Wanderlust Circus
Encyclopedia
Wanderlust Circus is a theatrical circus
troupe based in Portland, Oregon
, which began in 2006 and since 2009 has had a branch in San Diego, California
. The two organizations collaborate to produce shows up and down the U.S. west coast
.
(a.k.a. William Batty) and Nick "the Creature" Harbar.
The two first teamed up in 2006 to form two separate but related circus shows: Wanderlust Circus headed by Harbar, and Batty's Hippodrome, led by Mickens, whose circus and stage names came from a Victorian Era circus and its Ringmaster respectively.
The pair founded the Hippodrome Circus Arts Center, which opened on November 17, 2007 on the lower floor of what is now the Rotture-Branx venue complex.
The Hippodrome venue was short-lived, and when the owner of the complex decided not to let that venue continue in 2008, Mickens and Harbar combined their respective circuses under the Wanderlust name. Wanderlust eventually settled into the Bossanova Ballroom, and proceeded to put on a series of shows that lasted through 2010.
Some of these shows were seasonally recurring, such as the White Album Christmas show (in collaboration with The Nowhere Band, aka the No Star All Star Band, featuring members of the MarchFourth Marching Band
, Solovox, Stereovision, and others) and the Cirque L’Amour show for Valentine’s day. Other shows tell the legendary backstory of the Wanderlust Circus itself, including The Rose Rush which featured Eric Stern of Vagabond Opera.
Another collaboration between Wanderlust Circus and Vagabond Opera occurred in 2010 when the opera Queen of Knives
debuted in Portland. This opera was written and produced by Eric Stern and directed by Noah Mickens. It featured cast members from Vagabond Opera, as well as others, including Nagasita (Tiare Tashnick), a belly dancer who frequently performs with Wanderlust Circus. Nagasita also collaborates with Wanderlust Circus to produce the dark fantasy theatrical series Bogville, which she co-directs with Mickens.
In 2011, Wanderlust introduced two new show formats. Megabounce which premiered on March 12, 2011, is an audience participation format in which the circus acts are set to dubstep dance music, featuring both a prerecorded soundtrack and some prominent live DJ’s. The audience gets to watch the show while dancing to the music and participating in such activities as balloon volleyball and being covered with glitter shot from homemade cannons. The Wanderlust Circus Orchestra features an old-time Vaudeville style circus set to vintage music with short comedy skits in between the main circus acts, in a format reminiscent of old Spike Jones
shows.
In 2009, Alexander Dial, one of the Wanderlust acrobats, left Portland to return to his home in San Diego, and there established his own circus production company called Otherwise Entertainment. After a year spent establishing his new troupe, Mr Dial has taken on the name of Wanderlust Circus for both his existing and future projects in San Diego. As a result, Wanderlust Circus now consists of two distinct but intertwined branches. and these two organizations collaborate to produce shows all up and down the west coast from northern Washington to southern California.
movement of circus and cabaret artists in the Pacific NW, which began to show its face around the turn of the 21st Century. Early examples of this movement include MarchFourth Marching Band
(2003, Portland OR) , Circus Contraption
(Seattle, WA) and the Yard Dogs Road Show
(San Francisco, CA), all of whom have collaborated with Wanderlust Circus and some of its previous incarnations.
Mickens' first circus venture was Cicuri Curajul, a "fake Romanian Circus" which debuted on April 25th 2004 at the Crystal Ballroom. AWOL Dance was a part of Cicuri Curajul, . After moving on to develop themselves independently, AWOL returned to Wanderlust Circus in 2009 and have been a regular act since that time.
As part of the second wave of this Bohemian movement, Mickens created a ritual performance troupe called Societas Insomnia which lasted from 2004 to 2007. Societas Insomnia featured a variety of ritual performance types, including fire dancing
, suspension (body modification)
, and butoh
, along with traditional circus acts and Tuvan throat singing by Enrique Ugalde a.k.a. Soriah, who portrayed the sun. In 2005, Mickens also toured with the 999 Eyes of Endless Dream Carnival , an underground freak show
, now the 999 Eyes Freakshow, as ringmaster and Master of Ceremonies.
