Jason Webley, The Bobs, and Baby Gramps

What would the Moisture Festival be without music?! The festival would be a sad, sad circus tent indeed without the sounds and energy of the amazing musicians who come to play with us. To start off the list this year (and there will be so many more!), are these three returning favorites:


The Grammy-nominated Bobs are serious show business and four funny humans who take their music seriously. They're the world's only new wave a cappella singers, and with a 25 year history, boast over a dozen albums, and a DVD documentary: Sign My Snarling Dog. Moisture Festival is always pleased to have these insanely talented artists take the stage. Check out this video for a sneak peek at phenomenon that is The Bobs and browse their website for more audio and video clips.



Jason Webley is an enigmatic combination of folk, gypsy, punk, and everything in between. Jason has now released five full length albums including one that the Seattle Times called "One of the best Seattle CDs of the year". A prolific collaborative artist Jason has recorded and toured extensively with fellow songwriters most recently in Seattle with his Monsters of Accordion tour. You can currently find him traveling the country with his unique brand of sometimes bizarre, sometimes playful and always soulful poetry. We can't wait for his train to make a stop at the festival. Take a listen to this clip and more on his 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. He is credited with making audiences aware of old blues and novelty songs that the rest of the world has mostly forgotten. Playing an acoustic antique National Steel guitar, he 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. Gramps is a high energy humorously entertaining performer with an endless repertoire. Check out this clip on his website and join us at the festival for more!

Burlesque Hosts 2011: Madame X, Kevin Joyce, and Blanche DeBris

Moisture Festival is pleased to welcome back our ever impressive and always engaging Burlesque hosts Madame X (& her lawyer), Kevin Joyce, and Blanche DeBris. Moisture's Libertease Burlesque will be presented this year in ACT - A Contemporary Theatre's gorgeous in-the-round Allen Theater for an all-angles showcase of jaw dropping burlesque artistry.

Mme X is just back from traveling around the world in a very, very, very slick black stretch limo. It really is a jungle out there. It was so hot… so wild… so many small people. Now that she is back in sultry Seattle she is pleased to be seeing you at the Moisture Festival Burlesque show again. All of you.

Elevating the stature of Moisture Burlesque Madame X will again grace us with her enchanting and commanding presence for another year, presiding over a host of alluring artists from near and far.







Over the past 20 years, Kevin Joyce has established himself as one of the most versatile and prolific creative artists in the Pacific Northwest. Kevin is a performer, event designer, producer, composer, leadership trainer and creative consultant. He is a Co-Founder of UMO Ensemble and a principal performer, and was a Director of Teatro Zinzanni. With his wife Martha Enson he runs EnJoy Productions. A regular at Moisture, we greatly look forward to Kevin's antics at this year's festival.


If America had a sweetheart, Blanche DeBris would be her well-meaning but less attractive best friend. Miss DeBris has been entertaining herself and occasionally others for more years than she is able to reliably count. She is pleased as champagne punch to be invited back to the Moisture Festival. In a recent interview, Ms. DeBris is quoted as saying, "I always love appearing at high-class functions, and The Moisture Festival is among my favorites!" Blanche DeBris...putting the "ass" in "High-Class." Website

Trixie Little & The Evil Hate Monkey & Daredevil Chicken Club Join the Party

Never would i have imagined writing that combination of words together, but these two acts bridge Variete and Burlesque, bringing together all kinds of smart, sexy absurdity to delight and wow you.


Brand new to Moisture, Daredevil Chicken Club have entertained audiences with their innovative performances in over 34 countries. Combining comedy with absurd characters and circus skills they are modern comic Vaudevillians whose goal is to challenge and push the medium of live performance and search for the line between reality and absurdity, comedy and taboo. For more information visit their website.


"One part interactive street theatre, one part gymnastics demo, and a gazillion parts funny...Her crowd work...is some of the finest I have ever seen..."-Chris Harcum, Nytheatre.com








Superduo Trixie Little & The Evil Hate Monkey return to Moisture Festival with their highly skilled sexy-smart antics and a charming love-hate dynamic. Trixie and Monkey showcase trapeze, striptease, acrobatics and physical comedy in jaw-dropping burlesque, cabaret, variety and theater shows. This award-winning acrobatic burlesque team has been flipping and stripping for audiences since 2002. Mixing years of high level circus training, brilliant comedy and electric onstage chemistry their act defies description, chemistry, and expectation. Website.

Al Simmons & NANDA Return!

Two festival favorites will return to share their unique brands of entertainment with us this year.

Al Simmons is a man dedicated to the all but lost art of combining comedy with song, dance, magic, sight gags and, of course, bad puns. His costume-and-prop routines have often been the most popular and talked about act in theatres, concert halls, and at folk, children's and other festivals across North America. The Globe & Mail praises "His act, at once frenetic and engagingly simple, is a tour-de-force of ingenious, charming silliness."
We can't wait to see what he has in store for us this year! For more info on Al visit his website.
UPDATE 1/18: Unfortunately, due to scheduling conflicts, Al can't make this year's festival but will be blocking out some time in 2012.


