Lilia Draime, Culture and Thought Editor

Thirteen months ago, Humor Artists (HA) and Halftime, perennial favorites in the realm of Notre Dame student entertainment, engaged an audience at Washington Hall as they performed improv skits and a cappella songs against a backdrop of tension and discord.  The groups returned to Washington Hall to set aside their differences in the April 13 show Perfect HArmony.

The show featured the talents of both groups, with Halftime singing songs like The Beatles’ “Help!” and Alex Clare’s “Too Close”, and HA performing skits including “Four Corners” and “Sounds Like a Song.”  The clubs teamed up for a number of songs and games, such as HA’s musical game “Do-Run-Run” and an a cappella montage of every song ever.

“Not only were the groups spectacular in their own fields, but I was very impressed with the Halftime members’ improv comedy abilities as well as the HA members abilities to sing a cappella,” noted sophomore attendee Tim Hankins.  “It was a fantastic show and I would love to see another joint performance between these two amazing groups.”

Perfect HArmony was not simply a collaboration of the two groups; it was a story of friendship, camaraderie and betrayal.  It began with the groups showcasing their friendship through Halftime’s president, Dagny Nagengast, and HA member Brian “Brodgers” Rodgers.  Their best friendship (immortalized on coordinating to break up their friendship.

Alec persuaded Grace to sing Dewey Cox’s racy “Let’s Duet” with Brodgers, which sent Dagny into a fit of jealous rage.  The groups split, Alec proposed to Grace, and Brodgers made new t-shirts proclaiming him and Dagny “worst enemies.”  Through the intercession of Halftime’s Mikey Pilger, HA’s Saad Khan, and Saad’s alter ego Rahim Khan, Alec and Grace’s plan was exposed, Dagny and Brodgers’ friendship mended and the HArmony restored.  The show concluded with a joint performance of The Muppets’ classic “Life’s a Happy Song.”

“My favorite part was when the actors got together in the end and became friends again,” senior Alvin Hu happily offered.

“It was an incredibly rewarding experience getting to play such a large role in the show,” remarked Rodgers.  “Halftime was great to work with.  While Dagny and I aren’t best friends in real life (yet), her and Mikey were on board straight from the beginning.  Members of Halftime were excited with the opportunity to get to play some improv games and take a step outside their normal concerts.”

Rodgers explained that he and Vanthournout approached Halftime over winter break with a few specific songs in mind for a joint show, and they enthusiastically arranged and learned the music for the performance.

“We worked very hard to achieve the ‘Perfect HArmony’ that was present between the groups in our show!” expressed Kelly Ryan, a singer for Halftime.  “I participated in last year’s performance as well.  I loved performing with HA last year, but it was a lot more fun this year because I already knew the Humor Artists.  I was definitely more excited to collaborate after the success of last year’s show!  It was so cute that the storyline from this year’s show was ‘part two’ of last year’s!”

Ryan, Rodgers and Vanthournout remarked that the disdain between HA and Halftime was manufactured for the show.  Rodgers noted that Halftime’s Mikey Pilger is a close friend, and Vanthournout remarked that “rehearsal would be quite the nightmare” if the groups did not commingle.

“Halftime and HA LOVE each other.  It’s definitely a mutual love affair.  We all appreciate the talents of the other group and are always excited to watch them perform,” Ryan assured.

HA was recently named Notre Dame’s 2012-2013 Club of the Year.

“We were honored to be named club of the year,” Vanthournout said.  “I think it really comes down to the expansion that the club has undergone over the last few years: my freshman year (I’m a junior) we had about 12 shows a year at Legends and the library, this year we’ve had over 30 in our usual spots as well as dorms and off campus venues like Laugh Comedy Club. We’ve also done shows at Hannah and Friends and local schools.”

Lilia Draime is a sophomore history major who is and always will be the optimist, the hoper of far-flung hopes, and the dreamer of improbable dreams.  Contact her at ldraime@nd.edu.