After this came Batty's Hippodrome, and finally the Wanderlust Circus as it is today. By this time, the basic Pacific Northwest Bohemian movement had spread all over the country; with a noteworthy center of activity at Coney Island in NYC, and other troupes starting in almost every city.
; The March Fourth Stiltwalkers; contortionist and hand balancer Keph Sherin; and comic actors Burk Biggler and Tommy Twimble.
Other outside collaborators include The Nowhere Band; The Stolen Sweets; The Trashcan Joe Orchestra; The March Fourth Marching Band; and 3 Leg Torso. Wanderlust has shared the stage with Primus
, The Jim Rose Circus
, Yard Dogs Road Show
, Circus Contraption
, Diplo
, Skinny Puppy
, Vau De Vire Society, Skrillex, Rusko
, DJ Krush
, Gooferman, Electric Dollhouse, and DJ Assault
.
Wanderlust Circus has performed at numerous noteworthy locales : the inaugural party for Mayor Sam Adams at City Hall, The Electric Daisy Carnival
in Los Angeles, Oakland's Sand By The Ton, Oregon Country Fair
, The Portland Rose Festival
, and performed a specially choreographed epic circus on and around the 60-foot steel fire sculptures of The Big Art Experience at American Steel Studios.
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
troupe based in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, which began in 2006 and since 2009 has had a branch in San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
. The two organizations collaborate to produce shows up and down the U.S. west coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
.
History
Wanderlust Circus began in 2006 as a collaboration between Noah MickensNoah Mickens
Noah Howard Mickens is an American performance artist and showman from Portland, Oregon. He is primarily known for his contributions to vaudevillian revival and as a ringmaster and master of ceremonies for several theatrical circus troupes...
(a.k.a. William Batty) and Nick "the Creature" Harbar.
The two first teamed up in 2006 to form two separate but related circus shows: Wanderlust Circus headed by Harbar, and Batty's Hippodrome, led by Mickens, whose circus and stage names came from a Victorian Era circus and its Ringmaster respectively.
The pair founded the Hippodrome Circus Arts Center, which opened on November 17, 2007 on the lower floor of what is now the Rotture-Branx venue complex.
The Hippodrome venue was short-lived, and when the owner of the complex decided not to let that venue continue in 2008, Mickens and Harbar combined their respective circuses under the Wanderlust name. Wanderlust eventually settled into the Bossanova Ballroom, and proceeded to put on a series of shows that lasted through 2010.
Some of these shows were seasonally recurring, such as the White Album Christmas show (in collaboration with The Nowhere Band, aka the No Star All Star Band, featuring members of the MarchFourth Marching Band
MarchFourth Marching Band
MarchFourth Marching Band is an American musical and performance group based in Portland, Oregon. They perform mostly instrumental brass band music in a marching band style, combined with a visual performance by stiltwalkers and fire- and flag-dancers...
, Solovox, Stereovision, and others) and the Cirque L’Amour show for Valentine’s day. Other shows tell the legendary backstory of the Wanderlust Circus itself, including The Rose Rush which featured Eric Stern of Vagabond Opera.
Another collaboration between Wanderlust Circus and Vagabond Opera occurred in 2010 when the opera Queen of Knives
Queen of Knives
Queen of Knives is an opera in two acts by the American composer Eric Stern. The English libretto was written by the composer. The opera premiered in Portland, Oregon on May 7, 2010 at the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center...
debuted in Portland. This opera was written and produced by Eric Stern and directed by Noah Mickens. It featured cast members from Vagabond Opera, as well as others, including Nagasita (Tiare Tashnick), a belly dancer who frequently performs with Wanderlust Circus. Nagasita also collaborates with Wanderlust Circus to produce the dark fantasy theatrical series Bogville, which she co-directs with Mickens.
In 2011, Wanderlust introduced two new show formats. Megabounce which premiered on March 12, 2011, is an audience participation format in which the circus acts are set to dubstep dance music, featuring both a prerecorded soundtrack and some prominent live DJ’s. The audience gets to watch the show while dancing to the music and participating in such activities as balloon volleyball and being covered with glitter shot from homemade cannons. The Wanderlust Circus Orchestra features an old-time Vaudeville style circus set to vintage music with short comedy skits in between the main circus acts, in a format reminiscent of old Spike Jones
Spike Jones
Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny and other Warner Brothers cartoon characters, performed a drunken, hiccuping verse for 1942's "Clink! Clink! Another Drink"...
shows.
