The Undeniably Adjacent bring hot jokes to battle the cold

By KELLY EMMRICH

University of Mary Washington’s one and only improv troupe, the Undeniably Adjacent, continues to wow newcomers and dedicated fans alike with their funny sketches and edgy monologues. Despite the brutally cold weather, excited students still made their way to Combs 139 this past weekend for the troupe’s second show of the semester.

The Undeniably Adjacent is an audition-based club on campus that hosts shows twice a month. Each show lasts about an hour-and-a-half and consists of a series of monologues, short scenes and long form scenes. Every individual show has a title that comes from the troupe’s favorite joke from practice. This past week’s show title was “How to Win” or “The Blizzard That Silently Saved Us.”

The show started off with a monologue performed by Christian Perkins, a member of the Undeniably Adjacent. Perkins drew inspiration from the audience suggested word “Pumpernickel.” After the monologue, there were short scenes and various improv games that incorporated physical comedy as well as dialogue.

The response to jokes can differ from week to week based on who is in the audience.

“The audience can definitely affect the show. It’s like any performance,” said Clarence Thomas, a first-year Undeniably Adjacent performer. “You just have to do your best personally and not let it change the outcome of the performance. We pick up on energies, though. Like, if the audience laughs we feed off of that energy.”

Ariana DuBar, an Undeniably Adjacent fan and a regular attendant at the shows, spoke about how the first monologue was one of the most memorable sketches of the night. Even with a few standout moments, DuBar felt a shift in the crowd in this particular show.

“There were a lot less people. When I’ve been there before, it’s been packed. There’ve been people filling the isles,” said DuBar.

Despite the fact that this particular show had less audience members than normal, the Undeniably Adjacent did not fail to put on a great show filled with crazy sketches, loads of laughter and great enthusiasm in everything that they do.