Chef Erik Carlson. Photo credit: Amaryllis Images

The decision to run away and join the circus came easy for me, and in 2011. I jumped in with both feet and never looked back. And let me tell you it has been one wild ride! I am excited for a chance to share with you the view from the kitchen. The best place to begin is with a little bit about myself, and my inspiration to make it all flow together under the hoods of the kitchen and to bright lights of the tent.

When asked what genre I fall into within the large world of chefs, I’d say perhaps somewhere between the crazy kid in a candy store and a seasoned cook who lives and breathes in extreme kitchen conditions. I began at culinary school, where I learned French basics at South Seattle Community College. After graduation I spent time apprenticing for some ground breaking local chefs such as Brian Poor and Emily Moore, then working my way around the Seattle area.

My tutelage is not a fancy pedigree of fine dining houses and prix fixe menus; please don’t hold it against me. Instead I spent the last 30-years working in environments that taught me about restaurants and food culture, instilling a constant wonder at all the fantastic foods available around the world, especially here in the Pacific Northwest. Admittedly this makes me a food geek but by no means a foodie elitist. The dishes I create come from a comfortable, unpretentious place that our guests will love and relate to with gusto.

Here at Teatro ZinZanni, it is my privilege to create a new menu every four months for each new show. I start with a general synopsis of the upcoming show. Inspired by a theme and a time period or locale, the real fun begins with homework, homework, and more homework. It is a very exciting place for a chef to be! That kid in the candy store reference. Using the unbridled freedom to take guests on a gastronomical journey, as a character would in our show, I tinker with ideas silly and strange. The culmination is a menu designed with fun in mind, offering up a unique way to approach dining that is slightly divergent of the norm.

There are, however, some interesting challenges here at Teatro ZinZanni that needs to be taken into account. How does one make

Photo credit: Matthew Worden

sure the dessert doesn’t fly off the plate as it shoots down a 12-foot slide? How will the food rest on a plate and not end up in someone’s lap, while our excellent service staff “tango” it to your table? In the end these challenges only make it more fun, more Teatro ZinZanni. I cannot imagine doing anything else anywhere else.

That’s my spiel my friends. Moving forward, I will use this forum, as a bit of a window in to the world that is our Teatro ZinZanni kitchen. With some humor, some insights and a few recipes too, join me in our culinary travel down this rabbit hole of love, dinner and chaos.

Cheers,

Chef Erik D Carlson

When they aren’t busy defying gravity they are busy getting the kids to school and stop poking your brother, he doesn’t like it!

Here what they had to say:

Kristin Clayton: It’s nice to be asked about my being a Mom, because that has been a bit of an obstacle in my coming to Seattle up until now.  My daughter is 17, (she was 5 when we opened ZinZanni San Francisco in 2000) and my son is 8. They were both very supportive of me coming to ZinZanni for this run, which was important to me.  Our runs usually last about 4 months, so they knew it would be a long period with just their Dad.

Sandra Feusi (1/2 of Vertical Tango):It is the best of all worlds.  My kids love coming to the show. They get to see all the people it takes to make a show happen. They love the performances part but are equally interested in the busy life behind the scenes. They get to play and be around people from all walks of life. It’s very much like being part of a big family.  We have help from several wonderful babysitters who have become family as well. It takes a village!

What is something cool your kids have gotten to do that most kids haven’t?
Anki Albertsson: The see a lot of different kind of arts and they meet a lot of different people. That is SO important. I’m happy I can give them that.

Kristin Clayton:  ZinZanni has always has been a huge part of their lives.  The circus feeling backstage creates a wonderful world for children and both of mine have benefited tremendously from being ZinZanni kids.

Opera Diva Kristin Clayton in Dinner at Wotan’s – Photo credit: Keith BrofskySeattle tent. Let’s hit some high notes!

How would you describe your talent?

I am a Lyric Soprano Opera Singer, married to a fellow opera singer, Bass-baritone Bojan Knezevic and we live in San Francisco, CA where we met in the Young Artist’s program of the SF Opera in 1993.

How long have you been performing with ZinZanni?

I have been performing with Teatro ZinZanni for 12 years and had the amazing privilege of opening and closing the show at ZinZanni San Francisco. I don’t know if I knew during those years how important ZinZanni would become for me and how much the city would miss the exciting, intriguing spiegeltent between Piers 27 & 29 on the Embarcadero.

What has been your favorite show to perform in and why?

My favorite show, I think, was the very first version of License to Kiss because I got to play the villain, with a character named Leona Wonkenheimer, who fell in love with and was redeemed by a robot dog!!

This is your first time at the Seattle tent, what do you think?

