Undeniably Adjacent Off to a Slow Start

It may have been the unfamiliar atmosphere, the new faces or the unexpected implications of performing on a Saturday night, but there was definitely something peculiar about Mary Washington’s infamous improv troupe, The Undeniably Adjacent’s, first show held on Oct. 9 in Combs 139.

Director Stu Stuart introduced the first 30-minute segment of the show by taking one-word suggestions from the audience to be developed and performed exclusively by returning members of The Undeniably Adjacent. Three out of the four new members of the team were excluded in order for veteran memebers to better grasp the “feel” of the audience.

The environment was mildly tense and a little befuddled after the word “rake” was decided on for the starting point of the first skit. The team had senior Annie Blaine begin with an anecdotal monologue regarding a bag of Halloween candy being lost in a pile of leaves in the fall.

While Blaine did deliver a detailed monologue, the team was caught off-guard. Extended pieces that were otherwise drawn out and awkward silences in between particular parts created discomfort, distracting audience members from strong sections of the show. For example, Junior Mattson Fields quirkily inserted the “Umpa-Lumpa” theme song, reinventing it with the witty “we love our jobs/and our benefits too.”

The second and final thirty-minute segment of the show incorporated three of the new members of the team. It is no coincidence that the second-half of the evening was The Undeniably Adjacent’s strongest as it revealed the returning members’ strengths and acquainted the audience with the talented new members.

The second show included more pop culture references and smart, quick dialogue revolving around downtown Fredericksburg, creepy elderly women and parodying the ethics of the famous rap group, Wu Tang Clan.

Although the next show is not for another two weeks, remember – attend an Undeniably Adjacent show with an open mind. They are a sharp group of individuals that immerse themselves in the instantaneous conditions of improvisational comedy. It can only improve – and further impress the UMW community – from now on.