Obehi Janice, a 27-year-old graduate from Georgetown University, has recently launched her career as a solo performer with the release of her new stand-up show. As a writer, comedian and actor, she uses cultural identity to relate to her audiences. This weekend at ImprovBoston, Janice performed an excerpt from her one-woman show, FUFU AND OREOS, which will premiere in February at the Bridge Repertory Theater of Boston.

The title FUFU AND OREOS is an accurate description of the performance because of Janice’s cultural background as a Nigerian American. Fufu is a traditional dish from Nigeria with a base of mashed yams and added spices that cannot be found or bought in the United States. Oreo cookies have often been used to refer to black Americans who embrace white culture over black culture. Therefore Janice’s humorous approach to the slang term embodies the cultural differences she faces on a daily basis.

The comedy performance began with an introduction of Janice’s family. She impersonated her parents, a few cousins and her aunts and uncles. She thoroughly described each family member using great voice inflexions and impeccable Nigerian accents. Along with the introduction of her family, Janice played out scenarios to illustrate the type of interactions she encounters with each family member. The young actress made it clear that she was the outcast of the family. Because she grew up in America, her perception of the world is very different from her family’s.

She then continued with a piece that highlighted Nigerian and American stereotypes. When wearing her glasses, Janice represented a white female, and when she removed the glasses, she represented a recent immigrant from Nigeria. In this monologue, many stereotypes were incorporated to exaggerate unfortunate encounters minorities face in American society. The white female character would comment on Nigerian hair, clothing and traditional names. Making the white female character appear demeaning, the Nigerian female character (without glasses) would respond in short answers or appear puzzled by the ridiculousness of the questions being asked. Illustrating this scene and the interactions between white Americans and foreigners helped the audience visualize Janice’s experience without her explaining such experiences one detail at a time.

The final segment of the night touched on relationships between interracial couples. Janice described the dangers of presenting a partner that was not from Nigeria to her family. Although she presented the topic as a satire, she justified both her family’s viewpoints and her personal perspectives on dating. She spoke about her experiences with men of different races and explained why she liked particular aspects of their relationship. From American men to Indian men to Dominican men, Janice shared at least one characteristic she found appealing about each race except African men—Nigerians to be exact.

I enjoyed Janice’s performance and charisma. She personalized the show by interacting with the audience. By asking questions and responding to the audience’s reactions to her statements, she made me feel like I was having a conversation with Janice herself, rather than being a spectator and listening to the performer talk about her life.

Although I had a great laugh during the performance, I felt like I was at a stand-up comedy show rather than an improv performance. It was obvious when Janice went off script, which was something that I liked, and her interaction with the audience was so heavy that I didn’t feel like I was at a theater anymore.

It is clear that Janice completely accepts and embraces the term “Oreo”—she confessed to the audience that she herself is an Oreo. However, I do not think there was a central or specific focal point throughout the show—she simply used her experiences as an African American to explain her jokes. She also did not have a smooth transition in between each segment—the only tie seemed to be her Nigerian background.

The performance was highly entertaining, but it might have been better for Janice to focus on one theme and use that to tie all her segments together into a smooth production. There is no doubt that Janice is talented, and I am very impressed with the way she took control of the stage. I am excited to see what the full-length show will be like.