Creators say booth is awareness and improv

The "Meet a Black Guy" booth that appeared Saturday at Corvallis Farmers' Market was set up partly as an improvisational street theater stunt, its organizer said.

"We weren't really performing. We were informing. Everything is street theater if you look at it," said Sean Brown, who is white. "We just want to get people to talk."

Jeff Oliver said he'll be back posing for pictures on Saturday. He and Brown have garnered plenty of media and Internet attention. Fox News Channel plans to interview the Corvallis residents for a late-night television show on Friday, said Brown, a Linn-Benton Community College student.

"We were both shocked by how big it got."

Oliver, 21, said he hoped that his booth appearance would break stereotypes, promote understanding and give people a laugh as they had their pictures taken with him. It was an appearance weeks in the making.

On May 10, on the Web site "Improv Everywhere Global," Brown posted a message about holding an improv "mission" in Corvallis, writing that he was thinking of starting small with a "Meet a Black Guy" booth.

It was not entirely a new idea, he said Tuesday. He was inspired by a similar booth in Aspen, Colo., that was featured on Improv Everywhere Global.

"That was more of a joke. We wanted to go a little bit deeper, but keep it as a shocking thing when people see it shopping for groceries at the farmers' market," Oliver said.

Improv Everywhere Global's motto is "We Cause Scenes." Its Web page details escapades where participants - sometimes in the dozens - seek to attract public attention by impromptu performances. They freeze suddenly in place, like statues. They break into song in cafeterias. One group in London garnered headlines by "spontaneously" breaking into a perfectly choreographed performance of the zombie dance from Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video. The London commuters were delighted.

Brown was thrilled himself about the event's success, as his Monday posting to the Web site indicated: "Went well. Now Fox news wants us."

The booth generated a mixed reaction from pedestrians on Saturday. Some thought it was a clever way to promote diversity and initiate a discussion on race in the mostly white city. Others said it was unnecessary for liberal-leaning Corvallis, where many residents pride themselves on championing diversity - including passage of a charter amendment that makes it a priority.

This week, the "Meet a Black Guy" booth will have an additional attraction: Brown is joining Oliver, so passersby can stop and "Meet a White, Jewish Guy."