How are local ice shows run?

[jjane45]

Another "just curious" thread about how things run differently across regions!

At my municipal ISI rink (no clubs), apparently the skating director is also the ice show director. Skating school participants are eligible for group numbers of their current class level, and audition for solo numbers under a panel consisted of skating coaches several months before the show, and typically would get a spot if they meet the formal testing requirements. Skating coaches choreograph 2-3 group numbers and occasionally get to skate a "pros number" themselves (this year a coach is skating a solo in the spring show too, guess there was space). Soloists get the choreography from private coaches.

After 5-6 weekly rehearsal sessions, the weekend before the ice show there is a preliminary run through. If multiple soloists are assigned for the same number over different show times, they skate at the same time on that day (high crash rate). On this day it's not unusual that a certain group number needs to "rerun" it once or twice at the show director's request.

The day before the show is the dress rehearsal, where things get "real" with minimal reruns. For the spring show usually new costumes are ordered and skaters take them home after the show, for the Christmas show existing costumes are used for a good portion of the numbers - it's Nutcracker every year! The soloist assigned to the first actual show skate the dress rehearsal, and this is sometimes viewed as an "extra" performance opportunity to be envied. Full set of volunteers are needed for dressing rooms, back stage, and equipments. Part of the photography gets done during dress rehearsal too.

Then it's show time!! Five performances Friday thru Sunday for Christmas show and three performances for the spring show. Technically skaters should stay in the dressing rooms while not performing, except for a specified performance where they can sit in the stands to watch. (Some of us sneak into the stands whenever possible but that's another story). I believe the cast party is normally before the Sunday afternoon show, never made it due to schedule conflicts.

While skaters get the applause and spotlight, people behind the scenes stress out long before the show starts. (Xanboni has several hilarious posts on ice show survival.) At my rink it appears to be:

skating director - overall coordination (dunno the details, must be a lot of paperwork filing!)
coaches - choreoraphy, backstage, props
skating parents - spotlight, costume, dressing rooms, backstage, props

Lighting, photography, video, music editing, printing, seem to be handled by outside professionals. But this year due to weird issues skating pros had to cut the music very last minute.

As the show is put together by the skating school, it's impossible to mandate volunteer hours. Every year it's a real struggle to get show volunteers. Financially I'm guessing it's at least break-even if not profitable... Student pays $50-80 to participate in the show, which includes costume and rehearsal ice time / instructions. Show ticket is $8-10 and attendance varies (Christmas show usually sells much better). Revenues from programs are probably not too much (~$5 selling price, advertising).

I love my rink's shows as it's a ton of camaraderie, everyone really roots for everyone. And counting the ice shows I participated in is how I keep track of how many years I've been skating, lol!

OK I that's all I know about our shows from a skater's point of view. Wish I knew more about behind the scenes stuff (hint hint wink wink). Really would love to hear about yours!

[Clarice]

I'm the show director for our club.  I started doing that even before I started coaching, since I've done music direction for high schools and community theatre in the past.  We typically do two a year, Christmas and spring.  Things have changed a little now that our rink is under the direction of the city parks and rec department; this is how the most recent spring show went.

The show belongs to the club.  We have to buy the ice it uses, but we get to keep the gate.  We invite the skate school to participate.  We are not a big club and it's not a big school, so no problem fitting everybody in.  There is only one performance.  Skate school skaters are assigned to group numbers according to their class.  This time they practiced during their regular lesson times - half the time on skills, half on their number.  In the past there was a separate "show class" offered and the kids came twice a week.  This time, parks and rec wanted to do it this way - if a skater wanted to be in the show they registered for Thursday class; if they didn't, they went to Saturday class.  Whatever.

The club kids all get "feature numbers".  If they've passed their Pre-Preliminary free skate test, they can have a solo.  Otherwise the coaches put them together in duets or trios.  These numbers are done during lessons with their coaches.  This time we also did a big opening number that involved the skate school, so the club skaters who were involved in that had to come to class one week.  It was choreographed so that each class had a club "leader" - went together very quickly.

There is one "dress rehearsal", but we don't run the show in order.  Opening number and bows are done first, then all the group lesson numbers so they can be finished and get out of there, then the club numbers.  As each group or skater is finished, they have their picture taken off-ice by a parent.  These are posted on the club web site.  Another parent videotapes the show and people can pre-order DVDs, proceeds going to the club.  Tickets are $10 adults, $5 students/seniors, lap kids free.  There is very limited seating in the bleachers. That does not make me happy, but there's nothing I can do about it.  We only print the number of tickets that the bleachers can accommodate.

