February 13, 2017

2017 Moisture Festival Benefit Show - Room Circus


Dedicated to giving back to the community that gives so much to us, Moisture Festival hosts a benefit show every year in which a portion of the ticket sales is directly donated to a local non-profit organization. In 2017 we are thrilled to announce our benefit show on Sunday, March 19th at 7:30 pm will be raising money for Seattle's Room Circus Medical Clowning. Partnering with Seattle Children's Hospital, their goal is to expand the program within Seattle Children's Hospital and to other area hospitals with pediatric services.

Using a playful, interactive approach, medical clowns use music, physical comedy, improvisation and circus arts to help transform the health care environment. Stress relief, distraction, reduction of anxiety and pain and empowerment of patients are just a few of the measurable benefits. In addition, medical clowning helps build trust between physicians and patients, especially when a patient is feeling frightened or in pain, and has been shown to have positive clinical outcomes. Room Circus clowns reach through the barriers, pull out laughter, and create a circle of trust that encompasses everyone in the room - providers, families, patients and staff.




There are a myriad of ways that you can contribute to organizations like Room Circus, dedicated to creating a more joyful world in our own backyard, whether it is through donation, participation, or simply coming to the show on Sunday, March 19th. If you visit their website you can read firsthand accounts of medical "clown rounds" and the difference that laughter can make in child's healing and recovery. 

Deaf Spotlight

Moisture Festival was born out of a passion for the comedy varietè arts and a desire to preserve the tight-knit community that can foster new talent and support lifelong artists. Its mission is to enrich the community by presenting an affordable annual festival showcasing the art of live comedy/varietè performance. Keeping with its mission statement, the festival strives to keep ticket prices low (as well as working with organizations like Teen Tix to provide heavily discounted tickets for youth audience members) as well as opening up lectures and workshops to the public at varying price points. (Our FREE lecture series continues in 2017 with Matthew Stull of The Bobs on Monday, March 27th at 7:30 pm.) Creating an accessible performance arts festival spanning four weeks and multiple venues presents a challenge but one way that we hope to overcome barriers is by partnering with Deaf Spotlight to provide four ASL interpreted shows throughout the festival.


Since 2011, Moisture Festival has been working with our friends at Deaf Spotlight, a renowned non-profit arts organization dedicated to the art, culture, and creativity of the Deaf community in the areas of cinema, performance arts and visual arts. Their mission is to inspire, encourage, and showcase creative works of, by, and for Deaf people in the Pacific Northwest through events that celebrate Deaf culture and American Sign Language. Big thanks to Deaf Spotlight Executive Director Patty Liang and Board Member Vicki Moseley who have been working with Paula Togawa, a long time Moisture Festival volunteer and driving force behind the logistics of arranging interpreters for a handful of shows each season. Thank you to Paula, Patty and Vicki for contributing to a more accessible Moisture Festival and coordinating all of our amazing interpreters!

We’re pleased to announce that Moisture Festival will present four ASL interpreted shows this year:
Friday, March 24th: 7:30 pm (Varietè @ Hale's Palladium)
Friday, March 31st: 7:30 pm (Libertease Cabaret @ BPH)
Saturday, April 1st: 7:30 pm (Varietè @ Hale's Palladium)
Sunday, April 2nd: 3:00 pm (Varietè Matinee @ Hale's Palladium)
[Edit: March 31, April 2 dates pending. Check in for more updates as we approach the festival.]

Tickets for the both varietè and burlesque shows can be purchased through Stranger Tickets. When you arrive at the Palladium for the show please let the Box Office know you will be sitting in the ASL section and a host will show you to your seats. Burlesque shows are 18+ only please. We highly recommend purchasing tickets in advance as these shows tend to sell out.

February 9, 2017

The Bobs: The Most Influential Acapella Group You've Never Heard Of


Moisture Festival's FREE lecture series will continue in 2017 with Matthew Stull of The Bobs and his talk "The Most Influential Acapella Group You've Never Heard Of" on Monday, March 27th at Hale's Palladium. The Bobs 35 year collaborative career is coming to an end as these tireless performers turn to new chapters in their lives. Matthew will be following The Bobs LAST EVER Moisture Festival performance (and final performance on the West Coast) with a Monday night lecture chronicling the unexpected journey from singing telegrams to Emmy® Awards performances. This is a free lecture, open to the public, and all proceeds at the door will go to Moisture Festival.

In 1981, Matthew Stull and Gunnar Madsen (newly unemployed in the Great San Fransisco Singing Telegram Depression) put out a wanted ad for a bass singer. Richard Greene answered the call and six months later they found themselves at an open mic in a Cuban restaurant.The rest, as they say, is history.

Please join us in celebrating and sharing the stories of these longstanding varieté performers in the age of flash in the pan novelty. Long time friends of Moisture Festival, The Bobs have delighted our audiences year after year with their creativity and technical ingenuity. Described by the Seattle Times as “a musical equivalent of a Gary Larson drawing,” using just their voices and body percussion to fill a room with an orchestra of harmonious sound The Bobs have left an indelible mark on the Moisture Festival line-up. 


Date: Monday, March 27th
Time: 7:30 pm

Location: Hale's Palladium 
Cost: FREE

Reserve your free tickets!