proper due to disruptive admin cockups. haha.

I will try my best to organise missions on a monthly basis. In the event that i cannot oversee a mission due to other commitments, the second incharge will have to take my place.

Ok. I’m going to try to tread carefully here. It is cool that someone took the initiative to get a group going. And it is totally justifiable to display a sense of ownership for the group that was started. I understand that if you are the founder of a group based on your own ideas and since your name is associated with it, you would want some amount of control and while people can join in to play, it will be only by your rules. But there seems to be the assumption that the only system to effectively organize such a group (inspired by another group) is to establish a hierarchy.

Now, I understand the times when a hierarchy is needed because there are times when the buck needs to stop somewhere. But can’t this be applied at a mission level and not a group level?

Of course, some people will say I’m stirring shit and that if you want to own the missions, just start your own group. Is there really a need to start your own group just for that? Why can’t everyone play nice in the same group and take turns to be the ‘boss’.

Well, I guess everything you need to learn about human society, you probably learned it when you were playing at the playground. The rich kid with the ball always gets to be the striker. If you argue, you are a trouble maker and asked to sit out. You don’t get to play. And no one will play with you because you don’t have a ball.

Then again, this probably isn’t just a Singapore thing. I found one other group where a committee is also being formed to organize and manage stuff. There are probably more, but I don’t have the time to read through all the groups’ discussions.

Anyway, it is great that this is happening in Singapore. I’ll definitely squeeze in time to be a participant for their missions if they would let me after this post. The comments on the system of organization is just my way of feeding the interest in how groups are managed. There isn’t just one right way, I’m just interested in the way that got chosen.

Awesome prank.

via: kottke

From the about page of the group ‘Improv Everywhere‘ that pulled this prank off.

We’re out to prove that a prank doesn’t have to involve humiliation or embarrassment; it can simply be about making someone laugh, smile, or stop to notice the world around them.

How it all began:

In August of 2001, I went out to a West Village bar with my college buddies Brandon Arnold and Jon Karpinos. On a whim we decided to pull a prank where I would pose as musician Ben Folds. Three hours later, “Ben Folds” was drinking on the house surrounded by women and his “two big fans” were thrown out of the bar for “stealing Ben Folds’ wallet”. I had always been a prankster, but this experience enlightened me as to how far a prank could be taken. As an actor new to the city, I discovered I could create my own theatre rather than waiting around for someone to give me stage time. I got tired of telling the story to friends, so I typed it up and put it on the web. Improv Everywhere was born.

A friend shared on Facebook about this event which is pretty interesting.  Note, you would have to log into Facebook to get the event page.

A description of the event:

Well…it’s very simple! We just wear a really loud bright colored t-shirt and board on the MRT (Singapore train service)! Starting off at Boonlay station, we stop and get off at every MRT station to buy cheap drinks. Be it a pub, coffeeshop, supermarket, or even a 7-11, we grab whatever we can and down as many drinks as possible. Why pay for expensive drinks at clubs when we can get them at cost price outside? The last stop will be at city hall in which we’ll go to a club of choice. Having built up a party momentum, we’ll party the night off with a blast! Its something like a drinking marathon + a tour around Singapore + pre party drinking + Valentine’s day celebration all combined into one!

The event reminds me of events that have been organized by lori kufner and kevin bracken of Newmindspace in Toronto and New York.

What does Newmindspace do?

Newmindspace is interactive public art, creative cultural interventions and urban bliss dissemination based in New York and Toronto.

One of our goals at Newmindspace is to make these unique happenings in public space become a significant part of popular culture, partially replacing passive, non-social, branded consumption experiences like watching television.

Newmindspace is committed to reclaiming public space, inventing new ways of having fun, and creating community.