The shared experience of absurdity | Charlie Todd

Translator: Laura Linares Reviewer: Raquel Uzal

Comecei Improv Everywhere hai aproximadamente 10 anos

I started Improv Everywhere about 10 years ago

when I moved to New York City with an interest in acting and comedy.

cando me mudei a Nova Iorque con interese no arte dramático e a comedia.

Because I was new to the city, I didn't have access to a stage,

Como era novo na cidade, non tiña acceso a un escenario

so I decided to create my own in public places.

así que decidín crear o meu nos lugares públicos.

O primeiro proxecto que vos vou mostrar

So the first project we're going to take a look at

é a primeira Ruta en Metro sen Pantalóns

is the very first No Pants Subway Ride.

que se levou a cabo en xaneiro de 2002.

Now, this took place in January of 2002.

Esta muller é a estrela do vídeo.

And this woman is the star of the video.

Non sabe que está sendo gravada.

She doesn't know she's being filmed.

Estámola gravando cunha cámara oculta

She's being filmed with a hidden camera.

no tren nº 6 en Nova Iorque.

This is on the 6 train in New York City.

Esta é a primeira parada da liña.

And this is the first stop along the line.

Estes son dous rapaces daneses

These are two Danish guys

who come in and sit down next to the hidden camera.

que entran e sentan ao lado da cámara oculta

e este son eu cun abrigo marrón.

And that's me right there in a brown coat.

Estamos por debaixo dos 0 graos fóra.

It's about 30 degrees outside.

I'm wearing a hat. I'm wearing a scarf.

Levo un sombreiro e unha bufanda

e a rapaza vaime ver agora mesmo.

And the girl's going to notice me right here.

(Risas)

(Laughter)

And as you'll see now, I'm not wearing pants.

E, como veredes agora, non levo pantalóns.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

Así que neste momento...

At this point --

ela dáse de conta de que estou alí

at this point she's noticed me,

pero en Nova Iorque hai frikis en calquera vagón de metro.

but in New York there's weirdos on any given train car.

Unha persoa non é tan estraño.

One person's not that unusual.

Volve poñerse a ler o seu libro, que desafortunadamente se titula "Violación".

She goes back to reading her book, which is unfortunately titled "Rape."

(Risas)

(Laughter)

Decatouse de que hai algo estraño,

So she's noticed the unusual thing, but she's gone back to her normal life.

pero volveu á súa vida normal.

Now, in the meantime, I have six friends

Mentres tanto, eu teño seis amigos

who are waiting at the next six consecutive stops

que están esperando nas seguintes seis paradas, tamén en roupa interior.

in their underwear as well.

They're going to be entering this car one by one.

Van empezar a entrar no vagón un por un.

Actuaremos coma se non nos coñecésemos

We'll act as though we don't know each other.

And we'll act as if it's just an unfortunate mistake we've made,

e coma se simplemente cometéramos un erro desafortunado,

forgetting our pants on this cold January day.

o de esquecer os pantalóns neste día tan frío de xaneiro.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

(Laughter continues)

Neste momento

So at this point,

she decides to put the rape book away.

decide deixar de lado o libro da violación

(Risas)

(Laughter)

e estar un pouco máis atenta ao que a rodea.

And she decides to be a little bit more aware of her surroundings.

In the meantime, the two Danish guys to the left of the camera,

Mentres tanto, os dous rapaces daneses á esquerda da cámara

morren da risa.

they're cracking up.

They think this is the funniest thing they've ever seen before.

Cren que é o máis gracioso que viron na súa vida

e mirade como ela fai contacto visual con eles agora.

And watch her make eye contact with them right about now.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

Encántame este momento do vídeo

And I love that moment in this video,

porque antes de que se convertese nunha experiencia compartida

because before it became a shared experience,

it was something that was maybe a little bit scary,

era algo que quizais dese un pouco de medo

or something that was at least confusing to her.

ou que polo menos a tiña un pouco confusa.

E agora que se converteu nunha experiencia compartida

And then, once it became a shared experience,

é gracioso e pode rir da experiencia.

it was funny and something that she could laugh at.

Agora o tren está chegando

So the train is now pulling into the third stop along the 6 line.

