The Comedy/Varietè Artists

This is a list of some of our acts. We will continue to update this page as performers are confirmed for 2012. For a complete list of Archived Comedy/Varietè Performers - click here.

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	AJ Silver Visit website Angelo “AJ Silver” Iodice, combines his world class trick roping with bullwhip artistry and boleadoras to create a unique high energy variety act. With his ropes, whips and bolas flying through the air he presents a dramatic spectacle that is visually stunning. A versatile and creative artist, Angelo has fused his roping with dance, aerial arts, comedy, rhythmic/skipping rope, burlesque and other performance arts, creating acts that have proven successful in circuses, theater stages, sports arenas, nightclubs, television, and private events worldwide.
	Al Simmons Visit website In the tradition of the great comedy kings, Danny Kaye, Spike Jones and Jimmy Durante comes Al Simmons - a man dedicated to the all but lost art of combining comedy, with song, dance, magic, sight gags and of course bad puns. We’re interested to see which of the remarkable storehouse of comic props and costumes he packs this year. On stage he's a wonder but at home he's like a mad genius inventing and building these strange things that bring so much joy. check it out on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tF587pFCuPM&feature=related
	Alexis (Lexy) Lee In the street performing and Vaudeville community Alexis (Lexy) Lee was well known as one of the first woman street performers. She was known for her fire and dinner plate manipulation, she was known for her shackle and sack escape, known for her clever patter and ball juggling. Lexy was known in Hawaii, known in Japan and Key West, known in her hometown of Atlanta and known in parts unknown. Now, after years of focusing on performing and teaching Watsu massage, she is returning to the entertainment pool. We look forward to presenting her to Moisture Festival audiences ... probably no fire or juggling but we know that she plans to bring her ukulele and we know that you'll love it.
	Alfredo Fettuccine Visit website The wonderful magic of Alfredo Fettuccini is evanescent and fleeting. It appears in this world only rarely and after great lapses of time, like Northern Lights, or Black Jack Gum, or an onslaught of destructive locusts. This veteran of many a vaudeville tour will charm you with his irrational exuberance, and astound you with his impossible repertoire.
	Allie Cooper Visit website Allie Cooper began learning the fundamentals of aerial work in Santa cruz, California in 2008. Her honest style has developed to utilize momentum and natural pathways and to embrace functionality. Working closely with those who inspire her most, she has supplemented her training with a study of the movement theory Axis syllabus (AS). Allie has traveled extensively, performing and teaching across the united states, Europe, and Asia. She continues to be inspired by the constant innovations in aerial worldwide and is grateful to be a part of it
	Amy G Visit website Amy Gordon is a revolutionary comedienne (she spins around a lot, anyway). The granddaughter of The Little Giant, a vaudevillian acrobat/ukulele playing song and dance man of little renown but vast appeal, she took to the stage at an early age as The Tall Midget. Amy performs physical, musical, stand-up and improvisational comedy. Her credits include: Broadway's New Victory, Sydney Opera House, The Kennedy Center, Adelaide International Festival, Festival International de Teatro de Bogota, Montreal's Just For Laughs, Dance Theatre Workshop, Symphony Space, GOP Varieté, Palazzo Amsterdam and Britain's Rude Tube. She's been seen around the world with the Olivier Awarded circus cabaret, La Soirée (voted Best Entertainment 2009); including long runs on London's West End, The Sydney Festival, and in Paris' iconic music hall, Bobino. Her current solo show, Round She Goes, played NYC at Joe's Pub, Spiegelworld, and the Bard Spiegeltent. Amy was born and raised in Seattle and Moisture Festival audiences fell in love some years back when she roller skated into our hearts. We're thrilled to have her back.
	Armitage Shanks Visit website Making his 6th appearance at Moisture Festival, Armitage Shanks is one of the most sought after MC/Performers on the International Burlesque, Cabaret & Vaudeville scenes, with performances throughout North America & Europe. He was the co-founder and Ringmaster of Seattle’s, Circus Contraption. He has a starring role as “Johnny Valentine” in the upcoming feature film, “The Burlesque Assassins”. (http://burlesqueassassins.com/) Armitage Shanks is the co-author & director of The Handsome Little Devils, "Squirm Burpee- A Vaudevillian Melodrama", which was performed in November 2010 for a three week run "Off-Broadway", at the New Victory Theater in New York City's Times Square Theater District. He is the artistic & show director for the 2nd year of the School of Acrobatics and New Circus Arts (SANCA) annual gala, “Up, with a Twist”. Dan Savage of THE STRANGER said, "Armitage Shanks has a voice like honey-coated gravel.  A Victorian Music Hall barker, he struck just the right tone." "A Cabaret Legend"- LE COOL MAGAZINE DUBLIN
photo: John Cornicello	Aviatrix Visit website Aviatrix is a team of aerial stunt pilots originally trained as barnstorming, wing walking, aerobats. Unfortunately, strict aviation regulations shut down the flying circus where these gals were known as the “Queens of Wing Walking”. Willful and determined, Aviatrix transferred their skills from flying open cockpit bi-planes to the triple trapeze. Esther “Up-Side Down” Edelman, Carri “Barrel Roll” Andersen, Cathy “ Spin-Dive” Sutherland, and Martha “Daredevil” Enson, are delighted to bring their aerial formations back to Moisture Festival.
