“Human Fireworks, a love story,” laughs HF ensemble member Betsy Harper. She isn’t just cheesin for a chuckle — two members of HF, Andy Adkins and Ali Sylvester — actually met and fell in love while cuttin up on stage. “The Theatre obviously brought us together, and two members are married … we definitely have a close knit group.”
Off the stage, the members pursue other extracurriculars together, enjoying their funny friends’ company. “I mean if you enjoy someone enough to make believe with them on stage,” says Harper. Well, anything else — grabbing coffee, going on a walk, seeing a movie — just feels right. “We play off each other, we laugh at each other’s jokes, we laugh when we get stumped, it’s a great time,” she says.
Each show, HF members start off by stating “one true thing.” “Sometimes it’s a funny story, or a fun fact. We seek our own truths, and normally everyone in the group shares,” says Harper. Last year, HF was performing at CCF during Trump’s inauguration and at the time, alluding to the event, Harper said, “We all need a bit of laughter.” We think it’s safe to say that this sentiment still holds true a year later. As for getting their own giggles going, Harper says before any show the group will perform one scene backstage to warm up. “We normally do a quick goofy/not serious scene so the first scene is not on stage … we ask ‘does anyone need to do a specific scene?’ so you don’t go out completely cold. Our group is very informal — mostly it’s us hanging out and catching up. Sometimes we laugh too hard and I say, ‘no we need to save it for the stage!'”
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