á terceira parada da liña 6.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

Non se vai ver todo no vídeo.

So the video won't show everything.

Isto segue durante catro paradas máis

This goes on for another four stops.

e un total de sete tíos entran de forma anónima en roupa interior.

A total of seven guys enter anonymously in their underwear.

At the eighth stop, a girl came in with a giant duffel bag

Na oitava parada, entra unha rapaza cunha bolsa enorme

e anuncia que ten pantalóns á venda por un dólar,

and announced she had pants for sale for a dollar --

like you might sell batteries or candy on the train.

igual que calquera pode vender pilas ou caramelos no metro.

Todos, con toda naturalidade, mercamos uns pantalóns, poñémolos

We all very matter-of-factly bought a pair of pants, put them on

e dicimos: "Grazas, é xusto o que necesitaba hoxe"

and said, "Thank you. That's exactly what I needed today,"

and then exited without revealing what had happened

saímos sen dicir o que pasa

e marchamos cada un na súa dirección.

and went in all different directions.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

Grazas.

Thank you.

So that's a still from the video there.

Este é un fotograma do vídeo.

And I love that girl's reaction so much.

Gústame tanto a reacción da rapaza.

And watching that videotape later that day

Ver a cinta un pouco máis tarde aquel día

inspired me to keep doing what I do.

inspiroume para seguir facendo o que fago.

E realmente unha das razóns de ser de Improv Everywhere

And really one of the points of Improv Everywhere

is to cause a scene in a public place

é realizar unha escena nun lugar público

that is a positive experience for other people.

que sexa unha experiencia positiva para outra xente.

It's a prank, but it's a prank that gives somebody a great story to tell.

É unha trasnada, pero consegue que a xente teña boas historias que contar.

A súa reacción inspiroume

And her reaction inspired me

to do a second annual No Pants Subway Ride.

para facer unha segunda Ruta Anual no Metro sen Pantalóns

And we've continued to do it every year.

e seguimos facéndoo todos os anos.

This January, we did the 10th annual No Pants Subway Ride

Este xaneiro fixemos a X Ruta no Metro sen Pantalóns

na que un grupo moi diverso de 3.500 persoas

where a diverse group of 3,500 people

rode the train in their underwear in New York --

foi no metro de Nova Iorque en roupa interior.

Practicamente todas as liñas de metro na cidade.

almost every single train line in the city.

E tamén noutras 50 cidades en todo o mundo

And also in 50 other cities around the world,

a xente participou.

people participated.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

As I started taking improv class at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater

Cando empecei a ir a clases de improvisación no Upright Citizens Brigade Theater

e comecei a coñecer a outra xente creativa e outros actores e cómicos

and meeting other creative people and other performers and comedians,

empecei a amasar unha lista de correos

I started amassing a mailing list of people

da xente que quería facer este tipo de proxectos

who wanted to do these types of projects.

para poder facer proxectos máis grandes.

So I could do more large-scale projects.

Un día ía atravesando Union Square

Well, one day I was walking through Union Square,

e vin este edificio

and I saw this building, which had just been built in 2005.

que fora construído en 2005.

Había unha rapaza nunha das ventás que estaba bailando.

There was a girl in one of the windows and she was dancing.

Era moi peculiar

It was very peculiar, because it was dark out,

porque estaba escuro fóra, pero ela tiña unha iluminación fluorescente de fondo

but she was backlit with florescent lighting.

estaba moi metida na escena

She was very much onstage

e eu non podía imaxinar por que o estaba facendo.

and I couldn't figure out why she was doing it.

Despois de máis ou menos 15 segundos apareceu a súa amiga

After about 15 seconds, her friend appeared --

estaba escondida tras unha pancarta

she had been hiding behind a display.

botáronse a rir, abrazáronse e marcharon correndo.

They laughed, hugged each other and ran away.

Parecía que tivesen apostado para ver se era capaz de facelo.

Maybe she had been dared to do this.

Iso inspiroume.

So I got inspired by that.

Looking at the entire facade -- there were 70 total windows --

Mirei a fachada enteira (había 70 ventás en total)

e souben o que tiña que facer.

and I knew what I had to do.

(Risas)

(Laughter)

So this project is called Look Up More.

