Look Solutions hazers and foggers are enhancing the productions staged by Teatro ZinZanni, a unique theatrical experience whose three-hour blend of performance, music, and comedy is presented under antique Belgian spiegletents in Seattle and San Francisco. Guests are seated restaurant-style to watch the show unfold beside, around, and even above their tables as they enjoy a five-course meal.
“It’s essentially a cabaret circus in the round and it’s very interactive,” says lighting programmer and master electrician Joshua Mowczko. “Teatro ZinZanni is unique in the US. We have the original Unique hazer in Seattle and use it for a lot of the large production numbers, some of the bigger songs, intros and sometimes for the acts.” The hazer is connected via DMX to an ETC Emphasis Control System. Mowczko leaves the hazer running during the show so he can avail himself of it whenever he needs haze effects.
Mowczko likes a number of Unique hazer features. “It doesn’t have an extremely long hang time, so I can have the room fully hazed for an act and then in 10 minutes it can be cleared out completely. That’s a real bonus for our show. The fact that the Unique hazer is water-based is great. Performers of all types are very particular about haze because they’ve found it has caused problems for them. I’ve checked out other hazers, but the Unique outperforms any other water-based hazer I’ve ever seen. I’m very happy with it.”
This year Teatro ZinZanni purchased a Unique2, the follow-up model of the Unique, for its show in San Francisco and is deploying it in a similar fashion to the original Unique hazer. “What I especially like about the Unique2 is the ability for remote shutdown via DMX,” says Mowczko. “It’s a much better and safer way to shut down the system.”