Undefined improv debuted their new team and captains at their first show of the year, Sept. 6. With a total of four improv shows and Thursday Night Live, a pre-recorded sketch comedy show, Undefined captains seniors Payton Skipton and Evan Sommer are excited for the upcoming season.
Auditions for the team happened in May, since then, improv members have been attending workshops and practices to prepare for their shows.
Skipton has been on Undefined since her freshman year and has had a passion for theatre since before high school.
“One of my friends asked me if I wanted to audition for the team [when I was] in 8th Grade, I was unsure about it but I liked theatre so I [said] ‘ok, why not.’ I got on the team and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” Skipton said. “I didn’t even know the team existed, so I didn’t even really know what improv was until I went to auditions. Now, if I do any theatre, it’s improv.”
While she says being a captain can be stressful with all the planning it requires, Skipton enjoys her role on the team.
“I really like being in that leadership position and getting to teach these people and see them grow. Hopefully we’re going to see more of that [growth] throughout the year and I get to help lead them to be better,” Skipton said.
The team’s strong bond comes from the time spent together practicing rather than the time under the spotlight Skipton said.
“The things that happen in rehearsals is what really makes the team so strong and family-like with each other, we have a lot of fun moments in rehearsal that other people don’t necessarily get to see,” she said.
Typically, Undefined will give members who apply for a captain position a chance to host a show that they plan. Skipton, however, has hosted two shows prior to being captain.
The first show she hosted was during her sophomore year with Class of 2024 Graduate Keira Makalintal who would go on to become one of Undefined captains the following year.
Skipton’s second hosted show was unplanned, as captin Class of 2024 Graduate Luke Tipton, was unable to make the show at the last minute.
“Last year, for our first show, Luke got sick the day of. Keira [said] ‘Payton, you’re the only one who’s done it before, i need you to help me,’ so I actually hosted two shows before I was captain which was a really cool experience,” Skipton said.
Undefined’s kickoff to the 2024-2025 season consisted of two shows, a 3:45 p.m. and a 7 p.m. Skipton said the 7 p.m. show tends to bring a bigger crowd and higher energy.
“[Our first show] went really well, we’re hoping to get more audience for our 3:45 p.m. show because sometimes that show [is] just a little rough,” Skipton said. “The better the audience the better the show, the more energy they bring the more energy we can reciprocate. It was good overall, but we’d like a little more audience.”
Sommer has also been on Undefined for four years, having been encouraged to join by his sister, Class of 2021 Graduate Kate Sommer.
“My sister was on Undefined for three years previous to my freshman year, I wasn’t sure if I was going to do Undefined and my sister kind of said ‘you’re doing it, no matter what’ and I ended up loving it and it’s one of my favorite groups at Lafayette,” he said. “I always loved going to my sister’s shows, I was honestly a little scared to do it myself.”
Although he was not a captain last year, Sommer said he and Skipton helped out as they had been on the team longer than Makalintal and Tipton. This year however, he was able to officially take on the role.
“[Being a captain] has been amazing, we have a great group of kids. We had about 30 kids turn out for auditions in May, and it was tough having to cut some people because we had a lot of talented people auditioning,” Sommer said.
The big crowd at the evening show Friday paired with the team’s enthusiasm made for a great performance Sommer said.
“Usually a show is better with a bigger crowd because you kind of feed off the energy of [the] crowd, so when there [is] more noise being made and more people giving suggestions everyone’s just having more fun,” he said.
While he enjoys participating in the live shows, Sommers favorite part of the team is rehearsals.
“We just goof around and get to play the games and have a lot of fun. It’s just such a great group of people that are always being silly and goofy and it’s a lot of fun to hang out with them,” Sommer said.
Undefined’s next shows will be Nov. 22 with a 3:45 p.m. and 7 p.m. performance.