	Baby Gramps Visit website According to an article in the special issue City of Music in Seattle Metropolitan Magazine, Baby Gramps is acknowledged as one of the top 50 most influential musicians in the last 100 years along with Ray Charles, Jelly Roll Morton, Ernestine Anderson, John Cage, Bill Frisell, Jimi Hendrix, Quincy Jones, The Wailers, The Ventures, Sound Garden, and Pearl Jam. He is credited with making Seattle audiences aware of old blues and novelty songs that the rest of the world has mostly forgotten. Baby Gramps toured England and Ireland a little while back as part of the Rogues Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys CD Concert Tour with Tim Robbins (actor), Martha and Rufus Wainright, Jenny Muldaur (Maria and Geoff's daughter), Lou Reed, The Watersons, Martin Carthy and Eliza, Suzanne Vega, Ralph Steadman, and many other internationally known performers. The Rogues Gallery CD, produced by Johnny Depp and Hal Wilner in connection with The Pirates of the Caribbean film, landed Baby Gramps on the David Letterman Show. Baby Gramps is a high energy humorously entertaining performer with an endless repertoire. He plays an acoustic antique National Steel guitar and sings his own unique arrangements of rags, jazz, & blues songs from the 20's & 30's and many originals with wordplay, humor, and throat singing. And ... he's one of ours, ... always has been.
	Bellini Twins Visit website Their mother was a trapeze artist in The Bohemian National Circus. She was, as they say, a real swinger. Therefore this next act came to see the light of day as one of nature's most unusual experiments. These twins are from the same mother but have different fathers. Please welcome,,,, the Bellini Twins
	Bill Robison Visit website Bill Robison is a physical comedian.....His performances are a synthesis of outlandish comedy, an elastic face, a penchant for the absurd and a reckless sense of abandon. He has been touring internationally as a solo artist and with the highly acclaimed comedy duo "The Shneedles" with their show "Luggage" They have also performed in numerous comedy festivals and German Variety theaters. Bill has toured extensively as a solo act to fairs and festivals across the US and Canada for over 20 years, where he has been the warm-up act for over 150 concerts including Bill Cosby, Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra and many, many more. He is very happy to be back in Seattle and is delighted to be part of the Moisture Festival. Enjoy !
	Bindlestiff Family Cirkus Visit website Vaudeville East meets Vaudeville West when Bindlestiff appears at the Moisture Festival. Since 1995 the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus has traveled the world, bringing its unique hybrid of Vaudeville, Circus, Wild West Shows, Burlesque, and Sideshow to theaters, clubs, colleges, and festivals. The company has produced innumerable cabaret shows, custom performances for special audiences, all-ages and family productions, and sophisticated adult shows. The Bindlestiff Family co-founders are Stephanie Monseu and Keith Nelson, who over the last decade have hosted a variety of outrageous talent under the Bindlestiff banner. Their personal dedication to the variety arts, circus, vaudeville, sideshow, and burlesque has made the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus famous both among audiences and within the variety performance community. We're thrilled to have them!
Photo John Cornicello	Bobs Visit website The Bobs return to the Moisture Festival this year with their newest member; Angie Bob Doctor joins Richard Bob Greene, Matthew Bob Stull and Dan Bob Schumacher. This is not your run-of-the-mill a cappella quartet -- not by a long shot. Now in its third decade of musical mayhem, The Bobs’ Grammy-nominated musical gymnastics combine astounding vocal agility, deliciously ridiculous original pieces, and wildly imaginative arrangements of tunes by the likes of the Doors, Kurt Weill and the Beatles. “The Bobs remain dynamic, hilarious and unclassifiable – and who wants to sandwich entertainment into easy-to-digest categories?” - Metroland Magazine
	Bronkar and Cyndi Visit website Bronkar and Cyndi have been a joint creative force since 2001. Their variety show is a high energy, multi-instrumental, rhythmic and comedic journey that combines Bronkar's percussiveness and awe-inducing skill with Cyndi's powerhouse vocals and musical artistry. The chemistry between the two is both electric and charming, causing them to be referred to as the "Sonny and Cher of the new millennium." Bronkar has dominated the variety world as a featured act on Disney Cruise Lines, Switzerland's Circus Monti, and thousands of clubs, theaters, festivals and events worldwide. Cyndi has toured the U.S. with her music, performing at festivals like Hardly Strictly Bluegrass (800,000+ in attendance) and has recorded 6 albums, receiving radio play across the U.S. and Europe. Bronkar and Cyndi's talents have led to featured spots on television stations including CBS, FOX, Univision and NBC. Together they have created a perfect balance of rhythmic power and melodic flow -- or as some like to call it: Concentrated awesomeness.
	Cathy Sutherland Cathy is one of the original Daring Deviante Sisters, a skilled acrobatic duo with an odd sense of humor who brought a new element to the blossoming New Vaudeville scene in the 1980s. Active in several areas of Seattle’s performing arts community, she contributes by singing, dancing, teaching, acting, and performing aerial and land-based acrobatics. Cathy’s acting and comedy skills have enhanced shows she’s performed in with the Flying Karamazov Brothers, Theatre Schmeatre, the UMO ensemble, Printers Devil Theatre and the Royalle Famille DuCaniveaux. She’s also worked with local film makers Greg Lachow and Rob DeVor. Cathy has taught elite – level gymnastics in the Northwest for over 25 years. This Daring Devianté's stunning résumé and curriculum vitaé suggest that she’s an artisté in the fields of Varieté, comedé, dancé, and aerialé as well as a backup singer for one of the sexiest singing ensemblés to ever get their enjoys on a stagé. Add to all of that the fact that Cathy is one of the central organizers of this festival and ... well, if you’ve noticed a spark of bright energy that seems to illuminate and hold together the disparate variety of Varieté shows that make up the Moisture Festival you now know one of the important lighthearted reasons.
	Charlie Brown Visit website If you catch Charlie Brown off stage and you and he have the time, try to get him to tell you a story of his travels. Some of the experiences themselves would be of interest with anyone’s telling but hearing Charlie tell it would add a comic edge that’ll transform it into a jewel. Recognized among jugglers as one of the finest cigar box jugglers in the world, whether it's blazing torches, balls, top hats, broadswords or machetes on his double high teeter-board, Charlie delivers the goods! He has many skills to wrap his stage presentation around but it’s the man himself who entertains us most.
photo: Michelle Bates	Checkerboard Guy Visit website In one of his blog posts, The Checkerboard Guy (AKA David Aiken) quoted Yoda, the Jedi Master: “Do or do not. There is no try.” This is an appropriate reference coming from the "Go anywhere, do anything comic daredevil" who is an active and renowned member of the art form that Moisture Festival celebrates. His ongoing pursuit of a life in the Variety Arts is a remarkable story of the chaos in the changing lanes of 20th and 21st century including street performing, cruise ship performing, symphony performance, stage performance and his annual trek to Manitoba to teach unicycle to youth at risk who might be stealing cars otherwise. Good to have him back.
