Wanderlust Circus is a theatrical circus troupe based in Portland, Oregon, founded in 2006 by creative partners Noah Mickens and Nick "The Creature" Harbar. Since 2006, Wanderlust Circus has grown from a small band of creatives to a full-fledged circus troupe, and non-profit organization. The organization presently comprises a team of acrobats, a 10-piece swing band, a trick-roping cowboy clown; and several aerialists, contortionists, hand balancers, jugglers, and dancers. Their most popular recurring shows have been The White Album Christmas, A Circus Carol, and the dance party series MegaBounce.
History
Fictional background
Victorian English ringmaster William Batty and his spirit cousins, the members of the Wanderlust Circus, are blessed and cursed with conditional immortality: should they ever leave the circus life, their long years will catch up with them leaving them old or even dead. Batty and the Wanderlust Circus all come from different time periods – Victorian England, the Old West, swing-era New York and even the present day. Batty himself is over two hundred years old. Shows follow the troupe's adventures on the road with simple comic stories providing the through line between acts.
2006–2008: Formation, Batty's Hippodrome, Hippodrome Circus Arts Center
Mickens and Creature first teamed up in 2006 to form two separate but related circus shows: Wanderlust Circus headed by Creature, and Batty's Hippodrome, led by Mickens and founded during his residency as Creative Director of the now-defunct Someday Lounge. This would not be either artists' first foray into the world of circus arts. Mickens had already worked on three distinctly unique circuses (Cicuri Curajul, Societas Insomnia, and 999 Eyes of Endless Dream); while Creature was director, producer, and ringmaster of San Francisco's Circo Romani before his move to Portland.
The pair founded the Hippodrome Circus Arts Center, which opened on November 17, 2007 on the lower floor of the Rotture-Branx venue complex (which itself closed in 2015). Mickens and Creature fused circuses in 2008, under the Wanderlust name, after The Hippodrome's owner decided not to continue the venue.
2008–2011: Bossanova Ballroom, new shows, collaborations, MegaBounce
Wanderlust Circus 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), the Cirque L’Amour show for Valentine's Day, and Wonderland Circus, a circus adaptation of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland with dialogue from the original story. Other shows told the legendary backstory of the Wanderlust Circus itself.
In 2009, Wanderlust Circus performed at the inaugural celebration for then-mayor Sam Adams, alongside MarchFourth Marching Band and Trashcan Joe.
In 2010, Wanderlust Circus performed a specially choreographed epic circus on and around the 60-foot steel fire sculptures of The Big Art Experience at American Steel Studios. They performed similar choreography at LA's Electric Daisy Carnival and Oakland's Sand by the Ton. This series was the result of a collaboration with industrial sculptor Dan Das Mann.
In 2010, Wanderlust Circus & Vagabond Opera co-produced the Queen of Knives theatrical opera. Written by Stern and directed by Mickens; Queen of Knives featured cast members from Vagabond Opera, such as then-cellist Ashia Grzesik; and Wanderlust Circus members like belly dancer NagaSita. Nagasita and Wanderlust Circus also co-produced the multi-episode goth fantasy theatrical series Bogville.
In 2011, Wanderlust introduced two new show formats. Megabounce which premiered on March 12, 2011, is an annual themed audience participation rave format, featuring circus acts set to live electronic dance music sets from internationally renowned DJs, such as DJ Assault, Bunny, Run DMT, Heyoka, and Butch Clancy. The other new format was The Wanderlust Circus Orchestra, an old-time vaudeville style circus, reminiscent of the Spike Jones TV show. This format features circus performances scored by the swing big band of the same name.