Explore every episode of the podcast The Moisture Festival Podcast

On this episode of the Moisture Festival Podcast we welcome back Paul Magid. This is the first part of a three part conversation with this new vaudeville Pioneer. We discuss Paul’s creative process, how he writes shows and learn more about The Flying Karamozov Brothers.

A wonderful conversation with one of the most prolific variety acts ever.

On this episode of the Moisture fest we welcome in Paul Magid. This is the first part of a three part conversation with this new vaudeville Pioneer. We discuss Paul’s early life and learn about the origins of one of the most successful variety acts ever, The Flying Karamozov Brothers.

In this conversation, we discuss the early years of the group and learn a bit about Paul’s writing style. A wonderful conversation with one of the most prolific variety acts ever.

On this episode of The Moisture Festival Podcast, we welcome Keara Scannell of Tumbleweed Circus.

We talk about her upbringing skating in her parents’ shop, where the name Tumbleweed came from, and how she turned those early influences into a one-of-a-kind career. Keara shares her journey to becoming a performer and how having a broken ankle early on didn’t stop her. 

She also tells us who belongs on her Mt. Rushmore of trick roping. It’s a great conversation with a multifaceted variety artist.

On this episode, we welcome Oroki. We discuss the many aspects of Oroki’s performance life. We learn how it started on a date to an aerial class and how that led to producing theatrical shows all over Seattle.

We dive into Oroki’s background in dance, choreography, and a little parkour. A great conversation with a fantastic performer.

On this episode, we welcome AmyLynn! We learn about her journey from a gymnast, to a springboard diver, to being an aerialist!

AmyLynn also talks about “circus values” and becoming an expert ant farmer!

On this episode, we welcome the multi-talented Katie Russo. We discuss her many disciplines, including Chinese pole, juggling, and trombone.

We also talk about her journey from music to circus, and how being in a marching band was the perfect precursor to circus. A great conversation with a 2026 Moisture Festival first-timer. 

We’re back with another live episode from the 2026 Moisture Festival! In this episode we’ll chat with:

• Sizzle the Clown
• 2 Members of Spider Lounge
• Juggle Jawns
• Bill Robison

This is a fun chat with new members to the Moisture Festival family and an old favorite!

This episode of the Moisture Festival Podcast has Louie chatting with Moisture Festival first timers!

In this episode we meet:

• Leila Noone
• Cindy Marvel
• JW YOYO
• Bambi Karloff
• A

It’s a great chat with new members of the Moisture Festival family!

On this episode, we welcome Aerialist and Cyr wheel extraordinaire Hayley Dynamo. Hayley discusses where her love for the circus came from and how her background in dance easily integrated into the circus’s physicality.

We discussed her college studies and how her decision to move to Chicago helped her cement her decision to pursue circus full-time. We get some cameos from her cats!  A wonderful conversation with a fantastic performer. 

In this episode, we welcome juggler extraordinaire Juggle Jawns. We discuss what makes his style so unique, the influences that inspired him, and how he incorporates a few different media into his performances.

We talk about his background in athletics and how that coordination helped him when he began juggling. We also discuss how the juggling club at his college allowed him to meet and learn from one of the most innovative jugglers working today. A great interview with a fantastic performer. 

On this episode we welcome in the queen of rings Hillia Hula. We dive deep into all things hula. Hillia explains the different types of hula hooping, which ones she specializes in, tricks she is working on and she provides tips on how to make your own.

We learn about how hula hooping captivated her imagination and how she became obsessed with it. We also discuss her journey to becoming a professional entertainer and how she studied street performing for college credit. A great interview with a fantastic person and performer. 

On this episode, we welcome Quantum Tease PhD. We talk about her life growing up in Belgium and why she decided to go to Scotland to get her PhD.

We learn that their college offered a comedy class, which led them to many creative outlets, including comedy, music, producing, and burlesque. We discussed their move to Seattle and how it was the perfect place for her to expand across all those outlets. A great conversation with a fantastic performer. 

On this episode, we welcome hula hoop extraordinaire Jesse Patterson. We talk about how she fell in love with the hula hoop at a young age and how she found the circus community growing up in Texas.

We discuss her particular style and how it incorporates some long-lost juggling techniques. She tells us what led her to go to circus school and walks us through the day-to-day routines at a circus. A really great chat with a wonderful and creative performer. 

On this episode, we welcome international funnyman Stefano Iaboni. We learn about how he learned to juggle on a backpacking trip and how that led him to a circus school in the Netherlands.

