Noah Howard Mickens (born February 18) is an American performance artist, showman, and writer from Portland, Oregon, primarily known for his contributions to vaudevillian revival, and as a ringmaster and master of Ceremonies for several theatrical circus troupes.
His stage persona, William Batty currently serves as the ringmaster of the Wanderlust Circus, as well as the emcee of numerous vaudevillian and bohemian events in the area.
Mickens has worked in a variety of performance media: scrap-metal percussion, singing, butoh, drama, circus arts, rock opera, and fashion modeling.
[1] In 1996, Mickens moved to Portland, OR, and quickly became involved in a variety of theatrical and musical endeavors, including Nequaquam Vacuum (Latin for "the void does not exist"), an improvisational "post-asiatic chamber noise" ensemble, which he formed in 1999 with Tyler Armstrong and Travis McAlister.
Under the name 36 Invisibles, Mickens arranged and promoted performances by a variety of artists, usually at the Jasmine Tree, a small tiki bar near the Portland State University campus.
[6] In the same year he began organizing another project, a ritual performance troupe called "Societas Insomnia" (Latin for "Nightmare Company").
In April 2006 Mickens was hired by Someday Lounge, a performance-art oriented nightclub in downtown Portland started by Kris and Eric Robison, two brothers who owned the adjacent Backspace Cafe and were interested in hosting the EnterActive Language Festival and other "experimental, progressive performance art".
[11] Mickens performed as a slightly menacing Batty in bright suits and heavy stage makeup, leading press to make comparisons to The Joker.