Pranks and Fun Stuff

I get lots of fun input from other great authors, writers and various newsletters. I love April Fools Day, but have yet to plan ahead far enough to make the most of it. While perusing the Internet I came across several fun ideas that put the idea back in my mind. Here is some of what I found.

Thanks to John Kinde at Humor Power.com whose wonderful newsletter is always insightful and fun. He provided this wonderful article about Improv Everywhere and their playful pranks. Take a look:

They ran a short clip on a group in New York City called Improv Everywhere who, this past Saturday, held their Seventh-Annual No-Pants Ride On the Subway. The idea is to do something as a group which is safe (nobody gets hurt or offended) and fun (everyone has a good time). Imagine entering a subway car and realizing that several people were not wearing pants! How would you react? Actually, it's intentionally kept on the tame side. Most participants wear boxer shorts. I know if I'm ever to appear in public in my underwear...it will be boxers. Briefs are just too...underwear. The organizers of the No-Pants event gave instructions to the participants to dress in good taste. No thongs. In fact, they suggest that wearing two pairs of underwear might be a good idea. "We want to have fun...not piss people off."
Their web site is fun to browse. www.improveverywhere.com

And here are a few more ideas on doing a gag well:

Simple is fun. A group activity doesn't have to be complicated. Sometimes a group will do something as simple as meeting at a designated location and applauding for 15 seconds and then blending back into the crowd. Or pointing in the sky at an imaginary object for 30 seconds and then disappearing. Total strangers are left to ask themselves, "What were they applauding?" Or, "What were they looking at?"

Silly People. One of my favorites is Lezlie, who was an improv player in my California troupe. If a scene ever needed a space alien or an android...Lezlie was the one to do it. She came to a pot-luck dinner party with a dish only Lezlie could bring. It was a plate of corn. She had gone to the trouble or preparing it to look like an hors d'oeuvres plate. Each kernel of corn had a toothpick stuck into it. Without a comment, without a smile, she placed it on the food table. People would see it and think, "Who brought the corn?" Although I think most of us immediately knew...it was Lezlie.

April Fools Day, the traditional gag day, is about ten weeks away. Now is the time to think about what you might do to celebrate the day. The most simple thing to do is get a greeting card from the card rack at the store. My favorite was a card that looked like the back of the card (barcode and price information). When you turned it over, it was also the back of the card. When you opened it, the greeting said "Happy April Fools Day!" Cute. But better yet, dream up your own, original gag for this April 1. It could be a gag for a large group, a small group at work, your family, or for that one special person. Keep it safe and sane and remember the relationship factor to help you measure appropriateness. And then on April 2, send a summary of what you did and what the experience was like to HumorPowerTips@HumorPower.com.

You can also check out these great sites for more ideas:

Family Fun – April Fools’ Pranks Galore. Check out Time Warp under Classic Pranks; Try the Official “Tax Collection on Allowance” form from the Printable Pranks, And Grilled Cheese (Surprise) from the Fun Food Pranks.

April Fool Zone for harmless ideas for work and home.