University Of Michigan Lecture Crashed By Zorro, Guerrilla Theater Troupe

The heroics -- and whimsy -- of a University of Michigan Ann Arbor student group was on full display first in a packed lecture hall and then on Youtube when its prank went viral.

Professor John Wolfe was walking some 430 students through an organic chemistry lecture when his train of thought was railroaded into silence and shock.

A bandit with a bandanna crashed the course and stole a female student's purse. Before fear could rise in students' chests, though, none other than Zorro appeared to save the day with bravado and fancy swordplay.

Wolfe told The Huffington Post that the prank took him entirely by surprise. He added that guerrilla theater happens about once per semester at the university but none had been as successful or elaborate as the Zorro prank. He said past interruptions included the Kool-aid guy crashing his course and a man in a dog suit carrying a boom-box that blared "Who Let The Dogs Out" by the Baha Men.

According to the video's description, some 18 people were involved in the shooting and planning of the prank. Check out the behind-the-scenes video below.

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Comments

[blaze0]

10:28 PM on 04/22/2012

This was meticulously planned "lecture prank." The director of the prank is a great guy and has zero intentions of causing the types of controversy that I've read on this blog. He and his cast worked for weeks to create a fun and innocent break from the post midterm stress at a competitive university.

[Egghead]

09:31 PM on 04/22/2012

OK, I'm a professor, and I think this is hilarious. The only problem would be if the skit violated campus weapons policies. Guerilla theater means hello, you do not know where it happens next. Therefore, you don't know where it happens next. As for the whining about how it is taking up students' time, etc: that was two minutes, and I am sure that it woke up some students who had zoned out. And it was funny.

[Clarice Smith]

11:41 AM on 04/22/2012

I could have enjoyed this except for the fact that they made the criminal a young black man. To add insult to injury, the victim is white AND blond. And in the icing on the cake - the black man is killed in public, with applause! What were those actors thinking!!!!??????? Aren't they aware of how divisive these issues are?!!!!

[Clarice Smith]

12:01 PM on 04/22/2012

Oh . . . And further, I left something out - the shooter is a vigilante!

[Michigan Girl15]

09:52 AM on 04/24/2012

I know for a fact that the young black man in the video volunteered for the role, and the victim was chosen because she is actually IN the lecture where the prank took place. There s no reason to read into this as much as you are. My friends did not intend for race to be an issue. Think of it as post-racism.

[Bill Jones123]

01:06 PM on 04/21/2012

This has always been a problem. The smart, the inferior, invade the lives of the smart.
This is envy concealed in the guise of fun.

It is not fun for the smart who give there jerks jobs.

This is the growing chasm, the fundamental difference between those who have mental discipline and those who are at UoM to have fun.

Dedicate a building. Call it the Animal Farm. Keep the stupid ones there.

Or better yet, put BARS ON THE EDUCATION BUILDING.

[jackbond]

08:34 PM on 04/21/2012

Please, seek therapy immediately.

[blahbloh]

10:19 AM on 04/22/2012

Smart people know that laughter helps to get rid of stress, which is especially important before the finals.

[Thomas Macso]

12:43 PM on 04/21/2012

U of Michigan is a RACIST place, why else would they depict the robber as a black man.

[listgirl3]

01:22 PM on 04/21/2012

Yes, I'm sure it was a plot by the University - definitely not a choice by the theatre member at all. *roll my eyes*

[Thomas Macso]

01:34 PM on 04/21/2012

They represent the University. I just threw up in my mouth with that excuse.

[scripted]

10:27 PM on 04/23/2012

You forgot to mention how they disrupted a chemistry class. Maybe they are anti-science as well. And a girl's purse was stolen, presumably making them sexist. And did you notice the professor signing off with a chemical notation for an open-chain compound? Maybe he is secretly against cyclical chemistry?

[wallac]

12:39 PM on 04/21/2012

In a fortran computer class, I had a professor who took a sledge hammer to a computer and demolished it. Turned out it was an old useless piece of junk to start with, but well emphasised how frustration can take over, and what NOT to do when it does.

[tojohnmiller]

12:37 PM on 04/21/2012

Students are often under a great deal of pressure. Many study 18 hours a day. This improptu sketch was a brief diversion from concentration. The professor was a good sport, and even brought the outburst back to his lesson on the blackboard. He had the last laugh, and the students laughed with him.

[thomcat327]

12:27 PM on 04/21/2012

Those of you who do not approve have obbviously never been a college student. While I was in college we thought things like this were funny - stop looking at the glass half empty folks

[Bill Jones123]

01:03 PM on 04/21/2012

You are NOT a scientist.

Let me guess: Women's medieval armor.

Just because you worked very hard at something completely stupid does not put you in the my league: The scientists.

Get a life. Get out of mine.

[blahbloh]

10:15 AM on 04/22/2012

Whining is not a science.

[AC Guts]

09:37 PM on 04/24/2012

Do you have friends? Did you have fun in college? You were probably that kid who sat in his dorm, which he lived in all 4 years, and secretly fantasized about going to parties and doing fun things but could never get out there and do them. Now you just have to express all your repressed energy as bitterness and anger at everyone else who is capable of having fun AND learning at the same time, imagine that. What makes you think scientist don't have a sense of humor? Just because you are extremely bitter and lame doesn't mean the rest of us have to be. Grow up a little.

[heynowhey]

12:09 PM on 04/21/2012

This was really well done, but should have been part of a theater arts class. Ad hoc performance art in this setting creates a bad precedent. Hey, I was once a professor myself, and believe me, if a group of people burst into one of my classes in this fashion, I would have been seriously ticked off. Yes, Virginia, there are standards.

[jackbond]

08:36 PM on 04/21/2012

Yes, and this is why the professor in the video is 1000x better than you could ever dream of being.

[heynowhey]

08:54 PM on 04/21/2012

So what did you major in during college, slacker?

[AC Guts]

09:40 PM on 04/24/2012

I imagine that you were not very popular among your students. That class room has around a 300 student capacity and it was a lecture. Hadley what I would consider a crucial 2 minutes of class time in an intimate setting. Lighten up

[sindfetish]

12:09 PM on 04/21/2012

teach was cool

[KFMac001]

11:29 AM on 04/21/2012

This was awesome! Also, kudos to cool O. Chem professors!

[hnjr34]

10:17 AM on 04/21/2012

why do you guys take so long to approve comments , what is this a credit check also, geez

[sindfetish]

12:09 PM on 04/21/2012

its for dirty words like geez...lol

[Mahi Joe]

11:49 AM on 04/22/2012

Get the HP Platinum Plus membership card and you won't have to wait so long.

[JDProf]

10:01 AM on 04/21/2012

No way this could have turned into a tragedy. Also, shouldn't be a problem getting the students to concentrate on lectures in the coming classes. College students should have fun but it should not be in the classroom while others are trying to learn. This could have been in a cafeteria for instance and would not have effected the learning process. And one last point to prove I am a grumpy old professor....................the professor should have been notified and he/she could agree or disagree to the shenanigans.

[REDSTATEREFUGEE]

10:47 AM on 04/22/2012

It might have turned tragic had the event occurred in a Texas university classroom where, as I understand it, conservative state legislators are moving toward or have passed a bill authorizing licensed concealed weapon carry on campuses.

Imagine how a potential student hothead, armed with a pistol, might have reacted when one of the street theater players snatched the female student's purse.

[listgirl3]

09:30 AM on 04/21/2012

This is fantastic! Great creativity and how awesome the prof went with the flow :)

[eltito]

08:52 AM on 04/21/2012

FINALLY something to cheer about, great job kids!!!!!