Scramble James is an award-winning juggler and multi-talented circus artist that strives to bring laughter and joy to audiences around the world. From kid's birthdays to stilt walking to adult cabarets, he can provide full feature shows or wonderful roaming entertainment for your event! His shows include juggling, magic, feats of danger, audience participation, and comedy.
Scramble James performs at all types of events, including, corporate gatherings, weddings, fairs, festivals, libraries, birthdays, and more! His birthday party shows can, upon request, include a circus lesson/playtime for the kids. During this time, kids will get to try to juggle, spin plates, balance feathers, and more!
36 reviews
Avrohom P.
March 5, 2026We had Scramble come and perform for our community event, large crowed and mix of all ages, he kept everyone entertained for 45 minutes. That’s not an easy thing to do, he did so with good humor, fun acts and engagement with the crowed. We enjoyed his act a lot and would highly recommend him!
Hired as: Children’s Party Magician, Juggler
Scramble James
Thank you for having me perform at your event Avrohom! It was super fun!
Pavan K.
August 10, 2021Nate James performed at my children's party. The Kids throughly enjoyed his magic tricks , specially the seal trick. He was very patient and always got the kids attention whose attention is less than 15 mins..
The adults enjoyed the show as well :) would recommend James Nate for anyone who is looking for magic
Hired as: Children’s Party Magician, Comedy Magician
Scramble James
Thank you Pavan for hosting me at your kid's birthday party! You were amazing hosts and I had a blast performing for your friends and family! Thank you again!
Stephanie H.
July 24, 2021Nate was a super class act! He was originally scheduled to perform for a smaller church camp we had plans, but due to low enrollment, we had to cancel that event. He was totally open to moving the date and changing the group size. His show was funny, fun, amazing, and just right for our church audience. Nate was extremely professional and just a really nice guy! Thank you!
Hired as: Comedy Magician, Juggler, Magician, Variety Entertainer
Liz G.
July 18, 2021He came to my place for my son’s seventh birthday. He was great! Everyone loved his performance, from the great grandparents to the littlest kid there. He was really enthusiastic and hyped up the crowd. The performance itself was really interactive and funny, as well as technically impressive and legit. I definitely would hire him again and/or recommend him to family and friends! I
Hired as: Children’s Party Entertainment, Children’s Party Magician
Greg
June 16, 2020Stop reading this and book Scramble James now! He provided terrific adult and kid-friendly entertainment for our 8 year old’s socially distanced birthday party. He arrived 30min early, and it was clear that he was professional and very friendly. He provided a wonderful reprieve from the monotony of stay-at-home and his show worked well with maintaining distance and keeping props sterilized during audience participation.
Highly recommend Scramble James!
Hired as: Children’s Party Entertainment, Comedy Magician, Juggler, Magician
Price range: $200-10,000
Languages: English, Spanish
Gig length: 10 - 300 minutes
Insurance: $3,000,000 - Specialty Performer's Liability Insurance
Juggling, Magic, Laughter, Amazement, Professionalism, Flexibility, Fire Performance, Glow Performance, Roaming Performance, Daytime Performance, Music, Balancing, Education, Audience Participation, and Uniqueness.
Nathaniel "Scramble James" Hughes started juggling in 2009 while he was attending Humboldt State University. Shortly after, he joined the Humboldt Circus and was in his first circus show in the spring of 2010. A year later, in 2011, he traveled to Guatemala and worked in a Guatemalan circus for 6 weeks before returning to the United States. In 2012, he directed to Humboldt Circus, joined the New Old Time Chautauqua, and performed up-and-down the West Coast with Humboldt Varietyville.
After graduating university in 2013, he moved to the San Francisco area and worked at Houdini's Magic Shop, broadening his performance skills. One year later, in 2014, he moved to Portland, Oregon. Since moving to Portland, he has performed with multiple groups including MarchFourth, Circus Luminescence, Rose City Circus, and Flamebouyant Productions.
In the winter of 2016, he returned to Guatemala and started a circus arts education program called, "Circo Patojiano" at Los Patojos School in Jocotenango, Guatemala. The program is still alive and well today, and over 250 kids receive circus arts education.
He returned to Portland in June of 2016 and continued to hone his craft while working as a coach at The Circus Project. In May 2018, he won the Fire Entertainer of the Year competition for his excellent Saturday Night Fever inspired act. Then, in July, he and Eli March won the teams category at the International Juggler's Associations annual competition, netting them their first gold medal.
Currently, Scramble James regularly performs as a solo artist, and as a collaborating artist in ensemble productions. You can find him performing with Circus Luminescence, MarchFourth, Rose City Circus, Flamebouyant Productions, Arc In Movement, and at events such as Portland Winter Lights, White Album XMAS, Dante's Sinferno, Moisture Festival, the Oregon Country Fair, and Rose Festival. Contact him now to bring him to your event or gathering!
If performing glow or fire, it is better if it is twilight or later. I have a wireless mic that will work with any PA system, however only need the mic for large audiences as I project my voice well. Generally, I can perform in almost any space, and require little to no set-up assistance.
Smothers Brothers, Mud Bay Jugglers, Charlie Brown, Ryhs Thomas, The Flying Karamazov Brothers, the Marx Brothers, Three Stooges, Charlie Chaplin.
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