Seattle is fantastic!!  The tent here is a little bit bigger, but feels basically the same when we are all out there together performing the show. There have been so many of us, through the years, and I’ve made so many close friends as we’ve rotated through all the different versions, but it has been great to come to the city where it all started.  Norm Langill (ZinZanni President & Artistic Director) and Reenie Duff (Associate Artistic Director) are incredible at finding the highest caliber of people in the business, which I think is one of the most important aspects of Teatro ZinZanni’s success.  Our show is so intimate with the audience, so it is vital that these performers, with unbelievable talent, are also solid, grounded human beings.  The staff, also, has so much experience with assisting and supporting us in every way.  We could not do it without each and every one of them.

The Seattle audience is really great and not surprisingly, very different from the San Francisco audience.  I think in SF, there is a big mix of locals, tourists and business people, who in general, are not as “laid back” in their attitudes and expectations when they go out to be entertained.  Here in Seattle, I feel people are a little more “down to earth” and I don’t feel a sort of “preconceived notion” of what they expect when they come to ZinZanni.  But in both cities, everyone seems pleasantly surprised at the evening and that it is an especially great place to celebrate the special occasions in their lives.

Do you think performing at our San Francisco location better prepared you for Seattle?

Yes, absolutely… all my years at ZinZanni SF have made me feel incredibly at home and very welcomed in Seattle.

Opera Diva Kristin Clayton and Anki Albertsson in Dinner at Wotan’s – Photo credit: Keith Brofsky

Have you gotten to explore the city?  Where have you been?

I have enjoyed getting to know Seattle so much.  Pike Market and Post Alley are fantastic!  I found a great masseuse on Capitol Hill and a fabulous tea shop called Perennial Tea Room.  (You know how we opera singers love our tea!)  I also got to see the Chittenden Locks in Ballard.  And when the family visits, we have so much fun right here in Queen Anne and at the Seattle Center fountain.

Would you come back?

I would come back in a heartbeat!!

What is one cirque act/talent you secretly wish you could do?

I have been so close to so many great circus performers over the years, but I might have to say that the contortionists are just amazing to me.  If my body could bend like that, I’d be on cloud nine.

What is next for you?

With only 1 more week of our run, I’ll be heading back home to  SF to re-connect with family and our life there.  I have several concerts this summer in the Bay area and a trip to New York planned for the fall.  A Diva’s life is always on the go!!

1. How long have you been working with Teatro ZinZanni?
10 years

2. How did you get your start in Costuming?
Went to college for appeal design at Western WA University. After college got a job at Pacific Western Ballet. I Loved it right away, Costuming is so much better then a boring office job.

3. What is your favorite ZinZanni show and why?
I am really liking Lucky in Love. We are building some very interesting costumes and I am working on quite a few pieces for Vita Radionova. She is so talented and an amazing performer.

4. If you could have a ZinZanni act what would it be?
I would be an accordion-playing contortionist.

5. What is the sewing tool you can not live without?
My snips.

6. What is your favorite part of costuming?
Seeing the finished show and all of the hard work come to life.

Lucky in Love is coming soon! On May 16th the big top will magically transform into Casino ZinZanni. Our story opens with Proprietress Ruby betting that her casino could hit the big time with a stellar show. Oh, and a chance to win the ultimate jackpot: a suitcase full of money!

We love both suitcases and money! Who doesn’t?

Get ready for acrobatic mimes, juggling dealers, high-flying love birds, and a contortionist cat burglar, all-around and overhead as you nosh on a multi-course feast fit for the highest of rollers.

The real question, who is in this superb show? You are in luck, we have the official cast list too! Returning to the spiegeltent:

Joe de Paul

Duffy Bishop (Playing the role of Ruby from August 1 to 25)

Duo Madrona

Francine Reed

Les Petits Frères (Gregory Marquet, Mickael Bajazet, Domitil Aillot)

Peter Pitofsky

Sergiy Krutikov

Vita Radionova

Check out the cast bios and more show info on our homepage!

Stay tuned for more details…

Under the big top she is Fricka, queen of the gods, betrothed to Wotan, and songstress extraordinaire in a golden chain-mail gown. Behind that glimmering armor, Anki Albertsson, our Swedish songbird, proves to be just as enchanting as her onstage persona. Take a seat or be prepared to fall over from having your socks knocked off by Anki as we all learn 25 more reasons to love, love, love her!

