Joints Join 'Dents in Halloween-Fest

'Twas the night of Halloween and in the rain outside
Waited a corpse, a flapper, and a mail-order-bride.
What were they doing outside the Commons of Trin?
Why, waiting for the Joints and Accidentals to let them in.
Into the Performance Lab to look for some seating,
And enjoy a healthy alternative to trick-or-treating.
What then ensued was an entertaining display
Of improv and a cappella, done in a two-for-one way.

When the audience had settled into the Performance Lab, a lone spotlight illuminated Chris Eldin '10 and Caroline Gart '12, who deliberated on the whereabouts of the rest of the performers. Suddenly, from behind two black partitions emerged the Accidentals, Trinity's all-male a cappella group, who had transformed into zombies. With limp arms extended and blank stares they began the Halloween performance with a hilarious parody of the Blind Melon song, "No Rain," fittingly entitled, "Eat Brains."

Upon conclusion, the stage came alive with a Scooby-Doo-esque zombie chase, involving all the Joints and Accidentals and excellent lighting provided by Brad DeBiase '11. The lighting was a key enhancing feature of this performance, and a new element not seen in many Joints shows of the past.

The Accidentals began their first set with a slightly drawn-out version of "King of Wishful Thinking" featuring Finley "Spike" Harckham '10 and Elliot Faust '12, followed by the Accidentals' signature song, "Good Old A Cappella," featuring Scotty Eckenthal '12 and Michael Magdalinskas-Vasquez '11. Well-rehearsed and often performed, both songs delivered solid dynamics and impressive blending from the ensemble.

The Accidentals ended on a rollicking note with "Take Me Home," featuring Richard Shim '10, slowly building to a climactic key change complete with complicated stomp-clap combinations and a booming sound. It was time for the Joints to take the stage and show-off their recent transition to long-form improvisational comedy. Inspired by the word "recession," which led to a story about recess (delivered by Eckenthal), the Joints proceeded to perform several sketches.

Standout performances included Gart, who brought a pickled Chairman Mao (Vincent Moore '11) to dinner with her parents, dominating the stage with hilarious force and providing a strong finish to the scene. Josh Cohen '10 was also memorable as "The Recess Aide," a creative superhero-like character who was appreciated after several sketches in which the characters - often parental figures - were the focus.

While the first round of improv was studded with witty one-liners and several imaginative characters, the Joints are still testing the waters when it comes to long-form comedy. A few sketches had a strong premise, yet after several minutes of improv, the scene lost gusto and there was some floundering about how the sketch should end.

The crowd-pleaser of the night was undoubtedly the premiere of two hilarious videos, which served to enhance the Halloween spirit. In the first short film, the Joints traveled across the foggy Trinity campus to rehearse with the Accidentals for this very show.

Eerie green lighting illuminated the doors to the Chapel as the Joints cautiously followed Harckham to the Crypt Chapel, where the Accidentals were dressed in robes and harmonizing a chilling and dissonant note. Just as quickly as the horror elements in this movie were introduced, a character would break into a huge smile or deliver a pointed line, keeping the audience on its toes and bubbling with laughter.

The Joints and Accidentals enjoyed some self-deprecating jabs at being male-dominated groups and the despondency that can only be caused by a lack of female contact. The movies were also a great forum for the Accidentals to showcase their acting, rather than singing, skills, revealing hidden talents among many of the members.

The first movie came to a conclusion with tremendous applause, but the groups were not finished yet. A trailer for a soon-to-be-released horror movie entitled BANTY had the audience laughing as our mascot peeked around corners with a deadly knife, again proving that the juxtaposition of a scary setting and smiling characters are comedic gold.

After glimpsing the hidden rehearsals and rituals of the Accidentals, the audience enjoyed another taste of live a cappella, including the crowd favorite "Some Kind of Wonderful," featuring excellent solos by Faust, Ben Feldman '10, and Jeremy Zimmerman '10. The night ended with another set of sketches by the Joints.

The true highlights of the evening were when both groups collaborated, filling either the stage or the movie screen with action and excitement. It was truly enjoyable to see the chemistry between two different groups of performers coming together to put on a Halloween Fear Fest (of Fun). By the time the show was over, the rain had let up and the laughing audience members, inspired by spooky sketches, set off into the Halloween night.