NANDA's "Acrobaticalism" is a calculated chaos of dancing, juggling, music, acrobatics, and high energy kung-faux fighting. The show is all at once exuberantly innovative and widely appealing to audiences of all ages. NANDA defies convention and categorization by working within a limitless scope of imagination.
These artists’ unique blend of skill acts and hilarious antics will reward again and again with their innovative approach to pure entertainment. Check out their website for more!

Nate Cooper joins the 2011 Festival

Moisture Festival is pleased to welcome Nate Cooper back into our crazy clown car. Nate will be performing at this year's Festival, straight from Cirque du Soleil's "Love" in Las Vegas.

www.coopervaudeville.com
"Cooper is a natural physical comedian and eccentric dance aficionado. An endlessly talented clogger, tap and swing dancer, juggler, roller skater and clown. Dedicated to the art of play, Cooper explores physical limitation through clown logic."

Wang Hong returns for Moisture 2011

Wang Hong, a world class antipodist (foot balancer) who amazed Moisture Festival audiences last year with her grace and strength, will return for the 2011 Moisture Festival. She will perform the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th weeks of the festival. Exact show dates and times are still in the planning process, but we'll ensure there are plenty of opportunities to see her.

Wang Hong’s name translates into English as “rainbow” and the spectrum of talents that she employs in her performance are as beautiful and delicate as that ephemeral play of light. She was raised in the cold, far northeast province of Jain on China’s border with the Soviet Union. At 10 years of age she started training as a gymnast but began her performance career as a dancer. She worked in North America with the famed Tandy Beal Dance Theater company and the New Pickle Circus under Tandy's direction and with the Cirque du Soleil company. Wang Hong has toured as an acrobat, a juggler and an antipodist: her presentation of an act employing those skills in the delicate manipulation of parasols has won for her the Gold Medal at the Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain, the most prestigious award in the world of circus.

Hers is a performance unlike any you've ever seen and not to be missed.

All I Want For Christmas...

...Is a brand spankin' new calendar for our website.

For those of you familiar with the festival, you are well aware that it's always a bit of a treasure hunt to find the show you want to attend in our website. As much fun as hunting through our long list of shows for that perfect date, time, or performer was, I think you'll appreciate what our magic-making web designers at The Medium have put together for us.

With over 50 shows at four venues planned (so far!) 2011 is going to be quite the wild run. To make choosing which shows you want to see easier we've just launched a new Calendar & Show Schedules page on our website.

We hope this will help you pick the perfect show to round up your friends for a night out, to discover a new performer, or to bring the kids to (or the perfect show to hire the babysitter for!). As we move into January look for each of our upcoming shows posted with additional information added as we confirm our 2011 artists.

We can't wait to see you at the 2011 festival!

Seeking Social Media Intern

ADDED 1/6/11: This position has been filled
The Moisture Festival, Seattle's springtime festival of comedy, varietè and burlesque is looking for a Social Media Intern. If you already know about us, you will know if you are the right person for the job, or you may know someone who would be perfect. If you are not familiar with our 4 week performance extravaganza take a spin around our website. Our 2011 Festival will run March 17 through April 10. We are looking for a 10 - 15 hour per week commitment from someone who can start very soon and continue through to the end of the festival.

We are a group of dedicated arts administrators and performers with lots on our plates and are looking for the right person to help us out in this very crucial area. We work really hard and we laugh and play equally as hard.

We are looking for someone who has extensive social media interest and experience. You should be actively participating in a wide variety of social media activities: blogging, community development and management, social book marking, commenting, etc. and be well-connected with the broader social media world including facebook, twitter, YouTube, etc.

Please check out/pass along the full job posting for all the details.

T-Shirt Design Contest!

Do you have an amazing idea for a Moisture Festival T-shirt? Perfect, because we are making new T-shirts for the upcoming festival!

Create an image that embodies the spirit of this world famous Comedy/Varietè and Burlesque festival and send in your original design for a chance to win fame and glory! The winner will see his or her design emblazoned on all sorts of Moisture-wear.

Along with fame and glory the lucky winner will also receive: two tickets to Opening Night of the 2011 Moisture Festival at Hale’s Palladium on Thursday, March 17th, 2011 where your achievement will be announced to the adoring crowd; two much coveted tickets to Closing Night at Hale’s Palladium on Sunday, April 10th, 2011; two of the new T-shirts with your design; and a ride for you and a guest on the Artistic Director's 1947 Chris Craft yacht.