He tells us all about how he had to scrape by just to get through school and what his next steps were after he left. We discuss comedy in multiple languages and how he has transitioned to teaching others to find the funny in everyday life. A great conversation with a fantastic performer. 

On this episode we welcome hula hoop specialist and circus organizer Vanessa Vortex. We learn about growing up on Broadway in New York and how she rebelled against her Show Biz parents by going to college.

We learn about her journey across the country, how she got involved in circus and what led her to be one of the co-founders of the Bellingham Circus Guild. A fantastic conversation with an amazing person to have in our community. 

In this episode we welcome Pinay Grigio. Pinay tells about her early years in dance and how Burlesque always caught her eye. She talks about what caused her to finally give it a shot and how taking that class launched her onto a  journey that has taken her all over the place.

She discusses the balance between being a burlesque performer and a mom and how she keeps her kids busy while she is working on her costumes. A great conversation with a fantastic performer. 

On this episode we welcome in juggler and modern day vaudevillian Thom Wall. Thom talks about his life as a performer in Cirque du Soleil and how that drove him to pursue creating a one-man show that he performs on Cruise Ships.

We discuss his upbringing and his exposure to ancient Egypt by his father. We learn about his book publishing business, Modern Vaudeville Press, and why he decided to start his own. A really fantastic conversation with one of the premier comedy jugglers in the world.

On this episode we welcome in comedian and clown Tyler West. We discuss how watching Cirque Du Soleil at a young age inspired Tyler to go into clowning. We learn how he approached getting information on being a professional clown at a young age and the things he did to get stage time.

He talks about all the different shows he has been in and how he alters what he does to fit into the format of that particular show. We also discuss the national touring show he is currently in and how he came to get one of the main roles. A great conversation with a fantastic performer. 

On this episode of the Moisture Festival Podcast we welcome in 1/3 of the Mud Bay Jugglers Doug Martin. We discuss how they got their name, how they developed their own style and the creative choices they made to continue to be so unique.

He tells us about the different incarnations throughout the years and the secrets to keeping a group together for over 40 years. A great conversation with a festival favorite. 

On this episode of the Moisture Festival Podcast we welcome in Salamandir (yes. That’s his real name). Salamandir talks with us about growing up playing music and how his exposure at a young age allows him to pick up any instrument and play it.

We discuss his abilities to fix instruments, his love of incense and even get insights into the first Moisture Festival. A great conversation with a fascinating person. 

On this episode of the Moisture Festival Podcast we welcome in Cyara Hotopp. We discuss a wide variety of topics including her law degree, where she practiced law and how she gave up being a lawyer to pursue the circus arts.

We talk about her background as a figure skater and all the lessons she learned from that and their application to ariel. A great conversation with a fantastic performer. 

On this episode we welcome in clown Mick Holsbeke. We talk about growing up in Florida and how his economics teacher in high school introduced him to Harry Levine.

We learn about his cross country journey to the Pacific Northwest and how seeing street performers inspired him to pursue street theatre. We talk about his journey to clown and how that art form has taken him around the world. A great conversation with a fantastic person.

On today’s episode we welcome in comedy magic duo Trevor and Lorena. We talk with them about how they started in magic, the evolution of the act and learn about their alter ego’s Charlie and Delilah.

We discuss Trevor meeting Lorena’s Dad for the first time and we even try to place their accents. A super fun conversation with two phenomenal people.

On this episode of the Moisture Festival Podcast we welcome in puppet maker Annette Mateo. We discuss her interest in puppets as a kid and how she rekindled her interest in it after attending her first Fremont Solstice Parade.

We chat about the puppet scene in Seattle and the various ups and downs over the years for her as a puppet builder. We also discuss her thoughts on emceeing the Moisture Festival Open Stage event just a few days before the interview. A great conversation with a creative mind and awesome person.  

On this episode of the Moisture Festival Podcast Louie interviews his co-host Matt Baker. They discuss a wide range of topics including Matt’s time living in Western Samoa as a teenager and how he became a vegetarian. We also learn how Matt got into performing at a young age through hackysack (footbag) and how that skill took him across Europe and all over the US doing school assemblies.

Matt discusses his time in the award winning juggling duo the Brothers from Different Mothers and the challenges that duo’s face. We learn all about the crazy places his solo show the Matt Baker Comedy + Stunt Show has taken him and where he will be going next. A fun interview with your second favorite Moisture Festival Podcast host. 

