Agents,
Your mission, if you choose to accept it:
WHAT: 8th Annual No Pants Metro Ride
WHEN: Sunday, January 10, 2016 from 1:00pm to 3:00pm
WHERE: LA Metro System
BRING: $7 for a Metro Day Pass on your TAP card ($8 if you need to purchase a TAP card and the Day Pass), pants you can easily remove, something in which to keep them
For the 8th year in a row, GuerilLA will be participating in Improv Everywhere’s international mission, NO PANTS SUBWAY RIDE (it’s their 15th annual edition of this mission) on Sunday, January 10, 2016!
We encourage everyone to travel pantsless throughout the Metro system that day.
You have five rendezvous points from which to choose to execute this mission:
-Sierra Madre Villa station on the Gold Line in Pasadena
-Willowbrook station on the Blue Line in Willowbrook
-North Hollywood station on the Red Line in North Hollywood
-Wilshire/Western station on the Purple Line in Koreatown
-Culver City station on the Expo Line in Culver City
Start at whichever station is most convenient to you (or have an adventure and choose a station to which you have never been).
At 1pm, there will be ride captains at each rendezvous point to lead the mission. They are there to meet & brief the agents, to answer any questions, to have everyone de-pantsed before getting on the trains, and to ensure you leave on schedule. Please note the required use of TAP cards on all rail lines. If you already have a TAP card, no problem. If you don’t, you will have to purchase one along with your fare at the ticket machines. This will add $1.00 to your fare. The ride captains will help any inexperienced transit riders. Learn more about the TAP card here: http://www.metro.net/riding/fares/tap-time. And if you want even more detailed info, like where to buy the TAP card ahead of time, check out: http://www.taptogo.net.
Here are the instructions for each rendezvous point for the first phase of the mission:
-North Hollywood
Your ride captain is Agent Steel Shark. You will rendezvous with him at the Metro North Hollywood sign along the east side of Lankershim (Google street view: https://goo.gl/maps/G8hSw5C9Jeu). Departure time from North Hollywood is 1:25pm, so give yourself enough time to purchase your fare or day pass and make your way downstairs to the boarding platform. Arrival time at Union Station is 1:54pm.
-Willowbrook
Your ride captain is Agent Red (accompanied by her son, Agent Escapist). You will rendezvous with her at Willowbrook station where the Blue and Green Lines meet in the plaza underneath the Green Line/105 Freeway and to the west of the Blue Line tracks. (Google street view: https://goo.gl/maps/SnyRtymELu12). Departure time from Willowbrook station is 1:16pm, so give yourself enough time to purchase your fare or day pass and make your way to the boarding platform. Arrival time at 7th St./Metro Center is 1:45pm. Here is where you will transfer to the Red Line to Union Station (do not forget to tap your TAP card at the validation kiosk while transferring between trains). You will have plenty of time to get down to the boarding platform, but do not waste time. The Red Line train for Union Station arrives at 1:49pm. Check the signs to make sure you are on the correct side of the platform (the “Union Station” side, *not* the “North Hollywood and Wilshire/Western” side). Arrival time at Union Station is 1:54pm.
-Pasadena
Your ride captain is Agent Zenshinzo. You will rendezvous with him at the 4th floor of the parking structure by the ticket vending machines at the entrance to the Sierra Madre Villa station (Google street view of the exterior of parking structure: https://goo.gl/maps/yv0Eb). Departure time from the station is 1:27pm, so give yourself enough time to purchase your fare or day pass and make your way to the boarding platform. Arrival time at Union Station is 1:56pm.
-Koreatown
Your ride captain is Agent Jefe. You will rendezvous with them at the Metro Wilshire/Western sign on the NE corner of Wilshire Blvd. & Western Ave. (Google street view: https://goo.gl/maps/69tD7udXHgs). Departure time from the station is 1:35pm, so give yourself enough time to purchase your fare or day pass and make your way down to the boarding platform. Arrival time at Union Station is 1:48pm.
-Culver City
Your ride captain is Agent Faller. You will rendezvous with him at the light blue Metro Culver City sign on the north side of Washington Blvd., under the elevated tracks (Google street view: https://goo.gl/maps/J2mjpR4c9Xu). Departure time from Culver City is 1:22pm, so give yourself enough time to purchase your fare or day pass and make your way upstairs to the boarding platform. Arrival time at 7th St./Metro Center is 1:51pm. Here is where you will transfer to the Purple Line to Union Station (do not forget to tap your TAP card at the validation kiosk while transferring between trains). You will have plenty of time to get down to the boarding platform, but do not waste time. The Purple Line train for Union Station arrives at 1:55pm. Check the signs to make sure you are on the correct side of the platform (the “Union Station” side, *not* the “North Hollywood and Wilshire/Western” side). Arrival time at Union Station is 2:00pm.