Este proxecto chámase Mira Máis cara Arriba. Tiñamos 70 actores vestidos de negro.

We had 70 actors dress in black.

Non tiñamos autorización.

This was completely unauthorized.

We didn't let the stores know we were coming.

Non informamos aos grandes almacéns de que iamos ir.

And I stood in the park giving signals.

Eu quedei no parque dando instrucións.

The first signal was for everybody to hold up these four-foot tall letters

A primeira era para que todo o mundo levantase as letras de máis dun metro de alto

coas que se facía a frase "Mira Máis cara Arriba",

that spelled out "Look Up More,"

o nome do proxecto.

the name of the project.

The second signal was for everybody to do jumping jacks together.

A segunda instrución era para que todos saltasen xuntos.

Aquí podedes ver o comezo.

You'll see that start right here.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

And then we had dancing. We had everyone dance.

E logo bailes. Fixemos que todos bailasen.

E logo fixeron solos de baile, nos que unha única persoa bailaba

And then we had dance solos

where only one person would dance and everybody would point to them.

e o resto a sinalaba.

(Risas)

(Laughter)

Despois din unha nova instrución

So then I gave a new hand signal,

que sinalaba ao seguinte bailarín en Forever 21

which signaled the next soloist down below in Forever 21,

e bailou.

and he danced.

Houbo varias actividades máis.

There were several other activities.

A xente saltaba arriba e abaixo

We had people jumping up and down, people dropping to the ground.

tirábanse ao chan.

And I was standing just anonymously in a sweatshirt,

E eu estaba alí de anónimo cun chándal,

metendo e sacando a man dunha papeleira

putting my hand on and off of a trashcan to signal the advancement.

para sinalar os avances.

And because it was in Union Square Park, right by a subway station,

E como estabamos en Union Square Park, ao lado dunha estación de metro

cara o final había centos de persoas

there were hundreds of people by the end who stopped and looked up

que paraban e miraban cara arriba

and watched what we were doing.

para ver o que faciamos.

There's a better photo of it.

Aquí vese unha foto mellor.

So that particular event was inspired by a moment

Así que este acontecemento concreto

inspirouse nun momento

that I happened to stumble upon.

co que me topei de casualidade.

The next project I want to show

O seguinte proxecto que quero mostrar

was given to me in an email from a stranger.

chegou ao meu e-mail da man dun descoñecido.

A high school kid in Texas wrote me in 2006

Un rapaz dun instituto de Texas escribiume en 2006

and said, "You should get as many people as possible

e dixo: "Deberías conseguir que tanta xente como sexa posible

to put on blue polo shirts and khaki pants

poña polos azuis e pantalóns caqui,

and go into a Best Buy and stand around."

vaia a unha tenda Best Buy e pasee por alí".

(Laughter)

(Risas)

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

So I wrote this high school kid back immediately

Así que respondín o correo do rapaz inmediatamente

e lle dixen: "Tes toda a razón.

and I said, "Yes, you are correct.

Creo que vou intentar facelo esta fin de semana. Grazas".

I think I'll try to do that this weekend. Thank you."

E aquí está o vídeo.

So here's the video.

De novo, estamos en 2005.

So again, this is 2005.

Este é o Best Buy de Nova Iorque.

This is the Best Buy in New York City.

We had about 80 people show up to participate,

Unhas 80 persoas achegáronse para participar

e entraron unha por unha.

entering one by one.

There was an eight-year-old girl, a 10-year-old girl.

Había unha nena de oito anos, outra de dez,

e tamén un home de 65 anos

There was also a 65-year-old man who participated.

entre os participantes.

So a very diverse group of people.

Un grupo moi diverso, en definitiva.

(Laughter)

Díxenlle á xente: "Non traballedes, non fagades nada de traballo.

And I told people, "Don't work. Don't actually do work.

Pero tampouco compredes.

But also, don't shop.

Just stand around and don't face products."

Só paseade e non fagades caso dos produtos".

Now you can see the regular employees

Podedes distinguir os empregados reais

by the ones that have the yellow tags on their shirt.

polas etiquetas amarelas que levan na camiseta.

O resto da xente son os nosos actores.

Everybody else is one of our actors.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

The lower-level employees thought it was very funny.

