Warren E = M.C. hammered?

Butcher’s apprentice. Ordained reverend. Mint-packer. I may be hopelessly unemployable, but I do love adding to my litany of questionably useful job skills and titles whenever possible. On Friday night, I notched another: Ringmaster! Suckered in by the wily Jenn Wrenn, I served as the host of Circus of Dreams 2009, the second annual edition of her death-defying fundraiser benefitting pediatric brain tumor research at Seattle Children’s Hospital. (As this is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, did you know that less than 3% of cancer research dollars go towards pediatric cancer research?)

I had no idea what I would do or what I would see, but once I took the mic, I was thrilled I had accepted the invitation. Staged at ACT, within their lovely Allen Theatre (-in-the-round), I was honored to introduce a succession of mesmerizing performances kicked off by Elizabeth Rose, a trapeze artist who somehow imbued her innocent routine with a graceful sensuality that was both soothing… and titillating. Other highlights included:

* a wordless theater-piece by Esther Elderman, the Artistic Director and Co-Founder of the UMO Ensemble that was trippier than a pill-popped dive down the rabbit hole

* Blazer‘s skeletally improbable contortionism that left me pondering the onanistic possibilities of such flexibility

* NANDA, a group of high-strung, far-flung “Acro-Ninjas” whose comically choreographed tribute to filmdom’s fight scenes played like quartet of Jackie Chan clones… who juggle!

And then, there was Bob, a virtual novice whose rope-act, an homage to James Bond, was the crowd-pleasingest stunt I may have ever witnessed. Granted, at least a third of the audience came to see Bob specifically, but the applause he received and I encouraged the crowd to revisit throughout the show impressed. The man, obviously, has a license to thrill.

I must also acknowledge the contributions of Berry Hatton — a research fellow in Dr. Jim Olson‘s lab, who explained why donations to the cause are critical — and Thomas, a limber-limbed audience member who volunteered to help me vamp thru a particularly long changeover by demonstrating that joints, not just drinks, ought be doubled.

Finally, thank you, Jenn Wrenn, for extending the opportunity. I am proud to have participated. And, unlike my stint as a mint-packer, I’d be delighted to return to this “job,” any day.

(UPDATE: Jenn Wrenn reports that this year’s edition of CIRCUS OF DREAMS raised at least 20k for pediatric cancer research and they are still tallying donations!)