	Codhi Harrell Visit website Cohdi Harrell is an acrobatic performance maker currently based in the high desert of northern New Mexico. Interested in subtlety more than spectacle, and transition over trick, his unique style of poetic acrobatics has brought him international attention and into a myriad of projects and collaborations. Cohdi is the co-creator of Ricochet, a contemporary circus duo whose intimate theatrical circus shows have toured to sold out audiences across the country. Cohdi is dedicated to the progression of contemporary circus as a global art form, and is committed to doing his part to help put America on the map.
	Comedy Industries Visit website Comedy and Juggling, Unicycling and Bad Judgment. That's the motto that propels this powerful duo. Scott Meltzer and Katrine Spang-Hanssen specialize in custom scripted presentations for tradeshows, sales meetings and training sessions. By combining their clients' marketing and technology messaging with jokes, tricks and audience participation, they've proven over and over again that people learn more when they laugh! Comedy Industries is constantly in demand for after dinner shows and awards ceremonies, with a highly visual show that can be performed in multiple languages. They've headlined comedy clubs, emceed game-shows, and performed at more fairs and festivals than the world's smallest horse and the world's largest pig combined. They're new to the Moisture Festival and we know you'll like them.
	Dana Smith Visit website Dana Smith has been entertaining the world since 1974 when he got his start with the legendary Royal Lichtenstein Quarter-Ring Sidewalk Circus. After touring nationally he settled into a long run at some of San Francisco’s best street venues. In 2001 the Edmonton International Street Performer Festival acknowledged Smith’s show by presenting him with the "Golden Finkel Award" recognizing his contribution and dedication to street theater. This is circus arts as accident, the present moment as the best possible instant to engage an audience. This riot of showmanship has employed dog, Shakespeare, and even as luck and fate would have it appeared on the Disney Channel. This is an act you’ve never heard of presenting a show you’ll never forget.
	Daniel Forlano Visit website Daniel was born in the Virgo Supercluster at the outer limits of the Milky Way Galaxy near a star known locally as the Sun on a planet where the food is quite good. When his college advisor offered to write him a recommendation to Harvard University he decided comedy was the smarter option. He is an enchanting, charming clown, quirky in the extreme, whose desire to perform simple tasks is met with great struggle. The ordinary becomes absurd and the absurd becomes ordinary when one step is his journey of 1,000 miles.
	David Deeble Visit website With appearances on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "Last Comic Standing", David Deeble's "Unnatural Act" is a whirlwind display of exotic skills laugh-out-loud commentary. He kicks coins into his eye socket, extinguishes flaming marshmallows with his mouth and - as if that weren't enough - accompanies it all with hilarious asides: "All that talent and I'm also a notary." David performs at private functions throughout the U.S. and Europe.
photo: John Cornicello	Elizabeth Rose Visit website Elizabeth is the co-founder and co-artistic director of ticktock, the aerial dance company that has been making waves in the Seattle scene with their unique hybrid aerial/modern dance style. She has been a professional aerialist since 2002 and a dancer since 1999. She has enjoyed studying aerial and working with Elie Venezky, Elise Smith and Serenity Smith-Forcion, Jukka Juntti, Eric Newton, Max Torandell, Jacques Heim, and others. She is currently based in Seattle where, in addition to ticktock, she performs with the Aerialistas, Seattle's original aerial girl gang. Elizabeth is passionately committed to advancing the art of aerial movement beyond the realm of tricks and feats to a place that demands the most exquisite use and fullest awareness of the body in performance. She is excited to perform at Moisture Festival on her one-of-a-kind Aerial Umbrella. Keep up with her at lizaroseaerial.com.
Photo Dale Rollings	Equilibrium Circus - Paz & Leah Visit website Equilibrium Circus is an award winning duo that specializes in the art of partnering. Paz and Leah are honored to be a part of the 2012 Moisture Festival line-up and will be performing "Caliente" - a fast paced, sensual salsa on trapeze. This spicy duo has been seen around the world performing in film, television, and on the live stage. Paz and Leah's breathtaking salsa in the air is not to be missed.
	Eric Schwartz Visit website Eric Schwartz's razor sharp, adults-mostly, on-the-spot wit combined with his exceptional musicality have made him a stand-out performer when appearing on the Comedy Central Stage (in Sit'n Spin); with comedy masters like Jim Norton, Rich Vos, Bobby Slayton and Jim Florentine on "The Bad Boys of Comedy;" at clubs (The Improv, The Comedy Store, The Ice House), on the radio (Howard Stern 100, NPR's All Things Considered, Doctor Demento, and Air America), and on the web, where his edgy, political YouTube videos chalk up millions of hits and garner him illicit proposals from all corners of the globe. His is a powerful presence onstage, backstage or around a campfire. We're happy to have him back this year.
	Ezra Weill & Una Bennett Ezra Weill and Una Bennett, a brother and sister duo, were born and raised in Seattle. They’ve been active in circus arts for most of their lives and got their first tastes of live performance by busking at local street fairs and festivals starting at a young age. They have trained at SANCA, and presently work out of the Versatile Arts studio. For the past two summers, they have performed as part of Circus Smirkus, a Vermont-based touring youth circus. They are grateful for the many fantastic coaches and teachers who have helped them along the way. They both attend the Seattle Waldorf High School.
	Flyin' Bob Visit website When asked in an interview for advice to performers Flyin' Bob Palmer answered “Be original be creative, If you do something that no one else does, then you are the best in the world.” Apt advice from a man who has juggled inside of the Great Pyramid of Giza, has created an act based on stacking and balancing lawn chairs, produces directs and teaches at a circus camp for youth at risk AND created one of the funniest and most unique wire walking acts in the business. Flyin' Bob takes you on a one man journey through the Three-Ring Circus of his mind. We're honored to have him join the line up at this year's Moisture Festival. You'll love him.