We use a number of volunteers backstage to watch the kids in the locker rooms and escort them to and from the ice on cue.  There's a coach on the ice cuing their entrances, and another running cues backstage.  A dad does the announcing and plays the music.  Two people operate rented spotlights - both are now parks and rec people, because the lights have to go up on scissor lifts, and you have to have training to be allowed on those (didn't used to be that way when it was a private facility).  A mom laid out the program and had it printed.  I do the "scenery", but volunteers help put it up as well as the pipe and drape that defines the on-ice backstage area.  What decorating I do has to be stuff that can be put up and taken down very quickly, since we only have an hour before the show to set up and even less time afterwards to tear down.  I go for maximum visual impact, and stuff that can be pre-set off ice and just put into place at the last minute.  I choose the theme, but allow skaters/coaches to pick their own music.  I'll provide a list of suggestions if they need help.  Costumes are on their own.  The group lesson kids pay an extra $10 for costumes, which are minimal - this year it was different colored t-shirts plus a hat for each group.  Forgot to mention that the club kids pay a participation fee of $25.  We usually make a little money on shows, but as long as we at least break even I'm happy enough.

I gotta say, this year's show ran like clockwork, and the parents seemed very pleased.  Each one is its own animal, though, so I hope I can pull off the next one as well!

[fsk8r]

Auditions for the Christmas show are in early July. A set piece of choreography is taught (off-ice) and then performed on ice. The on ice auditions are then recorded for deciding on places (means that the directors and producers can view them all again). Those who perform well at auditions are selected for second round auditions for lead roles.
Places are then sent out early August. There's a limit on the number of children due to the legal requirements of performance licenses so there's always people being disappointed. Once everyone's accempted rehearsals start mid October and continue through to early December when 6 shows are performed in 3days. Audiences are roughly 1500 per show (maximum capacity although normally the Friday shows aren't quite sold out).
The Christmas show is a really big event at the rink and a really big charity fundraiser. Scarily people who aren't related to cast members and who aren't associated with skating in anyway come to watch the show. But it's run so professionally it's a really great event to participate in.

[Skittl1321]

My current club has a laid back show.
About 2 months before the show forms are due.  You can say if you want to be in a solo or a duet. I think club members can be in two numbers, non-club one.  You pay per number.

If you are in LTS you can be in a group number.  The freestyle group number practices (grr) during Saturday LTS.  The LTS group numbers practice AFTER Tuesday LTS ("cheapskate" ice is included in the fee.)

There is a dress rehearsal the Wed before the show, to learn the finale. 

On the show day skaters are expected to be at the rink, in costume and makeup, 30 minutes before the show.  The hockey locker room is open if skaters need to change, or they use the bathroom.

No additional seating is put up, but there are lots of benches around the rink, and food court chairs tend to get stolen.  Lots of passers-by seem to stop and watch, it is always a decent crowd. 

We try to get the rink to clean the glass before the show, for better viewing.  The club decorates a butcher paper backdrop to put on the back glass to hide the waiting skaters. 

There are no tickets.

We use the following volunteers: the club president and another Mom wrangle kids, a club coach MCs, a volunteer does the music, and then sometimes the LTS coaches will come to help their skaters with the group number.

We do a Christmas show (no Christmas music required, but some do) and a Spring Show.

[jjane45]

Very interesting read, thank you for sharing! during the show our skatable ice is about 2/3 of its normal size, heavy curtains on three sides. Skaters line up about 10 minutes before their numbers. There are speculations that skaters tend to fall more in the show because of the limited ice surface cuts too much into jumping patterns.

[Sk8tmum]

a) bi-annually.
b) anyone and everyone can participate; with 1200 members, generally, two shows
c) various routines at different levels; the older kids/skaters assist with the little ones
d) costumes are provided
e) no cost to participants
f) club coaches share the choreography duties; usually one or two do the lead coordinating (unpaid duty)
g) award winning skaters get features; random draw for solos

Volunteers not a big problem - parents come in and help - not too hard, as with so many kids in the show, a huge pool to pull from. There's a dress-rehearsal runthru, regular sessions are turned over to ice show practice during the week or so before the show.  Sometimes a "guest skater" is hired to up the ante of the performances.

Me, I both dread and anticipate the shows; my kids really enjoy doing them, and there is usually a feature or a solo for one or both, which they take a lot of pride in and really do their best to put on a show for the audience.

[jjane45]

...a feature or a solo for one or both, which they take a lot of pride in and really do their best to put on a show for the audience.