Os empregados pensaron que era divertido.

E, de feito, algúns deles foron buscar as súas cámaras á sala de descanso

Several of them went to go get their camera from the break room

e sacáronse fotos connosco.

and took photos with us.

Moitos deles dicían de brincadeira que nos ían mandar ao almacén

A lot of them made jokes about trying to get us to go to the back

a coller sets de televisión moi pesados para os clientes.

to get heavy television sets for customers.

Aos encargados e aos gardas de seguridade, por outra banda,

The managers and the security guards, on the other hand,

non lles pareceu moi gracioso.

did not find it particularly funny.

Podedes velos aquí.

You can see them in this footage.

Levan unha camisa amarela ou negra.

They're wearing either a yellow shirt or a black shirt.

And we were there probably 10 minutes

Estivemos alí probablemente dez minutos

before the managers decided to dial 911.

antes de que os encargados chamasen o 911.

(Risas)

(Laughter)

So they started running around

Empezaron a corricar por todas partes

telling everybody the cops were coming, "Watch out, the cops are coming."

dicíndolle a todo o mundo que viña a poli, que tivesen coidado.

And you can see the cops in this footage right here.

E podedes ver os policías nesta secuencia.

That's a cop wearing black right there, being filmed with a hidden camera.

Aquí hai un policía vestido de negro que está sendo filmado cunha cámara oculta.

Ao final, o policía tivo que informar os encargados de Best Buy

Ultimately, the police had to inform Best Buy management

de que non era ilegal

that it was not, in fact, illegal to wear a blue polo shirt and khaki pants.

levar polo azul e pantalóns caqui.

(Risas)

(Laughter)

(Aplausos)

(Applause)

Grazas.

Thank you.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

So we had been there for 20 minutes; we were happy to exit the store.

Levábamos alí 20 minutos, xa podiamos saír da tenda tranquilos.

One thing the managers were trying to do was to track down our cameras.

Unha das cousas que os encargados trataban de facer

era localizar as nosas cámaras.

And they caught a couple of my guys who had hidden cameras in duffel bags.

Colleron a un par dos meus rapaces que tiñan cámaras ocultas en bolsas de tela.

Pero houbo unha cámara que non descubriron

But the one camera guy they never caught

e foi a dun rapaz que entrou simplemente cunha cinta

was the guy that went in just with a blank tape

foi ao departamento de cámaras de Best Buy

and went over to the Best Buy camera department

meteu a cinta nunha das cámaras

and just put his tape in one of their cameras

e fixo como que mercaba.

and pretended to shop.

So I like that concept of using their own technology against them.

Gustoume a idea de utilizar a súa propia tecnoloxía en contra deles.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

I think our best projects are ones that are site-specific

Creo que os nosos mellores proxectos son os que teñen un lugar específico

e pasan nun sitio concreto por unha razón.

and happen at a particular place for a reason.

Unha mañá ía no metro,

And one morning, I was riding the subway.

tiña que facer transbordo na parada da rúa 53

I had to make a transfer at the 53rd St. stop

onde están esas escaleiras mecánicas enormes.

where there are these two giant escalators.

É un sitio moi deprimente polas mañás, está ateigado de xente.

And it's a very depressing place to be in the morning, it's very crowded.

Así que decidín facer algo alí

So I decided to try and stage something

que puidese facelo o máis alegre posible durante unha mañá.

that could make it as happy as possible for one morning.

Estabamos no inverno de 2009.

So this was in the winter of 2009 -- 8:30 in the morning.

Eran as 8:30 da mañá.

Hora punta pola mañá.

It's morning rush hour.

It's very cold outside.

Facía moito frío fóra.

People are coming in from Queens,

A xente chegaba dende Queens

transferring from the E train to the 6 train.

facendo transbordo do tren E ao tren 6

And they're going up these giant escalators

e ían subindo esas escaleiras xigantes

de camiño ao traballo.

on their way to their jobs.

[Rob wants]

[to give you]

Rob quere chocar a man contigo. (Risas)

(Laughter)

[a high five!]

(Laughter)

[Get ready!]

(Laughter)

Prepárate. (Risas)

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

Grazas.

Thank you.

