The Mp3 Experiment has become an annual event for Improv Everywhere; Agent Tyler Walker and I put an mp3 online (usually around 45 minutes long) and agents download and transfer it to their iPods. Everyone then synchronizes their watches to an atomic clock on the website, and then heads out to the same public location. At the predetermined time, everyone presses play. Hilarity ensues as participants carry out ridiculous instructions delivered to their headphones via narrator Steve (aka The Omnipotent Voice From Above) and folks passing by try to figure out why a mass of people are all silently jumping around.
This mission is sometimes confused with a “Silent Rave” or “Mobile Disco,” a type of flash mob popularized in England where mobbers arrive in a public place to dance silently to their own iPod. The key difference with our event is that everyone is actually listening to the exact same thing, which makes it all the more fun. Here is a recap of Mp3 Experiments past:
The Mp3 Experiment (2004)
The original Mp3 Experiment took place indoors at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. The audience watched a projected countdown clock and then all pressed play together. A few minutes later the seats were empty as the entire crowd was dancing on the stage. Participants blew bubbles, hit balloons in the air, and hugged each other before being led by Santa Clause (Agent Wimpy in costume) out the theatre and down the street to a nearby bar.
The Mp3 Experiment 2.0 (2005)
For the second installment participants met up in the Sheep’s Meadow in Central Park. A few minutes after pressing play, 200 participants suddenly rose from their seats on the field as everyone else in the park looked on in shock. Listeners had unknowingly downloaded four separate mp3s and were thus divided up into groups, led by a ridiculous cast of a Sea Captain, Bumblebee, Dolphin, and Astronaut. The event ended with a Rock Paper Scissors battle and a 200 beach balls being tossed into the air.
The Mp3 Experiment III (2006)
600 participants gathered in four different locations in the northwest corner of Central Park. Led by more ridiculous costumed characters (this time a giant Sun, Cloud, Raindrop, and Snowflake) the groups paraded through the woods to meet up with each other by a beautiful lake. An epic battle between the elements took place and everyone celebrated by forming a 600-person conga line.
The Mp3 Experiment Four (2007)
826 people wearing blue, red, yellow, or green shirts pressed play by the Yacht Harbor in Lower Manhattan. They followed a German tourist up the river and played freeze tag in Rockefeller Park, much to the confusion of the girls sunbathing there. The group formed a massive color-coordinated bull’s-eye, which looked amazing from above.
The Mp3 Experiment 5 (2008)
This year The Mp3 Experiment went out on it’s first tour, hitting Toronto, San Francisco, and Chicago in addition to New York City. Participants engaged in a Revolutionary War style battle using balloons as weapons and created a massive canopy with umbrellas. The New York event had around 1,000 participants and took place on Governor’s Island.
The Mp3 Experiment Six (2009)
Over 2,000 participated on Roosevelt Island in New York City. A game of inflatable bats vs. hammers ended with everyone teaming up against the “lone wolf.” Check out this review by the NY Times.
We have also toured The Mp3 Experiment around the world to places like Berlin, Germany and Adelaide, Australia. If you’re part of an organization (festival, university, arts group) that is interested in commissioning an Mp3 Experiment, get in touch via our contact form.
