It was St. Patrick’s Day and Wednesday (our regular street comedy night), so we pretty much knew what we had to do: make a phone call.
Ringggg…ring…. “Hey Dave, do you still have that leprechaun costume?”
Dave: “Sorta…why?”
Me: “Because I’m building a giant butterfly net and I want to let strangers chase you with it on a public thoroughfare.”
Dave: “Oh, okay. Weeeeell, why didn’t ya say so laddy??”
I had an old sheer curtain I bought from Ikea hoping to make my living room more interesting (it didn’t work), but it slipped perfectly around the broken hula hoop I bought at the local party supply store (I bartered down the price with the manager; it was missing the sand, after all.). After stitching up the curtain to close it off, I shoved the broken hula hoop into the tip of a hollow black pole and BAM!, a leprechaun net.
The rest was simple entertainment. We converged on Santa Monica’s 3rd Street Promenade and began our hunt, shaking a half-full box of Lucky Charms to lure our prey out of hiding. At first, when people caught Dave the Leprechaun in the net, we’d ask them what wish they’d like granted, then act it out improv style. After two separate wishes for ponies, Jeff got tired of prancing on all fours. We switched over to making the leprechaun dance a jig when he got caught. People seemed to love that even more than the wishes. One guy loved jigging so much, I swear it was his only motivation for chasing the leprechaun. And good for him; I can’t recall anyone I’ve met saying they’ve danced a jig with a leprechaun. Cue the speed dating ice breaker for that guy.
The official Promenade patrol/safari guides (what’s with the hats?) love our shenanigans. This night, one patrolwoman’s safari instincts kicked into high gear and she gave us all a master class in urban leprechaun hunting. We learned that it’s always a good idea to have proper training, equipment, and the endorsement of the authorities when you’re hunting fantastical creatures in the middle of a busy city street. I just wish we had a friend that looked like a minotaur.