On this episode we welcome in singer, magician and actor Cassandra Ruiz. We learn about her beginnings in singing and how her theatre background influences her show today . She tells us about her chance encounter with a famous magician that became her first exposure to magic.

We talk about her run performing as a ninja magician at a Ninja themed restaurant and how her and how she balances all the different types of performing she does. We also discuss how she creates routines and how her personal experiences inform those routines. A long overdue conversation with a wonderful person and performer. 

On this episode we welcome aerialist Jessica Perry. Jessica tells us about her early life where she grew up on a sailboat sailing around the world. We learn what prompted her parents to do that and all how her parents used Ariel to keep her busy on long sea days.

We discuss how her mom introduced her to flying trapeze and how eventually she was able to convince her parents to let her go to a circus school. A lovely conversation with one of the best aerialists working today.

On this episode we welcome in Sailor St. Claire. We talk a lot about the world of Burlesque and how one comes to become a performer. The different paths they could have taken and how being an emcee is very similar to teaching college.

We also learn about the many different projects Sailor is involved in and they constantly challenge themselves to learn and grow. A great conversation with a prolific contributor to the arts community.

On this episode of the Moisture Festival Podcast we welcome in Mr. LO. We talk about a number of different things including his life as a ballet dancer and all that goes into maintaining your body to perform that every night.

He tells us about the various career transformations he had to make including becoming a full time contortionist and how he found paper tearing to take over once he aged out of contortion. We learn about all the things that go into making such a unique act and the difficulties accompanied with performing an art form that no one performs anymore. A great conversation with a first time performer at the 2025 festival.  

On this episode of the Moisture Festival Podcast we welcome in bubble performer Meadow Perry. Meadow tells us about her beginnings performing as a princess and how that led her to deciding to create her own show.

We learn about the different types of bubbles, the difficulties performing with bubbles can create and all the people that populate the bubble world. She also talks about what it’s like sharing the stage with the godfather of bubbles Tom Noddy. A great interview with a first time performer at the 2025 Moisture Festival. 

This episode is part 2 of the LIVE podcasts at week one of the 2025 Moisture Festival!

In this episode Louie chats with acts appearing at the festival. This is a great episode to meet new additions to the Moisture Festival family!

On this episode of the Moisture Festival Podcast we welcome in circus extraordinaire Nick Harden. We learn about where a kid from a small town in Illinois first discovered circus and how it became an obsession.

We learn about how the connections that he has made through the circus have opened up opportunities all over the United States. He also tells us about the difficulties in performing in different spaces and how that forced him to come up with different variations of his act. A great conversation with a very talented circus performer. 

This episode is LIVE at week one of the 2025 Moisture Festival!

In this episode Louie chats with acts appearing for the first time at the festival. This is a great episode to meet new additions to the Moisture Festival family!

In this episode we welcome in juggler and funny man  Tony Steinbach. We learn about Tony’s first exposure to juggling and how his dad used juggling in his work training. Tony talks about his development as an artist and how his collaborations with other artists have helped pave the way to what he is doing now.

He tells about the Renaissance fair circuit and the adaptations he makes to his show to make it work in such a specific environment. A fun conversation with another 2025 moisture festival newcomer. 

On this episode we welcome in Ran’D Shine. We learn about how Ran’D came across magic and how that led him to a career performing all over the world. We talk about the benefits of coming into his art form later than most and how he was able to apply aspects of academia into his craft.

Ran’D also gives tips on the best way to become a professional performer and how making connections makes all the difference. A wonderful conversation with a performer who will be making their first appearance at this year’s festival (2025)

On this episode we welcome Rosemary Le. Rosemary discusses her upbringing and how her need for movement led her to ariel. We discuss her Ph.d, her life in academia and learn about her work with some pretty cutting edge experiments.

We throw some hard questions at her thoughts on learning and even throw some business proposals her way. She talks about her desire to take a break from the corporate world to explore the performing arts. A wonderful conversation with an extremely smart and talented person

On this episode we welcome all the way over zoom from France, Etienne McGinley. Etienne talks with us about his path to performing and how watching Bill Irwin and David Shiner changed his view on how he wanted to perform.

We talk about his evolution as a performer and how the grind of cruise ships wore on him. We also discuss how a chance encounter led him to getting accepted into clown college. A really great and in depth conversation with a fantastic performer

On this episode of the Moisture Festival Podcast we welcome in our first ever flying trapeze artist Eric Eliacin. Eric tells us about how he fell in love with circus in college and how that has led him all over the continent performing.  