So there's a photograph that illustrates it a little bit better.

Hai unha foto que o ilustra un pouco mellor.

He gave 2,000 high fives that day,

Chocou a man 2.000 veces aquel día,

lavou as mans antes e despois

and he washed his hands before and afterward

e non se puxo enfermo.

and did not get sick.

Isto fíxose tamén sen permiso

And that was done also without permission,

pero a ninguén pareceu importarlle.

although no one seemed to care.

Diría que co paso dos anos

So I'd say over the years,

one of the most common criticisms I see of Improv Everywhere

unha das críticas máis comúns que vexo de Improv Everywhere

left anonymously on YouTube comments

que aparece de forma anónima nos comentarios de YouTube

is: "These people have too much time on their hands."

é: "Esta xente ten demasiado tempo libre".

And you know, not everybody's going to like everything you do,

E, por suposto, non a todo o mundo lle vai gustar o que fas

and I've certainly developed a thick skin thanks to Internet comments,

e eu xa me fixen máis duro grazas aos comentarios de internet

pero esta crítica sempre me molesta

but that one's always bothered me,

porque non temos moito tempo libre.

because we don't have too much time on our hands.

A xente que participa nos eventos de Improv Everywhere

The participants in Improv Everywhere events

ten o mesmo tempo libre que calquera outro neoiorquino,

have just as much leisure time as any other New Yorkers,

simplemente escollen

they just occasionally choose to spend it in an unusual way.

utilizalo dunha forma orixinal.

You know, every Saturday and Sunday,

Xa sabedes, cada sábado e domingo

hundreds of thousands of people each fall

centos de miles de persoas cada outono

gather in football stadiums to watch games.

reúnense nos estadios de fútbol para ver os partidos.

E nunca oín a ninguén comentar, ao ver un partido de fútbol:

And I've never seen anybody comment, looking at a football game,

"Esta xente que está nas bancadas ten demasiado tempo libre".

"All those people in the stands, they have too much time on their hands."

E por suposto que non o teñen.

And of course they don't.

E unha forma marabillosa de pasar unha tarde de fin de semana

It's a perfectly wonderful way to spent a weekend afternoon,

vendo un partido de fútbol nun estadio.

watching a football game in a stadium.

Pero na miña opinión tamén é perfectamente válido

But I think it's also a perfectly valid way

pasar unha tarde conxelándose con outras 200 persoas

to spend an afternoon freezing in place with 200 people

na terminal de Grand Central

in the Grand Central terminal

ou disfrazándose de cazapantasmas

or dressing up like a ghostbuster

and running through the New York Public Library.

e correndo a través da Biblioteca Pública de Nova Iorque.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

Or listening to the same MP3 as 3,000 other people

Ou escoitando a mesma canción que outras 3.000 persoas

e bailando en silencio nun parque,

and dancing silently in a park,

or bursting into song in a grocery store

ou empezando a cantar nunha tenda de comestibles

as part of a spontaneous musical,

como parte dun musical espontáneo

or diving into the ocean in Coney Island wearing formal attire.

ou lanzándose ao océano en Coney Island ataviado con roupas formais.

Cando eramos nenos ensináronnos a xogar

(Laughter)

You know, as kids, we're taught to play.

e nunca nos deron unha razón pola que debiamos xogar.

And we're never given a reason why we should play.

Simplemente se acepta que xogar é algo bo.

It's just acceptable that play is a good thing.

E creo que esa é a razón de ser de Improv Everywhere.

And I think that's sort of the point of Improv Everywhere.

It's that there is no point and that there doesn't have to be a point.

Non hai razón e non ten por que haber unha razón.

Non necesitamos unha razón.

We don't need a reason. As long as it's fun

Mentres sexa divertido

and it seems like it's going to be a funny idea

e pareza que vai ser unha idea divertida

and it seems like the people who witness it

e pareza que a xente que a vai ver vaia ter un momento divertido tamén

will also have a fun time,

iso é suficiente para nós.

then that's enough for us.

And I think, as adults, we need to learn

E creo que, como adultos, temos que aprender

that there's no right or wrong way to play.

que non hai unha forma correcta ou incorrecta de xogar.

Moitas grazas

Thank you very much.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)