Human Fountains

Human Fountains is a comedy and performance art troupe that combines slapstick comedy with choreographed water spitting. Online success brought them to the auditions at America's Got Talent (season 13)[1], and the group progressed until being eliminated during the quarterfinal round of the show.[2] Following their performances on America's Got Talent, the Fountains performed on international television, staged a live production for the Hollywood Fringe Festival[3], and put an increased focus on social video platforms like TikTok and Instagram.[4][5] The group was formed in Denver, Colorado and is currently based in Los Angeles, California.

Human Fountains
Members of the Human Fountains, Summer 2018
MediumTelevision, Social Media, Live Performance, Video
Alma materDenver Jewish Day School
Years active2010-Present
GenresSlapstick Comedy
MembersSam Kaufman
Joel Lowinger
Ben Tillis
Former membersElan Leftin
Cameron Poter
Websitewww.humanfountains.com

History

The original troupe formed while in high school at the Denver Jewish Day School. Kaufman and Lowinger were organizing a comedic act as part of the school's Color war, and enlisted two sophomores, Tillis and Leftin. The four performed a choreographed water-spitting routine to the song "Con te partirò" at the school as part of the event, and later recorded a video recreating their performance on a tennis court.[6]

In January 2018, this early video of the Fountains' "Con te partirò" routine saw massive success on Reddit's "r/videos" subreddit.[7][8] The viral success of the video led producers on America's Got Talent to offer the troupe placement in America's Got Talent (season 13).[1]

Performances
Poster advertising the Human Fountains' live performance at the 2019 Hollywood Fringe Festival

America's Got Talent

Audition

The Human Fountains made their debut in the first episode of season 13 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.[9] The group obscured the nature of their act by using the pseudonym "Fontane Umane" in order to surprise the audience and judges with a choreographed water-spitting routine that included absurd elements such as spitting streams of water into the mouths of fellow group members. The routine was set to the somber music of Il Divo's "My Heart Will Go On" and received a standing ovation from the audience. Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel, and Mel B all voted to advance the Human Fountains in the competition, leaving Simon Cowell as the sole dissenter.

Following the performance, season 13 host, Tyra Banks joined the group for an encore of their performance where she involved herself in the routine by spitting water into the mouth of group member Elan Leftin.[10]

Judge Cuts

In their episode 8 Judge Cuts performance, The Human Fountains' brought back the song "Con te partirò" while adding new substances for a breakfast themed routine. The act included passing raw egg and orange juice between group members' mouths. Again the group was positively received by the audience and all judges excluding Cowell,[11] but the Fountains were officially eliminated after the performance.

Quarterfinals

The Human Fountains were brought to the quarterfinal round of the show as a Wild Card contestants, and performed a patriotic themed routine in episode 11 to the song Alone, performed by Il Divo.[12] This routine involved group members preparing a hot dog by spitting ketchup, mustard, and hot dog meat into a bun for group member Sam Kaufman to eat. The group did not receive enough votes by TV viewers to advance to the Semifinals, eliminating them from the show.

International Television

Following their television debut on America's Got Talent, the Human Fountains were invited to perform on a number of international television shows. This included iUmor on Antena 1 (Romania)[13], La France a un incroyable talent[14], Česko Slovensko má talent[15], and Das Supertalent[16].

Live Performances

In 2019, The Human Fountains announced their first non-televised theatrical performances on stage in Los Angeles, performing at a number of local theaters including the Lyric Hyperion[17] and the Actors Company Theatre. These live performances culminated in a summer exhibition of five shows for the Hollywood Fringe Festival that were received positively by reviewers online.[18]

gollark: Oh right, also a back camera, forgot that.
gollark: Though it's less open, considering the RPi Foundation's annoyingness.
gollark: I'd need a battery too, but assuming it was not too giant that'd be great actually.
gollark: Oh, as a phone, not a smartwatch!
gollark: That's a Raspberry Pi 0, or maybe 0W. I don't see how that's related.

References

  1. "Thank you, Reddit! With your support, you got my comedy group, Human Fountains, on this season of America's Got Talent". Reddit. August 14, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  2. "This season's most disgusting 'America's Got Talent' act was finally eliminated". Washington Post. August 16, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  3. "Human Fountains". HollywoodFringe. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  4. "Human Fountains". TikTok. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  5. "Human Fountains". Instagram. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  6. "Human Fountains to perform at Denver Jewish Day School's annual dinner". Denver Post. February 6, 2019. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  7. "Human Fountains Vimeo Video". Vimeo. March 31, 2017. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  8. "The Most Beautiful Pointless Thing I've Ever Seen". Reddit. January 31, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  9. "'America's Got Talent' Returns to the Pasadena Civic Auditorium". Socal Muse. February 27, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  10. "Human Fountains: Men Spit Water And Swap Spit With Tyra Banks - America's Got Talent 2018". YouTube. May 29, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  11. "America's Got Talent Human Fountains Judges Cuts Week 2". YouTube. July 25, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  12. "Human Fountains America's Got Talent 2018 Quarter Finals". YouTube. August 17, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  13. "Human Fountains, spectacolul oamenilor-fântână pe scena de la iUmor!". YouTube. April 13, 2019. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  14. "Human fountains : the most epic spitting performance on France's got talent !". YouTube. October 22, 2019. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  15. "ČESKO SLOVENSKO MÁ TALENT 2019 - Human Fountains". YouTube. February 14, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  16. "Das Supertalent 2018: Die Wasserspucker kommen nicht bei jedem gut an". RTL. November 3, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  17. "Human Fountains: The Wettest Show in Los Angeles". Eventbrite. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  18. "Human Fountains – Reviews". HollywoodFringe. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
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