Although we would like to ask you to show us whatever you can imagine, we do have to follow a few basic design specs. This is for a T-Shirt, so please make sure your design is:

• One image only (no designs that are double sided, wrapped, etc)
• Max image size: 10” x 10”
• Max file size: 7M
• File Types: PNG or JPG only
• Full color ok, RGB color mode only
• Minimum resolution: 200 DPI
• If you would like to use the Moisture Festival logo please download it from the end of this post

How to submit your design:
Entries must be submitted via email to designcontest@moisturefestival.org. Please include in your email your first and last name and current contact information, including current address, a phone number we can reach you on, and an active email address you check. Please include any thoughts you have on why your design would be the perfect fit for the Moisture Festival.

The contest is open to anyone to enter, but sorry kids, you must be 18 or older.


Here are the really important details:

• One entry per person. If you are part of a group effort that still counts as your one entry.
• The submission deadline is 1/7/2011.
• Include your name and contact info. We have to be able to reach you.
• Your entry must follow the above instructions or it will not be accepted.
• The Moisture Festival producers will determine the top two designs which will be posted by 1/14/2011 to the Moisture Festival Fan Page on Facebook, Moisture Festival’s Twitter account, and here on Moisture Festival’s blog for festival friends, family, fans, and followers to vote on. Only one vote per person will be allowed. Voting will end 1/21/2010 and the winner announced shortly thereafter.
• If you have any questions please post them here as a comment. I’m sure you aren’t the only one with questions, so let’s share with the class.

By submitting an entry to designcontest@moisturefestival.org you agree to the official rules and fine print below:

Official rules

Term:
The Contest begins December 1st ,2010 at 12:00am PST and ends January 21st, 2011 at 11:59pm PST. By submitting an entry, each contestant agrees to the rules of the contest and states that they are 18 years old and older. Void where prohibited.
Who may enter:
Anyone ages 18 and over. One entry per person or group. A person may not be part of more than one group or individual entry.
How to enter:
Graphics for T-Shirt, submitted via email only to designcontest@mositurefestival.org, along with your full name, mailing address, phone number, and email address. Designs must follow the listed specifications and be submitted in .png or .jpg format. Incomplete or incorrectly formatted entries will be automatically disqualified. All entries must be received by 11:59pm January 7th, 2010 PST. Moisture Festival t-shirts and other merchandise is sold to raise funds to support the festival. By entering the contest, entrants grant Moisture Festival a royalty-free, world-wide, perpetual, non-exclusive license to display, distribute, reproduce, and create derivative works of the entries, in whole or in part, in any media now existing or subsequently developed, for any purpose, including, but not limited to advertising and promotion of the Moisture Festival brand and its Web site and commercial products. Moisture Festival will not be required to pay any additional consideration or seek any additional approval in connection with such uses. By entering the contest you further represent that the designs are original and do not infringe upon any statutory or common law copyright, trademark, contractual, proprietary right, right of publicity or privacy, or any other right of any other person or entity.
Judging:
First round judging will be conducted by the Moisture Festival Producers, based on the originality and creativity of the submitted designs. Moisture Festival Producers will choose the top two designs by January 14th, 2011 for entry into the final round judging. Decision of the Producers will be final. The top two design will be put to a vote on Moisture Festival’s social media sites. One vote per person. Voting ends January 21st, 2010 at 11:59pm PST. Votes will be logged by IP address. Final results will be verified by the Moisture Festival Producers. Vote will be final.
Moisture Festival reserves the right to cancel the contest or modify these rules at its discretion. Decisions of the Moisture Festival Producers will be final. Winner’s name and design to be announced via Moisture Festival’s social media sites.
Prizes:
1 Grand Prize Winner: The inclusion of your design on Moisture Festival t-shirts and other merchandise, sold exclusively by Moisture Festival for funding of the festival, two (2) tickets to the 2011 Moisture Festival Opening Night at 7:30 pm PST on Thursday March 17th 2011, two (2) tickets to Closing Night at 7:30 pm PST on Sunday April 10 2011 at Hale’s Palladium, two (2) of the new T-Shirt with the winning design, and a ride on Artistic Director Ron Bailey's yacht at a time arranged between Winner and Mr. Bailey. The prizes are non-transferable and no substitution by winner or cash equivalent is permitted. Moisture Festival may substitute prize for one of equal or greater value at its sole discretion. Only one prize will be awarded to an Entrant. Please note that if the winner is a group of individuals, then the group will share the above-stated prize. A prize will not be given to each member of the group.
About Moisture Festival:
Moisture Festival is a non-profit 501(c)3 arts organization presenting the world's largest Comedy/Varietè festival. Our mission is to enrich the community by presenting an affordable annual festival showcasing the art of live comedy/ variete performance. The Moisture Festival encourages the contemporary creativity that is constantly emerging in this field and strives to educate people about the rich history of this genre. For more information on Moisture Festival visit: www.moisturefestival.org


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