The shared experience of absurdity | Charlie Todd

翻译人员: Chunxiang Qian 校对人员: Qi Gu

大约十年前我创立了“随处即兴”

I started Improv Everywhere about 10 years ago

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

当时我刚搬到纽约，对表演和喜剧充满兴趣

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

因为初来乍到，我找不到舞台落脚

so I decided to create my own in public places.

于是我决定在公共场所创造我的大舞台

我们将要看到的第一个活动就是

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

“首届不穿裤子乘地铁”

is the very first No Pants Subway Ride.

那是在2002年1月

Now, this took place in January of 2002.

这位女士就是女主角

And this woman is the star of the video.

她不知道自己被拍摄

She doesn't know she's being filmed.

一个隐蔽摄像头纪录了这一切

She's being filmed with a hidden camera.

这是纽约地铁6号线

This is on the 6 train in New York City.

这是这条线路的第一站

And this is the first stop along the line.

两个丹麦人上来了

These are two Danish guys

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

他们坐到了隐蔽摄像头的旁边

穿着咖啡色外套的就是我

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

当时室外温度大概是零下一度

It's about 30 degrees outside.

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

我戴着帽子和围巾

她马上就注意到我了

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

（笑声）

(Laughter)

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

而你现在可见，我没穿裤子

(Laughter)

（笑声）

现在

At this point --

她注意到我了

at this point she's noticed me,

但是在纽约，地铁里怪人随处可见

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

一个人没有什么稀奇的

One person's not that unusual.

她继续看书，巧得很书名叫《强奸》

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

（笑声）

(Laughter)

她注意到奇怪的事

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

但很快恢复常态

Now, in the meantime, I have six friends

与此同时，我的6个朋友

who are waiting at the next six consecutive stops

再接下来的6个站只穿着内裤等着

in their underwear as well.

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

他们将一个接一个进来

我们装作相互不认识

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,

我们都装作 只是碰巧在这寒冬腊月

forgetting our pants on this cold January day.

都忘了穿裤子

(Laughter)

（笑声）

(Laughter continues)

现在

So at this point,

she decides to put the rape book away.

她把书合上

（笑声）

(Laughter)

决定看看到底是怎么一回事

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,

这时候摄像头旁的两名丹麦男子

已经乐不可支了

they're cracking up.

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

他们觉得这是自己看到的最搞笑的事情

你看她在跟他们眼神示意

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

(Laughter)

（笑声）

我最喜欢视频里这一刻

And I love that moment in this video,

因为这成为一个共同经历

because before it became a shared experience,

it was something that was maybe a little bit scary,

这事也许有点吓人

or something that was at least confusing to her.

至少有点让人摸不着头脑

但是一旦这一经历被人所共享

And then, once it became a shared experience,

我就变成一个搞笑滑稽的主体

it was funny and something that she could laugh at.

现在到了

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

6号线第三站

(Laughter)

（笑声）

这个视频不会展示全部

So the video won't show everything.

接下来还有四站

This goes on for another four stops.

7个只穿内裤的男人陆续上车

A total of seven guys enter anonymously in their underwear.

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

第八站一个提着大帆布袋子的女士上车了

一美元一条裤子减价大甩卖

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

like you might sell batteries or candy on the train.

就象别人在车上卖电池或者糖果之类

我们每人买了一条裤子穿上

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

然后对她说：“多谢了，真是雪中送炭！”

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

and then exited without revealing what had happened

然后不说什么都下车了

各奔东西

and went in all different directions.

(Applause)

（掌声）

谢谢

Thank you.

So that's a still from the video there.

这是暂停的一个画面

And I love that girl's reaction so much.

我十分喜欢她对此的反应

And watching that videotape later that day

那天晚些时候我又看了看这个视频

inspired me to keep doing what I do.

这启发了我应该继续做类似的事

而“随处即兴”的宗旨

And really one of the points of Improv Everywhere

is to cause a scene in a public place

就是在公共场合创造一个

that is a positive experience for other people.

对其他人来说成为积极经历的场景

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

这是个恶作剧，但这个恶作剧得以让人们分享很棒的故事

她的反应启发了我

And her reaction inspired me

to do a second annual No Pants Subway Ride.

来举办第二届“不穿裤子乘地铁”

And we've continued to do it every year.

这变成一项年度活动

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

今年1月，我们举办了第十届“不穿裤子乘地铁”

大约有3,500名各种背景的人

where a diverse group of 3,500 people

rode the train in their underwear in New York --

在纽约地铁上共同上演了这个好戏－

几乎每一趟列车上都能见到

almost every single train line in the city.

同时在世界各地其他50个城市

And also in 50 other cities around the world,

也有人参与了

people participated.

