How the ice is made?
April 13, 2008
Whatsonstage North East wanted to know how an ice show works when it’s touring the country theatre to theatre, so after a little investigation we found out.
This is what happens in preparation for Beauty and the Beast on Ice that opens on Tuesday at the Theatre Royal in Newcastle…
A strict timetable needs to be followed in order that the ice rink is ready in time for rehearsal skating at 16:30hrs on an opening night. The work starts the previous day at 09:00hrs, when technicians arrive at the venue with two 45ft trucks.
Eight venue technicians unload the set and costume truck, known as the dry truck, and start rigging lights, set and flying equipment. At 14:00, the wet truck containing the floor system and surround is unloaded and the task of building the ice rink begins.
Two 15m X 15m industrial pool liners are laid on the stage and wooden side supports are built to create a large but shallow swimming pool. Inside the pool, 15km of a special flexible rubber pipe is laid and connected to a heater system which is connected to two chiller units on the back of the wet truck. Two chiller units are used so that in the unlikely event of a total break down of one unit, the second will maintain the rink and prevent flooding of the stage and the potential loss of a performance.
The floor system is then filled with anti-freeze and the pressure is checked. It resembles a giant radiator lying flat on the stage, but instead of being connected to a boiler, it is connected to a chiller unit. This is in effect a simple flow and return pipe system. The anti-freeze is then chilled to –15*C and circulated through the floor pipes. At this point the rubber pipes will start to frost over.
Four tons of crushed ice is then spread over the floor pipes, providing a head start in the freezing process. From this point, the rink is sprayed with water every 20-30 minutes until it reaches 7-8cm thick. This process takes approximately 14-18hrs.
Further details on the ice making process:
• 14 tons of ice is used on stage equaling
…the weight of two double-decker buses.
• 14000 litres of water are used to build the rink -
…enough water to make more than 56,000 cups of tea.
• 2,500 litres of antifreeze used in the pipe system
…is enough to fill 100 Rolls Royce radiators.
• 15km of pipe work is used to create the ice floor.
…Laid end to end, a similar distance would take Kelly Holmes 1 hour and 15 minutes to run.
• The antifreeze in the ice machines reaches
…temperatures of -15 degrees – three times colder than a home freezer.
• It takes 140 man hours to build the rink and 30 hours to dismantle it.
• The combined distance traveled by all the vehicles on tour …is equivalent to a journey 2 3/4 times around the world.
• ‘Cat flaps’ need to be cut into the walls of most venues to accommodate
…the pipe work that runs from the chiller units outside to the stage.
• If a theatre does not have enough power for the chiller units
…a generator is hired in for the week.
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