That's the spirit! Over here, getting a highly ranked solo in Nutcracker (Clara cough Clara) is a pretty big thing.
And for skaters who do not compete it's an opportunity to be in the spotlight and to own the ice

The Christmas show is a really big event at the rink and a really big charity fundraiser. Scarily people who aren't related to cast members and who aren't associated with skating in anyway come to watch the show. But it's run so professionally it's a really great event to participate in.

Your rink sounds like a big and selective facility! IMO shows are the rinks' most important PR events to reach out to local communities and attract new blood. They should get all the publicity possible!

There is a dress rehearsal the Wed before the show, to learn the finale.  

I wish we have a finale. Ours basically announce skater names / groups...
Some soloists would do a very short signature move but that's pretty much it.

I'm the show director for our club.  I started doing that even before I started coaching... I gotta say, this year's show ran like clockwork, and the parents seemed very pleased. 

Awesome! What is the biggest challenge running the show?

[fsk8r]

Your rink sounds like a big and selective facility! IMO shows are the rinks' most important PR events to reach out to local communities and attract new blood. They should get all the publicity possible!

You miss understand, the cast is over 100 skaters and the show is more theatre on ice than skating gala. There are lots of opportunities for lots of skaters. But it's done as a whole show (Cinderella last year). There's very few solo numbers. And even the soloists end up sharing the ice with other members of the cast. But the auditions are solely because the rink is so large now and there are these legal limits otherwise they would have everyone who applied. Since they brought in the auditions the soloist roles have opened up to those who might not necessarily be competitive skaters but who have some performance flare. But the stars of the show are always the little tots (who incidentally still have to learn choreography and repeat it on their own which is quite an amazing feat given their ages - there's no leading from older skaters). But in having such a large cast we show to everyone in the audience the fun of skating and adults and children a like are wanting to have lessons after watching the show.

It's just that we don't do galas with a couple of group numbers, the whole show is a theatre production with storyline from start to finish. But that's the way Christmas shows are done in the UK because we have a tradition in Pantomime. Some rinks then have galas at other times of the years which give skaters a chance to showcase their skating, but unfortunately my rink doesn't do one of those. But I don't think the coaches could cope with organising a gala. They started preparing for this year's Christmas show in January. Casting will be done over the summer, they then have to record the dialogue and start rehearsals. And then there's a whole backstage crew doing props, scene painting, set changes during the show, etc...  It's an amazing phenomenon and every skater at the rink wants to participate because it is such good fun.

[VAsk8r]

Our club/rink has traditionally done shows once per year, the holiday show. There used to be two shows: the Learn to Skate show and the show for figure skating club members. The past couple of years, the two shows have been folded into one, run through the club. The club will buy about 4-5 hours of ice, two for the show itself and the rest for dress rehearsals.

So, Learn to Skate families pay show fees through the club, which include extra time after Learn to Skate to learn a program for the show and costumes. (The payment situation is complicated and changes every year, so I'm not going to get into it here.) Since LTS is now folded into the club's show, they usually do one number with 10-15 kids, plus participate in the opening and closing numbers. Older or more advanced LTS kids who don't want to do the group number can pay a little more to work with a coach and do a program with one or two other kids around their level.

Club members pay per program and can do more or less anything they want, but each program is limited in time based on skill level. I can't remember all the time limits, but for pre-bronze (my level) and pre-preliminary soloists it was 1:30 last year. The adults have done a group number for several years, plus some adults do dances. Last year, I was in the adult group number, a solo, the opening and closing numbers plus something we call the "candlelight number" that's right before the closing number and is only for club members. They turn the lights out, and we skate with artificial candles. It's pretty.

This year we're also doing a spring exhibition/party right before we lose ice for the summer. It's only open to club members, and the club is buying two hours of ice for it, and we'll have lobby space for an off-ice party afterwards. I think everyone will just run through their ISI or USFS programs, whereas with the holiday show kids often come up with a completely different program for it. I hope this is something we can keep doing every year.

[Clarice]

But that's the way Christmas shows are done in the UK because we have a tradition in Pantomime.

I totally want to do that!  I have a whole script worked out and everything, complete with transformation scene!  My dream is to put on a Christmas pantomime on ice.  But for the moment I have to be satisfied with a regular club gala format.  I get a little more elaborate for the spring show - it's still essentially a recital, but there's a theme, and sometimes I have a loose storyline or some kind of recurring comic skit to help tie the thing together.

jjane, I think the key to the whole thing is organization.  I make lists, and lists of lists.  Sometimes it feels like I'm herding cats, trying to get everybody to be where they're supposed to be at any given time.  The more things are planned out in advance, in excruciating detail, the easier it is.

