Every thirty-odd days, the Bellingham Circus Guild unfailingly fills with a familiar warmth. The smell of cologne, perfume, popcorn and warmth fills the air and a band of four older men in tweed and plaid, who go by the Poor Man’s Jug Band, play old-timey folk and roots music under a yellow light before the show begins.
On the 15th of every month, the Circus Guild opens a space for local circus aspirers and odd performers alike to share their talent, or lack thereof, with a live audience. There are no rules as to who can or can’t perform, the message being that everyone has something worth sharing.
The Circus Guild offers a 7 p.m. PG-rated show, and a 9 p.m. “anything goes” show. The “anything goes” show is available to all who want to perform, appropriate or not, with contestants given a five-minute time slot to showcase their talent onstage.
On their Oct. 15 show, the lights dimmed at 8 p.m. Out first came a young juggler. Then a comedian. Then a drag artist., followed by a solo singer with their ukulele. And “dorky dance” instructor named Sayde Osterlo led the audience through a dance exercise based on the pizza-making process.
“Now grab the pepperoni,” Osterlo said as she reached above her head in rhythm. “And spread the sauce!”
Acts come in all shapes and sizes at the Circus Guild. A group of two, one electronic musician and one performer, visually disturbs the audience with their act: Eating dollar bills and washing them down with a smoothie.
When a performer’s five minutes of fame have concluded, Don Bates, the Circus Guild lighting director, has a bell to signal them to wrap up their set.
“I knew the time had gone over, but sometimes I get so into a set that I wait to ding the bell,” Bates said. “I was like ‘Oh shit, this is some commentary on Capitalism, I don’t want to interrupt that,’ and that’s the kind of decision I get to make as lighting director.”
After the show, while taking off their vampire teeth, one of the drag artists, Natalie Mote, known to the stage as Punk Faerie, had a lot to say about the meaning of the circus.
“I love that everyone here is like, do whatever you want, you know? There’s this freedom of expression that’s different from everything else,” Mote said. “It’s all freaky and it’s all weird, but it can also be graceful and elegant. It brings a lot of people together from all different walks of life and they find each other here, at the circus.”
This was Mote’s first time performing on the Circus Guild stage. They explain that there wasn’t a better place to perform as their blood-thirsty, vampiric, drag persona.
“I like to be able to express myself in an athletic and also artistic way, it’s very satisfying. The circus is such a great place to do that. Or whatever else you want,” Mote said.
As the lights shut off and the Poor Man’s Jug Band packed up their gear, most of the audience hung around at the October show. Both inside and outside the Circus Guild, they went up to the performers to pay their compliments and ask questions.
“It was so peculiar, I loved it, it was really good,” said Erin McDonough, a first-time-circus-goer. “I didn’t really expect any of it.”
The next Vaudevillingham will be at the Circus Guild on Nov. 15. in Bellingham, Wash. Tickets are based on a sliding scale of donation prices that you can find here.
Vanessa Ewart-Northrop (she/her) is a city life reporter for The Front this quarter. She is a third-year Journalism major with a NewsEd focus. In her free time, Vanessa likes to see live music, do crafts with her friends and spend time with her cat Pigeon. You can reach her at vanessaewartnorthrop.thefront@gmail.com.