In 2009, Alexander Dial, one of the Wanderlust acrobats, left Portland to return to his home in San Diego, and there established his own circus production company called Otherwise Entertainment. After a year spent establishing his new troupe, Mr Dial has taken on the name of Wanderlust Circus for both his existing and future projects in San Diego. As a result, Wanderlust Circus now consists of two distinct but intertwined branches. and these two organizations collaborate to produce shows all up and down the west coast from northern Washington to southern California.
Cultural context
Wanderlust Circus is the most recent of a line of circus and circus-related ventures founded in Portland, Oregon by Noah Mickens dating back to 2004. These ventures were part of an entire BohemianBohemian
A Bohemian is a resident of the former Kingdom of Bohemia, either in a narrow sense as the region of Bohemia proper or in a wider meaning as the whole country, now known as the Czech Republic. The word "Bohemian" was used to denote the Czech people as well as the Czech language before the word...
movement of circus and cabaret artists in the Pacific NW, which began to show its face around the turn of the 21st Century. Early examples of this movement include MarchFourth Marching Band
MarchFourth Marching Band
MarchFourth Marching Band is an American musical and performance group based in Portland, Oregon. They perform mostly instrumental brass band music in a marching band style, combined with a visual performance by stiltwalkers and fire- and flag-dancers...
(2003, Portland OR) , Circus Contraption
Circus Contraption
Circus Contraption is the name of a one-ring circus, vaudeville and dark cabaret troupe based in Seattle, Washington. The troupe, which employs about a dozen performers, uses live, original music paired with old-style circus performances, heavily influenced by cabaret and vaudeville acts...
(Seattle, WA) and the Yard Dogs Road Show
Yard Dogs Road Show
Yard Dogs Road Show is a thirteen-member traveling cabaret that features a unique blend of performances, including vaudeville, burlesque, stage magic, sideshow oddities, and beatnik "hobo poetry." Performances include musical interludes, song and dance numbers, and background music from the Yard...
(San Francisco, CA), all of whom have collaborated with Wanderlust Circus and some of its previous incarnations.
Mickens' first circus venture was Cicuri Curajul, a "fake Romanian Circus" which debuted on April 25th 2004 at the Crystal Ballroom. AWOL Dance was a part of Cicuri Curajul, . After moving on to develop themselves independently, AWOL returned to Wanderlust Circus in 2009 and have been a regular act since that time.
As part of the second wave of this Bohemian movement, Mickens created a ritual performance troupe called Societas Insomnia which lasted from 2004 to 2007. Societas Insomnia featured a variety of ritual performance types, including fire dancing
Fire dancing
Fire dancing is a group of performance arts or disciplines that involve manipulation of objects on fire...
, suspension (body modification)
Suspension (body modification)
A suspension is the act of suspending a human body from hooks that have been put through body piercings. These piercings are temporary and are performed just prior to the actual suspension.- Method :...
, and butoh
Butoh
is the collective name for a diverse range of activities, techniques and motivations for dance, performance, or movement inspired by the movement. It typically involves playful and grotesque imagery, taboo topics, extreme or absurd environments, and is traditionally performed in white body makeup...
, along with traditional circus acts and Tuvan throat singing by Enrique Ugalde a.k.a. Soriah, who portrayed the sun. In 2005, Mickens also toured with the 999 Eyes of Endless Dream Carnival , an underground freak show
Freak show
A freak show is an exhibition of biological rarities, referred to as "freaks of nature". Typical features would be physically unusual humans, such as those uncommonly large or small, those with both male and female secondary sexual characteristics, people with other extraordinary diseases and...
, now the 999 Eyes Freakshow, as ringmaster and Master of Ceremonies.
After this came Batty's Hippodrome, and finally the Wanderlust Circus as it is today. By this time, the basic Pacific Northwest Bohemian movement had spread all over the country; with a noteworthy center of activity at Coney Island in NYC, and other troupes starting in almost every city.