[jjane45]

...the whole show is a theatre production with storyline from start to finish... They started preparing for this year's Christmas show in January... a whole backstage crew doing props, scene painting, set changes during the show, etc... 

Envy envy envy................

[nicklaszlo]

Dress rehearsal has plenty of reruns.  

There are no solo auditions for Spring.

Nutcracker solo costumes are always reused from the rink's library.  Spring solo costumes can be reused (one girl wore the same costume for Nutcracker and Spring) or provided by the skater.  I think group number costumes are always ordered by the rink.

[mamabear]

Delurking to answer this one.  I skate at a rink in the Midwest and our ice show is today.  I've watched my daughter perform before but this is my first time skating in one of the shows.  Scary!  I know one of the coaches organizes it, we don't have a full-time skating director.  At least, I don't think so-that is a little confusing to me.   We're in LTS so my daughter has always gotten a form from the coach asking if you want to participate.  They don't automatically give those to adults so I just asked the coach if I could and then she got me one.  Anyone can sign up although I think sometimes they have put a rule that you must have based a certain level to do a solo (Basic 4 I think).  There is a general theme to the spring show-last year it was Skating through the Decades so pretty much anything went and this time it's As Seen on TV.  There are usually a couple of group numbers but this time they couldn't get the ice time when the coaches were available so no group numbers.   There is a $20 or $25 fee (I can't remember and I just paid it 6 weeks ago-how sad is that?  Then you are responsible for finding a coach and scheduling lessons to work on the program.   This is the first time I've worked with anyone on a program and I've loved it.  I might be hooked.  It's a great workout for me doing the program run throughs and it has been interesting to see how everything goes together instead of working on elements independently. 

[PinkLaces]

My DD & I have been involved with shows at 2 rinks.  One is a bigger year round rink and the other is a smal seasonal one. 

At the bigger rink, kids skate in a group number by level.  There is a fee includes the costume. They can skate with their dad in a daddy/daughter number for an additional charge. If they have competed (any level), then they can skate in a competitiors number for an additional charge.  If they are level ISI FS1 and up, they can skate in an additional group number for...you guessed it...an additional fee.  The fees go to ice time, coaches fees, and costumes. 

Solos and features are determined on a points system.  If you place 1-3 in a big competition like regionals, then you get an automatic solo.  Everyone else has a combination of test points and competition placement points for the year before the show.  There were 9 solos this year and 6 features (step-outs).  Solos were 2 mins and features were 1 min as part of a lower level group number.  The skaters were typically USFS Pre-Juvenile FS or ISI F6.  There were over 100 skaters in that show.  The show is run by the skating director.  The coaches are paid to do groups (and paid by private lessons for solos/features). Tickets are $7. Parents volunteer for everything from selling tickets, programs, and flowers; spotlights (4-5); and backstage room parents.  There are 3 weeks of practices.  There is a run through the Tuesday before the show and dress rehearsal is the Thursday before the show.  There is 1 show Friday night and 2 on Saturday.


At the smaller rink, I am the ice show coordinator.  There are usually  30 kids that choose to be in the show. There are 4 practices.  Dress Rehearsal is Saturday night and the show is Sunday afternoon. Kids pay an ice fee per number and a costume fee.  Anyone ISI FS2 and up can have a solo.  Anyone This show has a mom/daughter number because lots of the moms skate.  It is lower budget but still pretty nice. There are deals worked out to keep it affordable for anyone who wants to participate.  A lot of parents volunteer their time to just about everything...announcing, script writing, programs, etc.  Some of the coaches even donate their coaching time.

[sk8lady]

Our club's show rules were changed this year to be more restrictive.

Anyone can be in a large group number. Basic Skills students who are not club members can only be in large group numbers. Club members who have passed Pre-Pre freeor Pre-Bonze free can be in small group numbers (2-6 people). Anyone participating will be in one group number plus the finale.

Only 6 soloists are allowed. One soloist can be an adult, 20 years of age or older, who has passed Pre-Juv free or Adult Bronze free. The other 5 soloists must be under the age of 20 and have passed Pre-Juv free(virtually no club members have passed any freestyle tests higher than pre-juv).

Only the soloists under the age of 20 will be allowed to participate in the opening number.

I stopped participating in the show last year. Since they charged me $10 to watch last year even though most of the groups were comprised of my students, I didn't go this year (it was also 2 hours away this year).