Sound and Graphic Design: Agent Walker
Light Design: Agent Baer
DV Cams: Agents JWard, Farlow
Digital Photography: Agents Rainswept, Kula
Directed by: Agent Todd
The Mp3 Experiment is Improv Everywhere’s first mission to take place inside an actual theatre. As its name suggests, it’s really more of an experiment that a mission. Our typical audiences are made up of unsuspecting members of the public. In this case our crowd was comprised of about 70 very suspecting folks who paid $8 to come out to the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and be a part of the experiment. Like most Improv Everywhere missions, our goal with The Mp3 Experiment was to give folks something to smile about.
Agent Todd and Agent Walker collaborated to create a 27 minute Mp3 file. The Mp3 was a mixture of music and instructions from a voice (Agent Todd’s voice put through a sound effect filter). Audience members downloaded the Mp3 in advance, transferred it to their portable Mp3 players (or burned it to a disc for their portable CD players), and brought it with them to the theatre. Audience members were told not to listen to the track in advance. At the top of the show, a video projection instructed the crowd to press play simultaneously.
We’ve edited the original 27-minute track down to an 8-minute sample version for your listening pleasure. This sample track removes the songs and cuts down the instructions to the bare essentials. It’s about 7 MB. Download it here.

“Why don’t we all get on stage?”

“Why don’t we stretch for a bit?”












Stage right looks as stage left is told a secret

Stage left watches as stage right is told a secret





Group Photo as taken by the tallest person in the room




















Santa passes the Chelsea gay bar Rawhide


Santa reaches McManus bar

Mp3 Experiment participants drink together until late into the night

Agent Wimpy

Back at the UCB Theatre, Agent Baer surveys the wreckage.