	Gazzo Visit website If you have friends who knows a little about magic performance, tell him them that the British magician Gazzo is coming to Moisture Festival. I can then be silent and let them persuade you to take this opportunity to see a master at work. David Blaine said: "Gazzo is an incredible performer and a great influence on modern magic." Onstage, Raymond Teller is the silent partner of the Vegas headlining duo Penn and Teller, offstage, he had this to say: ""When you see Gazzo you feel like you’re watching a showbiz legend.” When Gazzo appeared on Penn and Teller's television show and did his version of the Cups and Balls, Penn Gillette, with pure admiration, told the audience: "Literally the oldest trick in magic ... done perfectly! That's what you just saw." and then he went on to say to Gazzo: "In all art, in all performance, it is the singer, not the song. You are the best singer we've ever seen." Need I say more? Gazzo is coming to the Moisture Festival.
	gOdFReY DaNieLs Visit website Godfrey is quiet on stage but you should hear the tales he tells backstage! His trip to perform on French television is hilarious. His long time companion, Randy Minkler, confirms that the town and the gentleman in bright checkered suit will never be the same.
	Janet McAlpin & Lynelle Sjoberg Janet McAlpin trained for two years at the School of Jacques LeCoq (Paris, France), co-founded UMO Ensemble and has been teaching, directing and performing physical theater for over 20 years. Lynelle Sjoberg has trained and performed as a dancer, choreographer, aerialist (and sometimes yoga instructor). Separately and together they've given birth to several artistic events in the Seattle Sound area, including last summer's astounding Vashon Island aerial event called Open Air. We're lucky to have them working their magic in our community and now Moisture Festival is lucky to have them perform their new collaborative piece on a unique aerial device that resembles a suspended spherical egg. Oh Boy! ...
	Jason Quick Visit website A One-Armed Juggler combining Circus Arts with Spoken Word to amaze, astound and inspire audiences of all ages. Jason lost his arm in an electrical accident when he was six years old and while recuperating at Seattle's Children's Hospital he immediately began to entertain the nurses and his fellow patients. Since then has had to overcome challenges on a daily basis. Living life with a disability has taught him how to face adversity with creativity and persistence. He has integrated this learning into his performance art and calls on everyone to open their mind to their dreams and redefine the word "impossible". In performance, Jason addresses big questions at the same time as making the audience laugh. Who are we? What are we? Is there meaning and purpose in our lives? What can we do to feel more alive, more useful, and more satisfied with our contributions to community and at the same time feel supported, cared for, and loved? What are our limits and are they as solid as they seem sometimes? Somebody has to ask these questions with confidence, clarity, and comedy. We're proud to add Moisture Festival to the list of venues where Jason makes his points.
	Jay ALexander Visit website Jay Alexander is the great grandson of the legendary vaudeville performer, Gentleman Ben Darwin. As a child, Jay found a trunk in his grandparents attic filled with magic and escapes. His interest in magic took off from there. At the age of fourteen Jay was honored to be the youngest recipient of the Society of American Magicians Gold Medal of Honor. For over 25 years, Jay has lived his passion of creating unique live entertainment. We're looking forward to having him with us this year, on stage and off.
	Jessie Sawyers Visit website Jessie Sawyers has a unique blend of experience in both the entertainment industry and in business. She began tap dancing at the age of eleven under the direction of Cheryl Johnson and Anthony Peters in Seattle. She has had the honor of studying with tap masters Arthur Duncan, Dianne Walker, and the late tap greats Cholly Atkins, Gregory Hines, Fayard Nicholas, and Jimmy Slyde among others. Taking this knowledge and subsequent experience, she has applied it to the entertainment industry in several forms. Jessie has produced 4 evening length shows that blend tap dance with live music. Most recently was With You We Dance at the Georgetown Ballroom in Seattle (co-produced with Dayna Szyndrowski). Others include Stark Pulse at CanCan; Flow: An Evening of Music, Dance, and Visual Art at Triple Door; and Jessie Sawyers: Solo Show at Egan’s Ballard Jam House. She has also been working on the production team with world-renowned tap dancer Mark Mendonca in preparation for his soon-to-launch touring show. Whatever the project Jessie seems to have a knack for bridging the gap between idea generation and manifestation, which enables her to share her ideas and spirit with the world. Oh yeah ... and she worked for Ivar’s as their tap dancing clam mascot (ask to see pictures sometime, they're hilarious.).
	Joey Pipia Visit website Performing magic for children at the renowned Jewel Box Theater or for adults at famous Magic Castle in Hollywood, Joey Pipia can do it all and he can do it with grace and style. Joey is a very funny magician taking audiences on an amazing journey through time and reality fashioned after the legendary traveling magicians of early vaudeville. Joey masterfully blends comedy, illusions and politics in his magical comedic performance.
	Jonathan Rose Jonathan Rose’s interest in circus arts began in Mexico, where he was a roustabout in a small, family-owned circus. For several months he served as caretaker of the many exotic animals, including Maurice, the elephant and Pepe, the hippopotamus. When he tired of pounding stakes and shoveling animal dung, Jonathan returned to Seattle and began studying aerial acrobatics at the School of Acrobatics and New Circus Arts (SANCA). He dreams of running away with the circus again, only this time as an aerial artist.
	Kamikaze Fireflies Visit website Sexy meets circus! Bludgeoning audiences with wit, crushing them with whimsey, and tearing them a new laugh hole ... It's the Kamikaze Fireflies! Rob Williams is a Moisture Festival favorite. He joined us as a solo act and blew everyone away by making hilarious entertainment while making a baloney sandwich ... with his feet. Then he put together his former legendary vaudeville team from Texas and wowed everyone with the Flaming Idiots. Now he's teaming up with the delightful and frightening Casey Martin, sometimes billed as Super Spacey Casey. But in this case we'll know them as Kamikaze FireFlies, "bringing peace to the world at an affordable price".