Guest performers and collaborators
Recurring guest performers in the Wanderlust Circus include : The acrobatic troupe Kazüm ; The A-WOL Dance Collective , an aerial dance troupe; Vaughn Murray as Barnaby the Bear; The Bellini Twins comedy act; jugglers Charlie Brown, Curt Carlyle, and Rhys ThomasRhys Thomas
Rhys Thomas may refer to:* Rhys M. Thomas , Wales rugby union international prop 2007* T. Rhys Thomas , Wales rugby union international hooker 2007* Rhys Thomas * Rhys Thomas...
; The March Fourth Stiltwalkers; contortionist and hand balancer Keph Sherin; and comic actors Burk Biggler and Tommy Twimble.
Other outside collaborators include The Nowhere Band; The Stolen Sweets; The Trashcan Joe Orchestra; The March Fourth Marching Band; and 3 Leg Torso. Wanderlust has shared the stage with Primus
Primus
-Music, media and entertainment:* Primus , a musical group* Primus , an entity in the fictional Transformers universe* A member of the fictional superhero team The Omega Men...
, The Jim Rose Circus
Jim Rose Circus
The Jim Rose Circus is a modern-day version of a circus sideshow. It was founded in Seattle by Jim Rose in the early 1990s. The sideshow came to prominence as a second stage show at the 1992 Lollapalooza festival, then called the Jim Rose Circus Sideshow...
, Yard Dogs Road Show
Yard Dogs Road Show
Yard Dogs Road Show is a thirteen-member traveling cabaret that features a unique blend of performances, including vaudeville, burlesque, stage magic, sideshow oddities, and beatnik "hobo poetry." Performances include musical interludes, song and dance numbers, and background music from the Yard...
, Circus Contraption
Circus Contraption
Circus Contraption is the name of a one-ring circus, vaudeville and dark cabaret troupe based in Seattle, Washington. The troupe, which employs about a dozen performers, uses live, original music paired with old-style circus performances, heavily influenced by cabaret and vaudeville acts...
, Diplo
Diplo
Thomas Wesley Pentz Thomas Wesley Pentz Thomas Wesley Pentz (born , better known by his stage name Diplo, is a Philadelphia-based American DJ, producer, and songwriter. Together with DJ Low Budget, he runs Hollertronix, a club and music collective. He also founded and manages record company Mad...
, Skinny Puppy
Skinny Puppy
Skinny Puppy is a Canadian industrial musical group, formed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1982. The group is widely considered to be the founders of the electro-industrial genre....
, Vau De Vire Society, Skrillex, Rusko
Rusko
Rusko is a municipality of Finland.It is located in Western Finland and is part of the Finland Proper region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of ofwhich is water. The population density is....
, DJ Krush
DJ Krush
, better known as DJ Krush, is a producer and DJ. He is known for his atmospheric instrumental production which incorporates sound elements from nature and extensive use of jazz and soul samples.-Biography:...
, Gooferman, Electric Dollhouse, and DJ Assault
DJ Assault
Craig De Sean Adams , better known by his stage name DJ Assault is a hip hop musician from Detroit, Michigan. Collecting 12" and 45's since age 7, he would go on to be one of the most recognized DJs and producers of Detroit Dance music.-Biography:Together with producer Mr...
.
Wanderlust Circus has performed at numerous noteworthy locales : the inaugural party for Mayor Sam Adams at City Hall, The Electric Daisy Carnival
Electric Daisy Carnival
Electric Daisy Carnival is an annual electronic dance music festival held in the South West United States on the last weekend of June. The event was held in Southern California from 1997 to 2010, and was moved to Las Vegas in 2011....
in Los Angeles, Oakland's Sand By The Ton, Oregon Country Fair
Oregon Country Fair
The Oregon Country Fair is an annual three-day fair held in Veneta, Oregon, United States. Located in the Willamette Valley, the site is about west of Eugene along the Long Tom River. Annual attendance is approximately 45,000, and the fair has around 350 booths each year...
, The Portland Rose Festival
Portland Rose Festival
The Portland Rose Festival is an annual civic festival held during the month of June in Portland, Oregon. It is organized by the volunteer non-profit Portland Rose Festival Association with the purpose of promoting the Portland region...
, and performed a specially choreographed epic circus on and around the 60-foot steel fire sculptures of The Big Art Experience at American Steel Studios.