Sound designer Agent Walker chats with light designer Agent Baer

“Really I just have to say that I had a blast on Saturday night. You have just scratched the surface of all the different things that can be done in this way too. I hope to see another one of these in the years to come.”
-Glenn Brown
“This show was a blast even for someone who’s CD player kept just stopping. I spent most of the show thinking, `I guess it’s time to dance/high-five/hug, etc.’ I listened to it all this morning and I’d say I kept along pretty well. My favorite part was when the MP3 stopped and Santa came and took us to McManus. I was like the grumpy kid who stopped believing and found out magic was real.
Highlights:
- The first 7 minutes when I was involved
- Hearing bits and pieces people singing along
- The cheer when Santa arrived
- Following Santa and seeing the reactions, one of which was `Merry Fucking Christmas’
- Santa’s directions and interactions with the passersby `Good, good, good, bad, good’
Awesome.”
-Dan Buchbinder
“The Mp3 Experiment was an absolute blast. I had no idea what to expect. If you told me that morning that I would be on the UCB stage at midnight blowing bubbles, dancing and hitting balloons around, I would have said, `OK.’ But if you told me I would be doing it while the world around me was in complete silence, I would have said, `You so crazy…I think I wanna have yo baby!’
One of my favorite parts was when my friend and I took our headphones off and just looked around at a crowd of dancing idiots with no music. All you could hear were lots of giggles and the shuffling of feet. I can’t wait for the next Mp3 Experiment!!!”
-Eric Appel
“The show was a lot of fun & definitely an innovative idea in theater. I think it could be expanded and be very successful. It was a nice change from a movie or regular theater.”
-Diane Pollack
“The mp3 Experiment was a transcendent experience. The show is exhilarating, mysterious, and constantly hilarious. One of my favorite nights at the UCB Theatre.”
-Owen Burke
“I was having so much fun dancing to The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven” it didn’t occur to me that, to the unplugged observer, we were all dancing in silence.”
-Robyn Sklaren
“Such a great experience. My favorite parts were when it was clear some people were more ahead than others in the mp3. For example when we were all standing still onstage waiting for the next directions and someone suddenly started dancing and we had to wait a bit to realize what the hell he was doing.”
-Katie Dippold
“This was so awesome.”
-Justin Purnell
“Ridiculously fun, inspiring, other superlatives. Here’s to mp3 Experiment v 2.0.”
-DC Pierson
“In almost all of my tech experiences, light and sound cues are lines said by a cast member or a certain action. This show was all based on time. And the really interesting thing, for me anyway, was knowing that if I started my mp3 even a second late, all the light cues would be off for the audience/cast. At one point in the show, I removed my own headphones and went only off my time index. It was truly enjoyable to watch people blowing up balloons and trying to keep them up in the air as long as possible.
As I’ve mentioned to Agent Todd, the truly inspiring thing about this show was the turn out. The stage was packed! Certain effects were lost simply by the amount of bodies dancing around or hugging.
I was very pleased to be a part of it.”
-Pat Baer, Light Designer for The Mp3 Experiment
“My favorite part of the show was the part where half of the audience listened to a secret. Somehow this was twice as interesting as when the entire audience was doing the same thing. It was also really interesting when the tall guy was having trouble with the camera – what would happen if he didn’t accomplish this in time? Ah, the suspense! I really enjoyed participating in this show, and I hope that you do it again.”
-Rachel Lovinger
“I have to say that The Mp3 Experiment was ridiculous fun, and I don’t think I’ve ever experienced anything quite like it. There were times when I felt so happy during it that I giggled like a little schoolboy. The concept is amazing, and I hope and pray that you do more of these in the future.”
-Kevin Balla
“It was an amazing show, fun, positive and very cool and modern. It made me feel part of a generation; there is no way that this show could have happened even 2 years ago! What a great way to end 2004.”
-Louie Pearlman
Mission Accomplished.
Further Reading: The Mp3 Experiment was inspired in part by The Flaming Lips’ Parking Lot Experiments and Headphone Concerts and also by Andy Kaufman’s Performance at Carnegie Hall.
HIRE US
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.
THIS. IS. AWESOME.
Oh, to see an Mp3 party here…
…hmm…
But seriously, my jaw dropped when I read it. This is pure brilliance.
This is an awesome idea. I thought of doing something similar, and seeing it actually done successfully confirms my want to do this. This site has been great, I’ve spent a good 4hrs tonight reading through it all.
Sites like this one are what make this internet great. :thumbup:
An interesting concept, but certainly does not match the brilliance of some of the other missions. Nonetheless, still a very fascinating idea.
I love this concept. I love that everything was organized, but completely new to everyone who was participating. I really like the random things you had the people do. Very surreal. Also, Flaming Lips= wonderful.
This is an absolutely awesome idea. I am really impressed and want to try one of these in Pittsburgh.
That would be so awesome. I’d love to take part in something like this. This mission is deffinately one of my favorites!
I found out about the mp3 experiment a couple weeks ahead of time, and wish I’d been able to make the trip to NY to participate–it looks like it was great fun. Do more of them!
I’m so sorry I missed this. Sounds a lot like the culminating event in Pete Townshend’s Lifehouse Project (http://www.petetownshend.co.uk/projects/lifehouse/).
For a moment, there was a hint that The Omnipotent Steve would push Charlie over to the Dark Side…
ferkool..cage/messian,b-sides:
sibelius? nah, stockhausen, ?
casio philip glass?
Hi, the link for the FAQ is broken.
I fixed the broken link. thanks!
I downloaded the materials for this event and am going to present it at Valencia Community College this summer for the faculty and staff. I am an animator also and plan to re-do some of the Flash to make it more interactive. I also have partly written an mp3 of my own based on some learning modules and even add some synchronized characters that can be projected onscreen to interact with the crowd. If you’d like to be updated on the project I hope you’ll email me at edward@edwardhowelldesign.com.
What fun! Maybe you can do it again, but make sure 1 person gets a different mp3 file with different instructions. Hmm. ;-)
Beautiful! Feel the love! Magic is real!
I just ran into this site and your missions are hilarious. For the next mp3 experiment use one of the mp3 player gadgets that transmits over a low-powered FM signal.
you guys rock but my question is……if a ninja falls in the woods and no one is around o hear him….. does he make a sound?
I would have loved to be a part of a “performance” like this. It almost seems like a hypnotism show, though… in which I also wouldn’t mind taking part. :D
It would have been great if someone had recognized Santa Claus as Anton Chekov.
I love what you do! What a great way to bring people together and have fun! I would love to participate some time!
I think santa should have led them into the gay bar. It would have been really funny to see everyone’s reactions to that.
This would be a great way to get a party started! :)
Really cool project and I really like what you guys are doing but shouldn’t you have given a mention to the Flaming Lips? Their Boombox experiments took place in 1998. I’m sure they’d be flattered.
@Nicole,
You didn’t read the whole thing.
Wow I just found this. And I’m so bummed they allready visited my town last year with the MP3 experiment.
Am I the only 80’s 90’s child to remember there was a commercial just like this way back in the day?
I can’t remember if it was the premier of the zune, or ipod or other mp3 player, but there was the weird little cg blue alien. A bunch of people downloaded an MP3 from a docking station in a van on the beach. Everyone waited until the signal was given and then hit play….. and grooved in total silence. Maybe that’s where the idea came from.