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, and the group progressed until being eliminated during the quarterfinal round of the show. Following their performances on America's Got Talent, the Fountains performed on international television, staged a live production for the Hollywood Fringe Festival, and put an increased focus on social video platforms like TikTok and Instagram. The group was formed in Denver, Colorado and is currently based in Los Angeles, California.
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. In January 2018, this early video of the Fountains' "Con te partirò" routine saw massive success on Reddit's "r/videos" subreddit. The viral success of the video led producers on America's Got Talent to offer the troupe placement in America's Got Talent.
Performances
America's Got Talent
Audition
The Human Fountains made their debut in the first episode of season 13 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. 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.
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, 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. 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.
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 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.