	Katie Kirkland After sailing the Caribbean galavanting and traveling, studying with Q'ero Shamans and Ayahuasqueros, chillin with SoulJahs, cruising the Amazon, holding a wild Macaw on the Tambopata, meditating at sunrise over Inca ruins, racing and wining class in the St Maarten Heiniken regatta, meeting the light In Cordillera Huayhuash- After getting paid to teach piano, make bagels, skydive, scuba dive, sail yachts, and be a chef what could come next, except of course- the circus! ... and then, of course ... Moisture Festival.
	Kevin Joyce Visit website Kevin is Creator and Host of the variety show Big Night Out on the Seattle Channel. With his wife Martha Enson he runs EnJoy Productions, which produces live entertainment for corporate and special events, as well as music, videos and leadership training, He was a Co-Founder of UMO Ensemble and a principal performer and Director of Teatro Zinzanni. An avid singer/songwriter, Kevin’s CD Say It is available on CD Baby. His daughter Ruby regularly pins him in wrestling matches. She is 7. Show Dates February 10, 2012 @ 7:30pm
	Laura Stokes Visit website LAURA STOKES is a zealous movement researcher, educator and performer. Always fascinated by the notion of embodied experience, she was a child gymnast, a teenage ballerina, and at one point, a budding yogini. She is now an avid contact improviser, ecstatic aerialist and bizarrely present performer. Laura works with circus virtuosity, somatic awareness and the most basic emotion to create work that examines how we inhabit the physical space of our lives through our bodies. She lives in the mountains of northern New Mexico and is the co-founder of Ricochet, a contemporary circus duo whose intimate theatrical circus shows have toured to sold out audiences across the country.
	Leapin’ Louie Lichtenstein Visit website Leapin’ Louie Lichtenstein has performed his unique cowboy comedy show in 21 different countries around the world. You will see slapdash physical comedy and spoken comedy channeled through Louie’s modern western clown character. Plus world-class trick roping, whip cracking, and other odd stunts. No wonder they call him the most explosive Lithuanian Jewish Cowboy Comedian to ever come out of the Pacific Northwest.
	Legendary Voices in Concert Visit website Larry G Jones, Singing Impressionist - Comedian. The Temptations, Cher, Elton John, Neil Diamond, Elvis, The Phantom of the Opera, and The Rat Pack are just a small sample of the 75 plus voices Larry performs in his one-man show. We'll get a taste of this Las Vegas hit (four years as one of Tripadvisor's 'Top Five' consumer rated Vegas shows) when Larry joins Moisture Fest variety shows this year.
	Lelavision Visit website The name Lela is more than a play on the names of the founders; derived from two Sanskrit terms meaning "creation" and "creative spark", with references to "play," it denotes the spirit of the performance group. The company combines modern and aerial dance, music, theater, and large interactive musical sculptures to create innovative works of awe and whimsy. Their work is about the transfer of energy, the emanations of the soul, and the common denominators of the human experience. Mann and Lamblin work with a synthesis of form, space, movement, and music in a collaboration that draws on the unique contribution of each. Ela Lamblin is a sculptor/musician who is known in Seattle for his past collaborations with the UMO Ensemble. Lamblin's musical instrument/sculptures represent a harmony of sound, form, and movement meant not solely to be looked at and walked around but to be sounded and intimately experimented with. They appeal both to the ear and to the eye and, because they are thematically indicative, to the soul and to the consciousness.
Photo by Blake Gardner	Lindsay Benner Visit website "The joy and wonder of the present moment", that's the phrase that refers, in much of her publicity, to Lindsay Benner's greatest talent ... bringing her audiences to that place. That's a great gift. Lindsay's skills include acting, juggling, and physical comedy. She's appeared in films (including The Darwin Awards and The Lost Coast) and she's taken her juggling and physical comedy from street shows and busking festivals to comedy clubs, corporate events and television programs, including The Tonight Show. But I suspect that Moisture Festival audiences will react most directly to the twinkle in her eye and this ability to bring us to the joy and wonder of the present moment. We're so glad that she's joining us this year.
	Louie Foxx Visit website Louie Foxx celebrated his interest in childish pursuits even before the birth of his child gave him "... a valid excuse to go to the zoo once a week and build forts out of the sofa cushions." He spent much of his childhood developing skills that his teachers told him were a waste of time. Louie got his start as a kid performing his show on a corner downtown and he's come a long way since then. Recently he was voted the Best Live Entertainment for Kids by the Parent Map magazine, was on television's America's Got Talent and is a current Guinness World Record Holder. Louie will give us a taste of his remarkable shadowgraphy ... we're so happy to have him.
	Maria Margiyeva Visit website Contortionist, hula-hoop performer, dancer and aerialist Maria Margiyeva is a world-class performer who will be joining us in 2012 if she is granted a visa to perform in the USA. Her skills include those of the circus, dance and rhythmic gymnastic worlds and she performs them worldwide. Awarded the honor of Master of Sport in her homeland of Ukraine where she also studied dance and contortion, Maria moved on to Spain and there too she excelled at sport and flamenco dance but it was in Kiev that, under the tutorship of Iryna German, she translated her many skills into a show business performance and is now internationally renowned. It is with great honor that we present her to Seattle audiences for the first time.
	Master Payne Visit website A master, indeed! This noted Northwest performer has traveled the world assuming and shedding a series of engaging characters in an unending effort to give a unique and humorous twist to the ancient art of conjuring. He is a respected voice in the world of magic; Hollywood's famed Magic Castle named Master Payne as one of a small group they called "The World's Best Children's Magicians". It's great to have the Master return to Moisture Festival.