(Laughter)

（笑声）

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

我开始在正直公民旅团剧院上即兴艺术的课程

并得以见到其他的创意人士，演员和喜剧明星们

and meeting other creative people and other performers and comedians,

我开始大量收集

I started amassing a mailing list of people

对此类行动有兴趣的人的邮件地址

who wanted to do these types of projects.

来扩大我的表演阵容

So I could do more large-scale projects.

一天我经过联合广场

Well, one day I was walking through Union Square,

看到这栋楼

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

于2005落成

有一个橱窗前一个女孩在跳舞

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

非常奇特的景象

It was very peculiar, because it was dark out,

因为周围都很暗 荧光从她背后照过来

but she was backlit with florescent lighting.

就是浑然天成的舞台一样

She was very much onstage

我不明白她干嘛这么做

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

大概15秒后她的朋友出现了－

After about 15 seconds, her friend appeared --

她躲在一个展板后面

she had been hiding behind a display.

她们大笑着拥抱了对方然后跑开了

They laughed, hugged each other and ran away.

估计她们在玩真心话大冒险

Maybe she had been dared to do this.

我受到了启发

So I got inspired by that.

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

我望着整栋楼的正面－一共有70个窗户

我知道怎么办了

and I knew what I had to do.

（笑声）

(Laughter)

So this project is called Look Up More.

这个活动就叫做“再抬头看看”，我们有70个着黑衣的舞者

We had 70 actors dress in black.

这未经批准

This was completely unauthorized.

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

我们不想商场知道我们的计划

And I stood in the park giving signals.

我站在公园给指示

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

第一个指示是每个人都举起这些四英尺高的字母

拼起来就是“再抬头看看”

that spelled out "Look Up More,"

即活动名称

the name of the project.

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

第二个指示是每个人做踢腿跳

你这会儿就能看到

You'll see that start right here.

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And then we had dancing. We had everyone dance.

然后是跳舞 每个人都跳

接下来就是独舞

And then we had dance solos

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

所有人就都指着他们

（笑声）

(Laughter)

然后我的手出了一个新指示

So then I gave a new hand signal,

示意楼下Forever21的人独舞

which signaled the next soloist down below in Forever 21,

他就跳起来了

and he danced.

还有一些其他形式的表演

There were several other activities.

有的上下蹦跳

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

有的摔倒地上

And I was standing just anonymously in a sweatshirt,

我就穿着一件套头衫，默默站在人群里

把手放上放下一个垃圾桶

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

来给出下一步的指示

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

因为这是在联合广场公园 离地铁站很近

最后有好几百人

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

停下来观看

and watched what we were doing.

我们的表演

There's a better photo of it.

这个照片比较清楚

So that particular event was inspired by a moment

那么这个活动

仅仅是由

that I happened to stumble upon.

我受自己偶然间的观察启发而生的

The next project I want to show

下一个我想分享的项目

was given to me in an email from a stranger.

来自一个陌生人的电子邮件

A high school kid in Texas wrote me in 2006

2006年德克萨斯一个高中生写信给我

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

说：“你应该聚齐尽可能多的人

to put on blue polo shirts and khaki pants

穿着蓝色polo衫和卡其裤子

and go into a Best Buy and stand around."

跑到百思买去站着。”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

(Applause)

（掌声）

So I wrote this high school kid back immediately

我立马给他回了邮件

说：“你说的一点没错。

and I said, "Yes, you are correct.

这周末我就会努力实行，谢谢！”

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

就是这个视频

So here's the video.

这还是在2005年

So again, this is 2005.

纽约市的百思买

This is the Best Buy in New York City.

We had about 80 people show up to participate,

大约有80人参加

他们一个接一个进入商店

entering one by one.

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

有八岁的女孩，十岁的女孩

还有65岁的男人

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

都参加了

So a very diverse group of people.

因此参加人员十分广泛

(Laughter)

我告诉他们：“别表现出你真在工作

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

但是也别买什么

But also, don't shop.

Just stand around and don't face products."

就四处转转别看产品。”

Now you can see the regular employees

正式职员的T恤上

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

是有黄色牌子的

其他的都是我们的演员

Everybody else is one of our actors.

(Laughter)

（笑声）

The lower-level employees thought it was very funny.

基层职员觉得这很搞笑

实际上，甚至有人从休息室拿了相机

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

要和我们拍照留念

and took photos with us.

很多人开玩笑说让我们一起去仓库

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

为客人把沉重的电视机抬出来

to get heavy television sets for customers.

不过，商店的经理和保安

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

可没觉得这有什么搞笑的

did not find it particularly funny.

这个镜头里能看到

You can see them in this footage.

他们穿着黄色或者黑色T恤

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

And we were there probably 10 minutes

我们待了大概10钟

before the managers decided to dial 911.