Here are the instructions for the second phase of the mission:
The second phase will begin with our arrival at Union Station. We will disperse to mill around the station like the other commuters and act perfectly normal. A lot of the fun is waves of pantsless agents arriving at Union Station. Depending on where you are arriving from, you will have 34 to 46 minutes at this rendezvous point. You can use this time to take in Union Station’s beautiful architecture, meet up with friends arriving from other parts of the city, grab a beverage or snack, take pictures, etc. Give yourself a few minutes to get down to the Red Line platform because at 2:34pm sharp, we will travel westbound on the Red Line to Hollywood. Since Union Station is an origin point for both the Red and Purple Lines, check the overhead video monitors on the boarding platform to see which departing train is a North Hollywood (Red Line) train or a Wilshire/Western (Purple Line) train. There are also electronic signs at the front and on the sides of each train telling you which one it is. It’s important to check the signs because our train may be departing from either side of the platform (of course, you could also just follow the pantsless horde of people). After we leave Union Station, we will travel to Hollywood & Highland, disembarking at 2:55pm.
After everyone arrives in Hollywood, there will be a few brief words from the organizers at the top of the far set of stairs/escalators at the end of the boarding platform. There’s a corner off to the left where we can get out of the way of the civilians. After that, our primary debriefing location will be Loaded Hollywood (6377 Hollywood Blvd. – http://www.loadedhollywood.com – it’s 21 and over). Our secondary debriefing location will be Pig N’ Whistle (6714 Hollywood Boulevard – http://www.pignwhistlehollywood.com – more sedate, family-friendly, and for those under 21). At the debriefing, you can meet your fellow GuerilLA agents, discuss this mission, give ideas for future missions, and learn how to get more involved.
Additional instructions:
Please buy TAP card fare ($1.75: one-way, $3.50: round-trip, $7.00: day pass – and add $1.00 to your fare if you have to purchase a TAP card). The citation for evading fare payment is $250.00, an unnecessary and expensive risk. We recommend the day pass, especially if you are an inexperienced Metro rider.
There are no set rules, but we suggest that if anyone asks why we’re not wearing pants, it’s best to give a simple answer such as “I forgot them”. And it is of the utmost importance to act casual, like it’s an ordinary day on the Metro. We should look and act like we do NOT all know each other.
VERY IMPORTANT: this mission obviously means no pants, but YOU MUST WEAR UNDERWEAR!!!
You should be fully clothed except for pants. The type of underwear you want to wear will be left to your discretion, but we just ask you to exercise a little common sense. The amount of skin you want to expose is your choice, but know that any citation for indecent exposure is a risk you take ON YOUR OWN. Worried about the legality of pantslessness? This post on LAist.com from before the first year’s ride should set your mind at ease: http://laist.com/2008/12/30/no_pants_subway_ride_coming_to_los.php
If you are an experienced Metro rider, you can choose your own adventure and board at any station along any of the routes to catch the mission in progress. See http://www.metro.net/riding/maps to view the Metro rail maps and timetables.
Additional suggestions:
-Agents should be dispersed fairly evenly on the boarding platform so that they are distributed fairly evenly on each train instead of clumped up in one or two cars.
-Bring some sort of bag in which to carry your pants. It’s always good to have them with you in the unlikely event you have to re-pants.
-In the event that you miss any of the trains, the Purple, Red, Blue, and Expo Line trains run every 12 minutes and the Gold Line trains run every 7-8 minutes, so you should be able to catch up with everyone at Union Station.
-In the event that the 2:34pm Red Line train from Union Station to Hollywood is too full, we’ll have some agents stay behind and wait for the next train leaving at 2:46pm.
-Please do NOT disturb the civilians. We want to reiterate the importance of acting casual as it is the whole point of the mission. There is no need to draw attention to yourself as your lack of pants is doing that for you. This mission should also be fun for the passengers who are wearing pants, since their most likely reaction to us will be curiosity and amusement. And some of them are just trying to get from one place to another. Don’t worry, we’ll have plenty of pantsless fun when we get off the train and onto the street at Hollywood & Highland.
-If you encounter the news media during the mission, please do not engage them. Wait until the conclusion of the mission in Hollywood.
-For those taking photos or videos of the mission, try to be discreet and keep cameras as hidden as possible.
QUESTIONS? COMMENTS?
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Join the Facebook event @ https://www.facebook.com/events/435716289957504
Join the Debriefing/After Party Facebook event (hosted by Agent Agent) @ https://www.facebook.com/events/404307099699454
Join the Google Group @ http://groups.google.com/group/glaimprov or join our Facebook group @ https://www.facebook.com/groups/241223061044 to receive any last-minute details, this dossier, future dossiers, & announcements
Check out our website @ http://www.gueril-la.com
Follow us @ https://twitter.com/GLAimprov (the tweets on the day of a mission are quite handy)
Talk to me, Agent Silky, @ https://www.facebook.com/leocgonzalez
See http://improveverywhere.com/2015/12/07/save-the-date-no-pants-subway-ride-2016 for more details about the international aspect of the event.
WHAT: 8th Annual No Pants Metro Ride
WHEN: Sunday, January 10, 2016 from 1:00pm to 3:00pm
WHERE: LA Metro System
BRING: $7 for a Metro Day Pass on your TAP card ($8 if you need to purchase a TAP card and the Day Pass), pants you can easily remove, something in which to keep them
Over and Out (This message will self-destruct),
-Agent Silky