1.  Outside of work, I enjoy travel and gardening. Gardening is really relaxing.
2. If I could be any animal, I would be a bird. I would love to fly.
3. The last movie I  saw… Twilight with my daughter. I was the oldest one in the theatre ; )
4. IQ84 by Haruki Murakami was the last book I read. He’s great.
5. Favorite places to travel: Greece if you want beach and Florence is so beautiful. And Paris of course…
6. If I could have dinner with three people (alive or dead) who would it be? My father, Albert Einstein and Mother Theresa
7. My  first job? I was 10 years old and I sang and played guitar at a breakfast club in my small town. I got paid!!!
8. I am scared of war.
9. I love all kind of food but right now Indian food.
10. I cannot resist buying coats and jackets
11. I want to walk beautiful “paths” in England, France and Italy.
12. Right now I have no big celebrity crush,  but when I was a teenager I had a huge crush on Wayne Gretzky : )
13. I grew up on a farm in the south of Sweden.
14. I have a big family. 3 sisters and 3 brothers and we are very close.
15. Favorite book or author?  I like Paul Auster. Also his wife. And Gabriel Marcia Marques and many others. I read a lot.
16. What do I consider a good day? Any day spending time with my children.
17. I’d like to be invisible, like Harry Potter with his cape.
18.  I have a cat called Pip. He’s a little tiger.
19. I’d like to visit Japan. I was in China this summer and that was very interesting but I’d love to visit Japan in the spring.
20. I made popcorn backstage in the microwave at Lido in Paris. I burned it, so the whole cast smelled
it on stage. I thought that was quite fun : )
21. My favorite song?  Oh, hard… maybe Ring them Bells. I love that song.
22. I’m most proud of my children Gustaf and Ellen. They’re the best I have.
23. Coffee is my drink of choice.
24. The coolest thing since sliced bread? That I’m here in Seattle!!! I think that is so cool.
25. I knew since I was a child that I wanted to be a singer.  No question at all.

Dying to know more (we’ve been there)? Visit Anki’s website then check her out as Fricka in Dinner at Wotan’s!

Ariana en pointe.
Photo credit: Keith Brofsky

As I was working towards my final bow at Pacific Northwest Ballet, I was so grateful to know I was only months away from embarking on a new adventure. I loved my life as a ballerina, and deep in my heart I knew it was too soon for me to stop performing. Providing joy to an audience and giving young children their first memory of a ballet were some of the most important parts of my career. It gave me tremendous meaning not only as a performer, but also as a person. My passion never faded.  I knew I would miss that beyond measure.

Two months after my last performance at PNB, I had my first rehearsal at Teatro ZinZanni. I had always been a huge fan of ZinZanni, and now I was in rehearsal with some of my favorite performers. I was awe struck. Not to mention, I was working under the direction of Tommy Tune. I could only think, “How on earth is a ballerina going to fit in this magical tent with all these amazingly talented people?”

Immediately, I was embraced with love, support and most importantly – encouragement. It was only a matter of days before my first name was dropped; I simply became “Ballerina.”  I was handed a bass drum to play in the opening (after a small stint with a triangle that didn’t work out so well) and given lyrics to learn for songs I would sing. Luckily, it all happened so fast, I just did it without thinking about nerves. I was, however, very aware that my world was opening in a new and exciting direction.

After 118 shows of Bonsoir Liliane!, another end seemed near.  I had formed intense friendships with our cast, and the thought of not working with them again was too painful to think about. I set a new goal. I wanted a chance to do another show.

This ballerina is flying!
Photo credit: Keith Brofsky

I wanted to expand my ballet act – I wanted to push the boundaries of my ballet/pointe work, I wanted to see if I could move off center, travel, turn, and possibly jump within the space of the tent. In order to do these things, I knew I needed something to assist me. I chose a lyra. It was not my intent to become an aerialist, but I thought I might be able to use the lyra as my “partner”… as if it and I were dancing a pas de deux.

Over the next 12 months, I discovered endless possibilities and impossibilities… it was not easy! Adjusting to spinning/turning without spotting, being upside down 15 feet above the floor, and most importantly gaining upper body strength. were new challenges. I worked with Lexi Pearl, an aerial coach in Los Angeles and Jonathan Porretta, my friend and former coworker at PNB, who helped with the ballet choreography. I then relied on Anne Gish, a back stage manager at Teatro ZinZanni who operates the winch that raises and lowers the lyra, to wait patiently while I united these two art forms. Certain ideas that I thought would work, became impossible, yet I found perfect symmetry with others. It was at times frustrating and at times exhilarating! With perseverance, an intense desire to make it work, and much encouragement… I slowly carved out my act. The end result has meant another opportunity for me to perform with Teatro ZinZanni. I am beyond excited to premiere my new act and look forward to further creations with my new “partner.”

As rehearsals began for Dinner at Wotan’s, I was/am so grateful for the opportunity to meet a new cast of performers and be a part of the process of building a new show. This ballerina is flying high!

An ode to the Northwest’s Nordic community, Dinner At Wotan’s will musically rock the tent, presenting a hybrid of the classical sounds of Wagner’s The Ring and big, epic rock sounds, like Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. “A lot of rock tunes live very close to classical pieces, so we’re trying to mix that classical world with the rock, and course, with our own Durkee-ZinZanni style,” co-director Tobias Larsson commented. The music of Dinner at Wotan’s is composed by legendary Norman Durkee with lyrics by Martha Davis (Hail Caesar!), long-time front-woman for the new wave band The Motels, best known for such hits as “Only the Lonely” and “Suddenly Last Summer.”