	Michael Trautman Visit website Variously identified as a visual comic, performance artist, new vaudevillian, mime (gasp), physical comedian, storyteller, magician, and fool, he claims only to be a clown...and not a very traditional clown at that. He has appeared in such prestigious venues as the New York International Festival of Clown Theater, Festival D’Ete in Quebec, the General Jackson Showboat at Opryland USA, the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal, and The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He was featured on WOW! The Most Awesome Acts On Earth, an ABC Television Special, and The Statler Brothers Show on TNN. Obviously he has little discretion. Michael was an Artist-in-Residence at Mabou Mines Theater Company in New York City, and has also been an Artist-in-Residence for the Drama Department of The Catholic University of America where he adapted and directed Alfred Jarry's Ubu Roi. In the 1999-2000 season, Michael was the star clown in the national tour of OOPS! The Big Apple Circus Stage Show directed by Tony Walton. Michael also worked again with Mr. Walton on a production of Busker Alley starring Jim Dale and Glenn Close.
	Orville Johnson & Casey MacGill Visit website In a recent blog posting Orville Johnson had this to say about performing with Casey MacGill: "I'm getting used to playing rocking' New Orleans style music every Monday night with my pal Casey MacGill down at Le Bon Ton Roule on Leary Way. We've been doing it since April and it's pretty doggone fun! Casey wails on the piano and uke while I grind it out on guitar and dobro and we both sing up a storm!" Orville was a founding member of the legendary NW folk/rock group The Dynamic Logs and Casey MacGill is the heart and soul of the Seattle's beloved Blue 4 Trio. Between them, they've played with an impressively long list of impressive musicians. We're honored to have their music at Moisture. To see the website of Casey's band go to: http://www.blue4trio.com. To see Orville's, click the blue link above.
	Professor Martin Shell We eagerly anticipate the imminent arrival of the good professor as he makes his ambagious way across the country from his home in Springfield, Massachusetts. Noted for his topical and timely instruction on Effective Use of Time, we expect to learn ... um ... well, if we're lucky we hope to remember what we already know. But we know it'll be fun getting from here to there to here.
	Puppet Guy Visit website The Puppet Guy is Lee Zimmerman. Yes, it's Zimmer-man - strange visitor from another planet who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. Zimmer-man, who can change the course of boring parties, bend the will of inanimate objects with his bare hands! And who, disguised as Lee Zimmerman, mild-mannered comedy writer from Hollywood, California, can make celebrity puppets come alive while fighting a never-ending battle with truth, puerice and his whimsical ways! Lee started on the streets and he's kept the life and the attitude that can only come from that kind of direct contact as he's moved through many levels of show business. This will be his first Moisture Festival and we're looking forward to seeing him and showing him to you.
Photo by David Rose Photography	Quynbi Visit website Originally from Los Angeles, Quynbi is a Seattle-based aerialist, dancer, model, multimedia visual artist and licensed skydiver. She has performed her sensuous aerial silks acts at notable venues such as Teatro ZinZanni's Mezzo Lunatico, the Global Party with Emerald City Trapeze Arts, the Moore Theater Centennial, the Seattle Art Museum Opening with UMO Ensemble, and Circus of Dreams. A Moisture Festival regular, her distinctive aesthetic sense merges grace, beauty and strength with technical precision and a dark edge.
	Raspyni Brothers Visit website As one of the most sought after acts on the corporate entertainment scene, they appear annually at over 100 events across America and internationally. Since 1982 their intelligent mayhem has earned them two International Juggling Championships, multiple appearances on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson and Jay Leno, and a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.
	Reid Belstock Visit website Reid Belstock began juggling at the age of 15, as a way of overcoming gross and fine motor skill impairment. Following high school, Reid went off to study with Ringling Brothers, and Barnum and Bailey Circus Clown College, where he learned the fine art of Slapstick and Physical Comedy. From that time, Reid has performed across the United States, Canada, South America, Europe, China and Japan . He has performed in almost every venue that exists, from Theaters, Theme Parks, Cruise Ships, Casinos, Colleges, Conventions, Street Performing Festivals, Comedy Clubs, and Hotel Review Shows and Seattle's Moisture Festival where his performance and MC skills have delighted our audiences. It's great to have him back.
	Ron W. Bailey There are many people whose hard work and creativity makes the Moisture Festival happen but there is one without whom it wouldn't have been an option. Ron W. Bailey is an entertainer, band leader, singer, songwriter, and a Maker. He makes things happen. His visit to one of Berlin's two Comedy/Varietè festivals in the 1990s inspired this unique contribution to Seattle's musical and theatrical landscape. Ron's romance with Seattle began ... but wait ... let me allow Seattle songsmith Jim Page to tell it: "Anyway, in '74 along comes Rose and The Dirt Boys - they're out of Oklahoma and they just moved right in and made themselves at home. You could do that here in those days, it was that generous. Well, one of the brains of the dirt boys was Ron Bailey, or RB as they called him. A compact little Scotts Okie with a great voice and an unstoppable mind for invention. He began collecting talented friends. He became kind of a magnet around which a lot of interesting people revolved. When The Dirt Boys broke up RB went on to the Dynamic Logs - a band that was larger or smaller depending on the circumstances. And that's when things began to get real theatrical. Anyway, making long stories shorter ... The Royal Famille Du Caniveaux was born somewhere in there, involving strange shadowy figures in Spain and Paris and New York, and they all started going to the Oregon Country Fair. So did a lot of jugglers and magicians and dancers and singers and all the rest. The Flying Karamazov Brothers, Tom Noddy, Faith Petric. So It was a natural progression if you look at it that way. It just had to happen. And where else [but Seattle] could it have been?" Ron ... Seattle and the Varietè performers you've brought to this pretty city thank you again.
	Ropeworks by René Visit website René Bibaub is a five-time world champion, ESPN commentator and former artist and coach of Cirque Du Soleil. We will present René as the dynamic entertainer that she is but she will, no doubt, carry with her the enthusiasm that she feels for sharing the benefits of what she calls the single best fitness tool available -- the jump rope. She is an educator, motivational speaker and entertainer with a special focus on youth fitness and specialty performances. René has won five world championships; toured the world as a coach and featured performer for Cirque, appeared on television, in feature films, and on thousands of stages; is a commentator for ESPN; and, created her own business with a mission of youth motivation and fitness. Moisture Festival is fortunate to have her with us in 2012.