经理觉得要打911报警了

（笑声）

(Laughter)

So they started running around

于是他们就开始到处跑

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

通知其他人，注意点，警察要来了

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

这个镜头里能看到警察

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

一个隐蔽摄像头拍到了这个警察

最终警察告诉百思买的经理

Ultimately, the police had to inform Best Buy management

穿蓝色polo衫和卡其裤

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

不能算违法

（笑声）

(Laughter)

（掌声）

(Applause)

谢谢

Thank you.

(Applause)

（掌声）

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

于是我们待了将近有20分钟后， 愉快地离开了百思买

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

经理尝试要

追查我们的相机

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

他们发现我们几个人在帆布包里藏里摄像机

但是有个摄像的却一直没被发现

But the one camera guy they never caught

他带里个空带进去

was the guy that went in just with a blank tape

进了百思买的相机摄影机部门

and went over to the Best Buy camera department

就把空带放进其中一个摄像机

and just put his tape in one of their cameras

假装试机

and pretended to shop.

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

我很喜欢这个想法，用他们的技术应对对方

(Laughter)

（笑声）

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

我想最好的行动计划是在特定场所

有原因地发生

and happen at a particular place for a reason.

有天早上我去乘地铁

And one morning, I was riding the subway.

我得在53街站换乘

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

那儿有两个超长的电梯

where there are these two giant escalators.

而那是个让人一大早就感到很压抑的地方 人非常多

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

我决定要尝试点什么，演上一出

So I decided to try and stage something

能让人觉得开心 哪怕只是一早上

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

这是2009年冬天－

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

早上八点半

上班高峰期

It's morning rush hour.

It's very cold outside.

外面非常冷

People are coming in from Queens,

都是从皇后区过来的乘客

transferring from the E train to the 6 train.

从E号线转乘6号线

And they're going up these giant escalators

他们搭着这超长电梯

去往工作的路上

on their way to their jobs.

[Rob wants]

[to give you]

（笑声）

(Laughter)

[a high five!]

(Laughter)

[Get ready!]

(Laughter)

（笑声）

(Applause)

（掌声）

谢谢

Thank you.

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

另外一张照片照的比较好点

He gave 2,000 high fives that day,

他那天击掌里两千次

行动前后都洗过手了

and he washed his hands before and afterward

没生病

and did not get sick.

这个行动没有经过批准

And that was done also without permission,

不过似乎也没人理

although no one seemed to care.

这几年

So I'd say over the years,

one of the most common criticisms I see of Improv Everywhere

我见过Youtube上对于“随处即兴”

left anonymously on YouTube comments

最常见的评论之一是

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

“这帮人真是闲得慌”

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

不是每个人都喜欢你做的所有事

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

多亏这些评论我变得厚脸皮了

但就是这个评论很烦人

but that one's always bothered me,

因为我们并没有那么闲

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

“随处即兴”的参与者

The participants in Improv Everywhere events

不比其他纽约人空闲时间多

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

他们只是偶尔选择

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

一种不同的方式来休闲

You know, every Saturday and Sunday,

每年秋天每个周末

hundreds of thousands of people each fall

就有成千上万的人

gather in football stadiums to watch games.

去美式橄榄球场看球

从来没见谁看着比赛

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

说：“看台上的这帮人真闲啊！”

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

当然不是这样

And of course they don't.

这只是一个度过周末下午的美好方式

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

在体育场看场球赛

watching a football game in a stadium.

我觉得200人一齐

But I think it's also a perfectly valid way

在纽约中央车站玩瞬间静止

to spend an afternoon freezing in place with 200 people

也是很好的度过下午的方式

in the Grand Central terminal

或者穿成捉鬼敢死队的样子

or dressing up like a ghostbuster

and running through the New York Public Library.

在纽约公共图书馆跑来跑去

(Laughter)

（笑声）

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

或者三千多人一齐听着MP3

在公园里无声地跳舞

and dancing silently in a park,

or bursting into song in a grocery store

或者在超市突然放声唱歌

as part of a spontaneous musical,

创作出即兴音乐剧

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

或者一帮人盛装冲进科尼岛的海滩

孩提时候大人教我们玩

(Laughter)

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

却从来没问我们为什么要玩

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

玩是积极的事情

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

我想这就是“随处即兴”想要表达的

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.

其实我们并没有什么宗旨 也没必要有

我们不需要原因去玩

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

只要一件事好玩

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

是个有意思的想法

and it seems like the people who witness it

看的人也会一同开心

will also have a fun time,

那就足够了

then that's enough for us.

And I think, as adults, we need to learn

作为成年人

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

我们要认识到玩无止尽

非常感谢

Thank you very much.

(Applause)

（掌声）