And we are oh-so ecstatic to announce that Christopher Phi will be returning to the tent as one of Wotan’s progeny.  In fact the whole cast just gives us jitters.  Let’s list them out again:

Geoff Hoyle/Jarion Monroe (Wotan, Ruler of Asgard)
Anki Albertsson (Frigg, Madame of Valhalla, wife of Wotan)
Tobias Larsson (Thor, Son of Wotan and Frigg, Heir apparent to Asgard)
Terry Crane (Loki, Son of Wotan & Frigg)
Sam Payne of Vertical Tango (Balder, Son of Wotan & Frigg)
Sandra Feusiof Vertical Tango (Helga, Valkyrie, Guardian of the Underworld)
Kristin Clayton (Brunhilde, Warrior)
Ariana Lallone (Freya, Valkyrie, Goddess of Love)
Marceline, Sylvestre and Zaza of Los Excéntricos (Kimir, Hardon, and Snotra, The Troubadour Dwarves)
Christopher Phi (Jorgemon, Son of Wotan)

Chef Erik Carlson has pulled out all the stops.  But what will we dine upon?

Appetizer: Hard Cider Slow Braised Duroc Pork Belly (there’s a herbivore-friendly variation of this dish upon request)
Soup: Smoked Gouda and White Cheddar
Salad: Shaved Fennel, Watercress, Dried Cherries 
Your Choice of Entree:
Hales Red Menace Ale Braised Beef Short Rib
Crab-Stuffed Wild Salmon Roulade
Puff Pastry Cornucopia
Dessert: Golden Apple Tart

See the full menu here.

Get Your Tickets!

Want to win?  Of course you do!

To be entered to win this magical evening, simply attend our newest show Dinner at Wotan’s Sunday, February 3rd (those who have already purchased their tickets are already entered to win).  Winners will be notified within 48 hours of February 4th and announced on our Facebook page.

Let’s recap:

1.  Buy your tickets to our February 3rd show.

2. Be entertained by our newest production Dinner at Wotan’s.

3. Automatically be entered to win a romantic evening of Don Juan-esque proportions featuring a private table for you and your sweetheart to any one of our award-winning dinner shows throughout 2013 and then retire to a swanky night’s stay at MarQueen Hotel.

4. Log on to the Teatro ZinZanni Facebook page during the week of February 4th to see if you’ve won!

Get Your Tickets Now!

*Note: Blackout dates apply

2. If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?
A bird. Cause then I could fly.

3. What was the last movie you saw?
The Snoop Dogg movie…don’t know what it was called. Dre and Devin Go To
High School or something like that.

4. What was the last book you read?
Jimi Hendrix House of Mirrors and the Holy Book of Recreation

5. What’s one of your favorite places to travel to?
Europe

6. If you could have dinner with three people (alive or dead) who would it be?
Sly Stone, Gustav Klimt, and Richard Pryor

7. What was your first job?
Paper route

8. What are you scared of?
Stupid

9. What’s your favorite food?
Spaghetti and meatballs with sushi on the side.

10. What can you not resist buying?
Musical instruments

11. What have you always wanted to do or try?
Painting

12. Who’s your celebrity crush?
Sheila Escovedo

13. What’s something crazy you’ve done?
We used to always tell our rhythm guitar player to go home and practice.  One day I decided to take  his guitar  out of its case and
fill it up with rocks. I handed it to him and told him, “Go home and practice!”

14. Where did you grow up?
Central Area and South End of Seattle with summers in Texas and Louisiana.

15. What’s your family like?
Strong, intelligent, NUTS, funny as all shit, talented, stubborn, revolutionary, and
dysfunctional.

16. What’s your favorite book or author?
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

17. What would you consider as a good day?
No sirens.

18. If you could have a super power, what would it be?
Shut up.

19. What’s one of your secret obsessions?
Stealing construction signs.

20. What’s your favorite spot in Seattle?
The crib.

21. Do you have any pets?
Suge the bulldog.

22. What country would you like to visit?
Africa

23. What are you most proud of?
The work I do with youth. I mentor youth in music and life skills through my non-
profit record label Totem Star Records, sponsored by the Juvenile Rehabilitation
Administration.

24. What’s your drink of choice?
Maker’s Mark, one cube of ice, and a Heineken. Oh yeah, and water.

25. How did you decide on your profession?
I didn’t decide. Other people decided for me. They all grouped together and came
up with this plan. This plan to make me the man that I am.

Check out Thaddillac’s website  then tell him how awesome he is in the comment section below!