	Rubberband Boy Visit website If the United States grants him a Visa to perform in our country we will proudly present, in 2012, Rubberband Boy. This act of facial contortion and pogo stick straight jacket escapology has been viewed in 15 countries including as the New Zealand representative at "The World Gurning Championships" in Japan. Shay is the holder of The Guinness World Record for facial contortion. His act demonstrates an exceptional degree of originality and extraordinary creativity. He is in high demand due to his international reputation as one of the funniest Varietè performer in the world. The rave reviews from his 2011 tours of Europe and Canada have us hopeful that the Visa will come through ... 'The Rubberband Boy, Man or Monster? You decide!
	Ruby Joyce Visit website Ruby Joyce has performed as the torch bearer for the Olympic opening ceremonies of the Moisture Festival 2008. Her aerial hoop and trapeze acts have been seen at the Oregon Country Fair, Gravity of Kindness, multiple benefits, and at Aerlift and Moisture Festival 2008 - present. She also performs Ballet and Modern dance and is a team level gymnast at Metropolitan Gymnastics.
photo: Timothy Aguero	SANCA Visit website The School of Acrobatics and New Circus Arts (SANCA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the mental and physical health of children of all ages, and is dedicated to serving students from all economic backgrounds by offering tuition scholarships. Seattle's premier circus school was founded by Executive Director Jo Montgomery and Program Director Chuck Johnson. By day Jo is a pediatric nurse practitioner, but at night moonlights as a circus arts instructor. Like many pediatric care providers, Jo noticed an alarming increase in the rates of childhood obesity and started the school as a creative and practical way to address the problem. Chuck's interest in circus began at age 10 when his grandparents took him to a circus show in Portland. Soon after that he taught himself to juggle and began gymnastics training. As an adult Chuck helped found the Cascade Youth Circus and has been involved professionally in circus, gymnastics coaching, stunt work and rigging. SANCA opened its doors in January 2004 with 5 students and a trampoline, but is now home to two trampolines, trapeze rigs, vertical ropes, a tumbl-trak, tight wires, unicycles, German Wheels, a million juggling balls, and lots of circus fun! The school offers classes in acrobatics, circus arts, aerial training, hoop, juggling and trampoline and even has a circus band for those more musically inclined. With over 500 students of ALL ages, and a satellite program on Vashon Island, SANCA proves that it's never too late to join the circus!
	Sara Felder Visit website Sara Felder is a solo theater artist, playwright and juggler. While the themes of her plays and performances are serious, her form is comic, engaging, vaudevillian. She strives to integrate personal experiences with the urgency of this moment in history. Out of that mix she creates funny and provocative theater. Sara began performing in 1984 with San Franciso’s Pickle Family Circus. She has also toured with Jugglers for Peace in Cuba, the Women’s Circus in Nicaragua, Joel Grey’s Borscht Capades and at Festivals of Jewish/Yiddish Culture in Berlin, London, Amsterdam, New York, Los Angeles and Toronto. Through juggling, she has been able to find her theatrical voice, create compelling performance, teach alternative populations and pursue social justice. The Bay Area Reporter said “Calling Sara Felder a juggler is a little like referring to Michelangelo as that guy who painted ceilings.”
	Scot Nery Visit website Whether Scot is working in theater, at a party or on the small or large screen (he was in Adam Sandler's “You Don't Mess with the Zohan” and Christinea Aguilera's music video “Hurt” among other productions) he regards each performance as an opportunity to apply “unexpected ingenuity”. He's noted for his comic daring and his carefree stage presence. Ut oh. We're looking forward to the return to Moisture Festival of this fearless LA performer.
	Simon Neale Visit website Simon cuts an elegant figure as he hosts Moisture Festival shows in his Utilikilt and East End, London accent (modified to allow Americans to understand). Simon's sense of comedy harkens back to Music Hall and to the British traditions of "Panto". Relax, you're someplace else now.
Photo by Vern Evans	Sourdough Slim Visit website Ten gallon funny-man Sourdough Slim, transports us to a whimsical world where vaudevillian camp and cowboy lore intermingle to produce grins galore. Slim, aka Rick Crowder, is a well traveled veteran of stages ranging from The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering to The Lincoln Center's Roots of American Music Festival and the Carnegie Hall Folk Festival. His fast-paced stage show finds him crooning Western classics, playing accordion, guitar and harmonica, dancing a jig, twirling a lariat, dishing out hilarious comedic sketches and letting loose with his absolutely mind boggling yodeling. His truly astounding yippie-ti-yi style won him the Academy of Western Artists 2001 Will Rogers Award for "Yodeler of the Year" and 2009, 2010 and 2011 nomination for "Entertainer of the Year" from the Western Music Association.
	Spin Doctor In Greg Palmer's brilliant PBS documentary, "Vaudeville", he presented a montage of old film clips and speculated dryly "Vaudeville audiences loved watching things spin." He would have loved this act. International entertainer and innovator, Spin Doctor, has added a new light and a new wit to a genre of performance that's quite old. This act is special, we're so happy that he's able to make it to Seattle's unique springtime celebration this year.
	Steel Dolls Visit website Steel Dolls is the collaborative effort of Sydney Lovelle, Julia Schimmel, and Allie Cooper. Based in Santa Cruz, California, the trio draws upon backgrounds in dance, circus, and gymnastics to produce innovative and hypnotic aerial creations. Sure to mesmerize and amaze, Steel Dolls is thrilled be a part of this years Moisture Festival.