We talk about getting into flying trapeze and the things that people should know when they get into it. He also tells us about some of his other interests including an idea for a screenplay. A fantastic conversation with high flying Eric Eliacin.

On this episode of the MF podcast we welcome Trevor Whittow. Trevor talks about what it’s like to be a professional clown, what it takes to get to that point and what sort of coaching he received that helped him along his path.

He also explains how magic helped him get on stage as a kid and how he has learned to separate his career from his hobbies. A fantastic conversation with an actual professional clown. 

On this episode we talk with the fascinating musician Thaddeus Spae. He tells us about the early days at the Oregon Country Fair working with Reverend Chumleigh, how he wrote a march that convinced crowds to follow and he came to form the group Snake Suspenderz.

He also tells us about his new band Snakes Alive, an offshoot and great band worth checking out. A great chat with a fun and amazing musician. 

On this episode we welcome band leader Eben Sprinsock. Eben tells us about some guys he knew in high school that turned into the group The Flying Karamazov Brothers. How that led him to be part of their shows early on and how eventually he went on to pave his own path.

He talks about what goes into backing variety acts and what makes the Moisture Festival so unique. A great conversation with the mastermind behind Doc Sprincock and the Sancapators. 

On this episode we welcome in cellist Christine Gunn. She tells us about how she plays cello and how it differs from regular cellists.

How she founded one of the bands Matt used to be really into, we learn about the early days of busking at the Pike Place Market and how that led to some amazing collaborations with some Moisture Festival favorites.  A fun interview with a fantastic musician. 

On this episode we welcome in all around amazing person Patrice O’Neill. She talks about her wonderful career in music and how she got to sit with the Nobel Peace Prize recipient Desmond Tutu.

We talk about her process in writing songs and the various bands she has played in and continues to play with. We also learn how she met her husband and how they started a recording studio in their home. A really great conversation with a fantastic individual. 

On this episode we welcome in Moisture Festival founder Maque daVis. Maque tells us about the roots of the festival, how it all was organized and some of the failures and successes of the early years.

He discusses how the festival has evolved and what he thinks the future holds. We also get into his history being the head of fire safety at Burning Man. A fantastic interview with one of the people that made this all possible.

On this episode we talk to dancer and aerial extraordinaire Mary Pat Letourneau. We discuss her upbringing and how dance got her into aerial arts.

She also tells us what wall dancing is and how it paved the way for a career in the performing arts. She also discusses what she does not and tells us about her workshops that she offers people interested in becoming more flexible. A great interview with a very flexible performer. 

On this episode we welcome in the keyboard player from the Georgetown Orbits Jose De Howitt.

We learn about Jose’s upbringing in Ecuador, what brought him to the states and how he learned to play the keys. We learn about the differences between Ska and Reggae and some of the top artists that influenced Jose. A fun conversation with a member of one of the backing bands at the Moisture Festival.

On this episode we welcome in the amazing Harry Levine. We talk about his early days being a college radio station DJ and how he was amazed by a fellow moisture festival performers music.

We talk about his journey west and how he ended up staying in in the Northwest for the last 40 years. We also discuss how he became a member of the Mud Bay Jugglers and the Flying Karamozov Brothers. A great interview with the booking guru of the fest. 

On this episode we welcome in Wren the Juggler. Wren tells us all about how he became a juggler and how meeting the love of his life helped him overcome his mental block of being a performer.

We also discuss the various game shows he has appeared on and how he won the wheel of fortune. A great interview with a first time performer the 2024 festival.

On this Episode we welcome in Ventriloquist Michael Harrison. He tells us about how he got started in show business and how he eventually decided to become a full time ventriloquist.

He tells us about his Grandfather’s performing career and his 25 year search to find his grandad’s long lost puppet. We dive into what goes into developing a vent act and how there has been a recent explosion in the genre. We also discuss his passion for Coca Cola collectibles and which bottles are the most sought after. An awesome conversation with a very unique act.

On this episode of the Moisture Festival Podcast we welcome Martika Daniels. She tells us about growing up in the Military and how being stationed in Germany exposed her to circus arts and busking.

She tells us how stunts helped her deal with crippling anxiety and depression and how she weaves that message into her performances. We also discuss her new book that is available now. A great conversation with a fantastic person.