40-50 agents meet up at South Station to do some human dominoes.
The story: A tour group of trendy New Yorkers off the Acela line up for tours. The tour leader does a few different actions that are repeated down the line. After everyone stretches, the tourist at the end sneezes, and knocks the others down like dominoes.
The outcome: People were more confused than delighted, but claps and cheers were heard throughout the station. A few agents were also questioned by the police.
We didn’t participate in the actual event, as we didn’t fit the agent criteria. Trendy New York kids don’t fit in as much.
I’ll tell you why people were more confused than delighted. They were wondering why the fuck someone would waste their time with this poor mans version of Project Mayhem. The fact that someone didn’t meet the “criteria” amazes me, after all what does it take to stand in South Station and look like an asshole for ten minutes?
Actually the event was an open invite- this video was made by a couple kids (10-12 years old) who didn’t feel that they fit in with the act. It was entirely their choice to participate as recorders instead of actors- they were welcomed to participate any way they wanted. I think since everyone was 2-4 times their age they just weren’t that comfortable with it.
The footage here was one perspective from one camera- we had 7 cameras and caught some great reactions. From this perspective it was more confusion than delight, but others reported pure joy from the crowds. We’re happy with both reactions. Eventually we’ll get our official video up on our site which will be much more comprehensive and show more of the event than just the stretch and fall.
I wouldn’t call what we do a “poor man’s Project Mayhem” since Project Mayhem is fictional and its based on the Cacophony Society- we have a very different philosophy and method of execution than the Cacophony Society. We do guerrilla performance art with the same goals as NYC’s Improv Everywhere (which is what we are based on and also involved with) which is to create scenes of chaos and joy- as well as promote new connections among both bystanders and participants. It’s been a fantastic way to meet new, interesting people and since I have traveled for these I now have good friends in both NYC and Chicago I see a couple times a year in addition to the slew in our hometown, Boston.