	Stevie Coyle Visit website Stevie Coyle's dear Granny was a pianist in the heyday of vaudeville, his mother played in mandolin orchestras during the 1930s and his father ran a radio station in southern California and brought home all the promo LPs that didn't fit the Spanish-language format. Not so surprising then that he turned his attention to music and theater. Inspired by his first Hot Tuna album he played music and then he secured degrees in Theatre and Theology. Stevie followed that with 3 years on the road with The Royal Lichtenstein Circus. With his good pal Roy Zimmerman they formed The Foremen and comedy duo The Reagan Bros. in Los Angeles, and while there, Stevie appeared on Cheers and in many television commercials and had a regular role on The Young And The Restless. In 1999 he co-founded and fronted The Waybacks and toured steadily with them from 2001 through 2007. Stevie's gone solo now, and has completed and released his first solo CD. We're happy to have this grandson of vaudeville get wet with Seattle's Moisture Festival.
	Tank Karo Visit website Tank is a nimble performer who brings both a wicked and beautiful side of circus onto the stage. She is a dancer turned aerialist, who has travelled clear across the globe in her quest to perform just about everywhere. She began learning in Chicago with the Aloft Aerial Dance Company, and then spent 4 years living and working in Melbourne, Australia. She has earned a Bachelors in Circus Arts at NICA, the National Institute of Circus Arts, focusing on dance trapeze, foot juggling and fire burlesque. Tank has been featured internationally, at festivals and cabarets, and in selected magazines. She is currently based in Chicago, were she teaches and performs.
Photo by Greg Holloway	Tanya Brno Visit website Classically trained as a ballet dancer & aerialist, Tanya escapes the confines of linear performance with her playful intuition and indulgent savagery. With a striking aesthetic of whimsical lines, thoughtful dramatics & endless energy, Tanya pushes her audience into deep surrender. A local performer for years as a solo artist as well as with The Aerialistas, Tanya has graced the stage at the Moisture Festival, Rat City Rollergirls halftime show, Queensryche Cabaret and the Triple Door to name a few venues. She is the senior aerial instructor at Emerald City Trapeze where she endeavors to instill a passion and playfulness into her students while helping them expand their practice.
	Terry Crane Visit website Having languished long enough in higher education, Terry Crane finally surrendered to restless urges that lead him to walk calmly away with the circus at the tender age of 20. Since then, his thirst for movement and performance mentoring has been a zigzag constellation of off the beaten path destinations, taking him to the San Francisco Circus Center, Montreal's National Circus School (of Cirque du Soleil fame), and the Beijing International Acrobatics School. He has now performed in countless countries, on 3 continents. Terry is a longtime practitioner of capoeira, contact improvisation, hip hop dance, physical theater, and tree climbing. He infuses his work with these influences as well as his own fiercely unique style. Terry loves the sublime experience of circus performance, and daring to reach across the fourth wall to share with all his audiences.
	Tom Murphy Visit website Knock 'em down, drag 'em out, laugh till you cry slapstick sketch comedy. Think: Buster Keaton meets Robin Williams. He co-founded two international touring comedy troupes: Mountain Mime and Klown Shoes. For the past 20 years he has performed and taught around the world. He was a winner at the Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain in Paris and twice awarded "Artist of the Year Award" by Kuenstler Magazine in Germany. He has appeared on Broadway in his solo production called MetaMURPHosis. For the past 15 years he has been touring in Europe where he was dubbed "The Chaos Poet." He has been a mainstay in the Variete scene in Germany, chiefly the GOP Varietes in Hannover, Essen, Bad Oeyenhausen, Munster and Munich.
	Tom Noddy Visit website Tom has done something unique in show business ... he created a new kind of act. When Tom Noddy first took his performance of Bubble Magic onto the Tonight Show in the early 80s (the first of 3 such performances on that show) Johnny Carson was able to say "He's doing something unlike anything we've ever seen." He used the attention gained by those appearances to initiate a series of "Bubble Festivals" at science centers across America and now in several European cities (he says that he knows a good bit about the physics of soap films but admits and he's funnier than he is smart). This has resulted in work for him and now for several other entertainers who've followed in his footsteps. Tom is a regular on the European Varieté scene and this year his performances have taken him to Abu Dhabi, Taiwan and Kuala Lumpur as well as his annual events in Scandinavia but for now he's delighted to be gathering in Seattle with the collection of odd people who make up the peer group of a guy who blows bubbles for a living.
	Uncle Bonsai Visit website Uncle Bonsai performs original, contemporary folk/pop music. With their soaring and intricate 3-part vocal harmonies and biting humor, accompanied by only an acoustic guitar, Arni Adler, Patrice O'Neill, and Andrew Ratshin deliver poignantly unflinching portrayals of life, love, and a guy named Doug. The trio's influences range from the Beatles to Stephen Sondheim. Some say Zappa cross-bred with Peter, Paul and Mary. Loudon Wainwright III, the Roches. Three tightly tiered and adhered voices, acoustic guitar. That's it. Nearly naked folk-pop for everyone.
	Yo-Yo People Visit website As seen on David Letterman, they hold a Guinness World Record, a 2008 Yo-Yo World Champion title, and have performed in over 20 countries. Who would have thought you could make an entire show out of yo-yos? This husband and wife duo bring back that nostalgic toy, reminding you of old favorite tricks such as Walk the Dog and Rock the Baby, then amazing you with new and bizarre tricks, such as Boingy-Boingy and Iron Whip. Yo-yos attached to bouncy balls, yo-yos with 10-foot strings, and multiple yo-yos looping while hula hooping and unicycling are just some of their finely tuned feats. High skill and deft timing to swingin' music coupled with high energy and sarcastic humor make the Yo-Yo People a favorite for every age.
photo by John Cornicello	zoom ----- Moisture Festival Volunteer Staff Visit website This is a cropped photo of a small fraction of the many volunteers that worked together to staff the Moisture Festival a few years back. Some of these friends will be back this year, some can't and will be missed. Other new friends will join us and work for the pleasure of being a part of this joyous event and a contributor to the laughter that is the real engine that makes this thing move. It's not clear to us how many in the audience recognize the fact but the organizers and the experienced performers know that the applause is shared with these partners. Thank you.