Monthly Archives: January 2018

Dossiers

Dossier: No Pants Metro Ride 2018

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Agents,

Your mission, if you choose to accept it:

WHAT: 10th Annual No Pants Metro Ride
WHEN: Sunday, January 7, 2018 from 1:00pm to 3:30pm
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 10th year in a row, GuerilLA will be participating in Improv Everywhere’s international mission, NO PANTS SUBWAY RIDE (it’s their 17th annual edition of this mission) on Sunday, January 7, 2018!

We encourage everyone to travel pantsless throughout the Metro system that day.

You have six rendezvous points from which to choose to execute this mission:

  • Sierra Madre Villa station on the Gold Line in Pasadena
  • Atlantic station on the Gold Line in East Los Angeles
  • Willowbrook/Rosa Parks 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 Jefe. You will rendezvous with him at the Metro North Hollywood sign along the east side of Lankershim (Google street view: https://goo.gl/maps/Jwj3c57sgUU2). Departure time from North Hollywood is 1:24pm, 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 1:53pm.

  • Willowbrook

Your ride captain is Agent Silky. You will rendezvous with him 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/ndYkJQ2Ykwo). Departure time from Willowbrook station is 1:21pm, 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 1:50pm. Here is where you will transfer to the Purple Line to Union Station (do not forget to tap your TAP card at the validation box while transferring between trains, see them in the foreground next to the escalators). null 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 1:54pm 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 1:59pm.

  • 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 (first picture is the ticket machines, second picture is Google street view of the exterior of parking structure: https://goo.gl/maps/dtxLVPt191w). null

Departure time from the station is 1:31pm, 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 2:00pm.

  • Koreatown

Your ride captain is Agent Mico. You will rendezvous with him at the Metro Wilshire/Western sign on the NE corner of Wilshire Blvd. & Western Ave. (Google street view: https://goo.gl/maps/6JHqxLvqpkF2). Departure time from the station is 1:34pm, 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 1:47pm.

  • East Los Angeles

Your ride captain is Agent Honkey. You will rendezvous with him at the bike lockers east of the Atlantic station at the NW corner of Atlantic Blvd. & Pomona Blvd.
(Google street view: https://goo.gl/maps/vjGH7NrnLep). Departure time from the Atlantic station is 1:30pm, 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 1:54pm.

  • Culver City

Your ride captain is Agent Red. You will rendezvous with her 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/thCC9bbHvG72). Departure time from Culver City is 1:25pm, 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 1:53pm. Here is where you will transfer to the Purple Line to Union Station (do not forget to tap your TAP card at the validation box while transferring between trains, see them in the foreground next to the escalators). null You will have one minute to get down to the boarding platform, so do not waste time. The Purple Line train for Union Station arrives at 1:54pm. 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 1:59pm. This will be a tight transfer window, so if you miss the Purple Line, a Red Line train will arrive at 2:00pm to take you to Union Station by 2:05pm.

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 24 to 31 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.

Agents will be leaving from Union Station in two groups at different times to travel to Downtown Santa Monica. Your assigned group depends on your arrival time at Union Station. Each group will travel on the Purple or Red Line to 7th St./Metro Center (the third stop) where you will have two to eight minutes to transfer to the Expo Line to Downtown Santa Monica upstairs. When exiting the Purple or Red Line, follow the signs that direct you to Platform 1, from which all Expo Line trains depart. The first two sets of stairs/escalators on the east end of the platform will take you upstairs to Platform 1. If you walk in the opposite direction that the train is traveling and ascend the stairs that are in that opposite direction, you will be on Platform 1. If you are on Platform 2, you will end up on a train to Long Beach. There will be plenty of signs and a large black and white banner attached to a railing near the tracks saying “Blue Line to Long Beach” if you are on Platform 2 (on Platform 1, a banner says “Expo Line to Santa Monica”). When transferring from the Red/Purple Line to the Expo Line, you must tap your TAP card at the validator box (see them in the foreground next to the escalators). null

Here are the schedules for each group:

  • If you arrived at Union Station from Koreatown, North Hollywood, or East Los Angeles:

Departure time from Union Station is 2:18pm on the Purple Line. Arrival time at 7th St./Metro Center is 2:23pm. The Expo Line train for Santa Monica departs from Platform 1 at 2:25pm. Arrival time at Downtown Santa Monica is 3:12pm.

  • If you arrived at Union Station from Willowbrook, Pasadena, or Culver City:

Departure time from Union Station is 2:24pm on the Red Line. Arrival time at 7th St./Metro Center is 2:29pm. The Expo Line train for Santa Monica departs from Platform 1 at 2:37pm. Arrival time at Downtown Santa Monica is 3:24pm.

Upon arrival in Downtown Santa Monica, we will meet in Tongva Park (https://goo.gl/maps/gHYRs6u8HvJ2).

Walk west on Colorado Ave. towards the beach. At Ocean Ave., turn left. As you walk south on Ocean, you can’t miss the sign for the park. Wait at Gathering Hill, which has a tiered amphitheater.
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We will take a group picture there, and there will be a few brief words from the organizers. After that, we will have a debriefing and after-party at Ma’Kai Lounge (on Broadway and Ocean – 101 Broadway, Santa Monica, CA – 310-434-1511 – https://www.makailounge.com). 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, Gold, and Expo Line trains run every 12 minutes, so you should be able to catch up with everyone at Union Station.
  • 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 in Santa Monica.
  • If you encounter the news media during the mission, please do not engage them. Wait until the conclusion of the mission in Santa Monica.
  • For those taking photos or videos of the mission, try to be discreet and keep cameras as hidden as possible.

QUESTIONS? COMMENTS?
—————
Join the Facebook event @ https://www.facebook.com/events/299651030439907

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 https://improveverywhere.com/2017/12/04/save-the-date-no-pants-subway-ride-2018 for more details about the international aspect of the event.

WHAT: 10th Annual No Pants Metro Ride
WHEN: Sunday, January 7, 2018 from 1:00pm to 3:30pm
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