Human Error (Comedy) by 100 Percent Human Theatre

I had to laugh to myself. I was assisting my 85-year-old mother with her voter mail-in ballot, and watching as she shakily filled in the ovals. All the ovals denoting candidates that I’d be voting against.

It was like playing a game of tic-tac-toe that ended in a cat’s game. In my head I was thinking, “Well, Mom, I think we just canceled each other out!”

My internal giggles then morphed into feelings of shame as I recalled a dinner conversation with her where I very sternly (too sternly) expressed my thoughts on the candidates. We didn’t argue – she was much too non-confrontational for that – but I remember how her face fell and her chin set like Edith in that old 70s sitcom, All in the Family. Oh, my gosh – was I…Archie Bunker…or Meathead?? My bungled conversation was its own mini sitcom.

What is this project?

Human Error is a 90-minute comedy that plunges you into the lives of two very different couples. Madalyn and Keenan are a latte-sipping, NPR-listening blue-state couple planning a pregnancy through IVF, until they learn the fertility clinic accidentally implanted their embryo into Heather, whose views (and her husband Jim’s) lean toward NASCAR, Cabela’s and the NRA. Can these two couples make it through nine months of gestation without killing each other?

This comedy explores the mistakes, misunderstandings and mechanisms we use when we are forced to step outside of our comfort zones and acknowledge there are other people in the world that are not exactly like us.

My mission with the Human Error play project is to engage audiences with an entertaining live show and then play out the show’s theme with actionable post-show events such as:

• Friday night’s post-show live QUIZ GAME hosted by Karsten Piper of Fifty Hats Games
  • Opportunity to play in groups of any size, mingle, and continue the laughter!
• Saturday matinee’s post-show CHAIR YOGA class taught by Katie Consamus (one of our actors)
  • In 30 minutes, learn ways to de-stress at your holiday gatherings with easy movements and stretches all while sitting in a chair! (No mat necessary.)
• Saturday night’s post-show MINI-WORKSHOP, “Skills for Disagreeing Better,” led by the nonprofit, Braver Angels
  • Practical, fun, tangible ways to learn the art of active listening and thoughtful response – to achieve better conversations!

Additionally: One Pay-As-You’re-Able performance, so that no one is restricted by ticket prices!

Performances of Human Error will be November 19-22, 27-29 & December 3-5 at Art House North, 793 Armstrong Ave W in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The cast features: 

Why this show, why now?

As the holiday season approaches, you’ll be sitting around dinner tables and will likely find yourself discussing (or yelling?) about that dirty word: politics. After experiencing the past turbulent years we all know that it’s pretty hard to change peoples’ minds. But maybe we CAN improve our conversations? Take down the temperature? Maybe even discover misconceptions about each other, and move the needle toward honesty and respect?

I chose Human Error not only because it’s uproariously funny, but because it equally balances red-state/blue-state views and places them in a relatable human context that we can all understand with our hearts, heads, hands and feet.

Who is 100 Percent Human Theatre?

Hi, I’m Joy Donley, producer and director of 100 Percent Human Theatre. I’ve been theatre-making for over 35 years, first as a professional actor and then as a professional director. My approach to producing theatre is to engage audiences beyond simply seeing a show. My goal is to provide added experiences to help audiences go deeper into the show’s themes--to provide action steps that move from entertainment toward a higher purpose.

In 2025, 100%HT presented The Tin Woman, a play about a young woman who receives a heart transplant, then meets the family of her heart donor. We partnered with LifeSource, the local organ procurement organization, and encouraged audiences to sign up to be organ, eye and tissue donors—a topic dear to my heart because my own son was an eye and tissue donor at age sixteen. With the show we also had informative Q&As, plus fun, live quiz games for our audiences.

Where is your money going?

Your tax deductible donation through GIVEMN goes toward the costs of putting on the production of Human Error. Phase One of the fundraising goal is $13,500. This amount represents 44% of our production costs (i.e. artist & designer stipends, rentals, royalties, scripts, set, props, costumes, etc.) Phase Two will be show program ad sales and, of course, ticket sales. Keep watch. 

Thank you for supporting this project and gestating this baby along with me!

Joy Donley, Director/Producer
100 Percent Human Theatre LLC

Human Error is a fiscally sponsored project of Springboard for the Arts. 
To give to Springboard:
 https://givemn.org/organization/Springboard-For-The-Arts

Human Error by Eric Pfeffinger is produced by 
special arrangement with the author.