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Fear No Ice

July 24th, 2007 Posted in Novelty

Fresh, Frozen, and Alive!
You Will Be Amazed At What These Guys Can Create From Ice Right Before Your Eyes.

With one of the most unique shows ever seen in any entertainment market, Fear No Ice presents a hip and most certainly “cool” new idea for your next event! Scott Rella, Peter Slavin and Kevin Roscoe started the company about ten years ago and since have done their ice sculpting as-performance-art all over the world . The company was originally started strictly as a promotional marketing vehicle.

The team would be commissioned by companies for various projects, then garner press for the event or company through the novelty and uniqueness of the sculptures themselves. The guys soon realized how much fun they were having not just from producing the art itself, but with the reactions they were getting from the inevitably gathering crowds. Slowly, the focus shifted from being a primarily utilitarian means of attracting attention to a full-on performance art show.

“Originally the promotional marketing vehicle version of Fear No Ice was designed to get our clients on the six o’clock news or a column in the newspaper at a fraction of the cost. What we were doing was fun and original, which made it media worthy,” Scott says. “Each step we took brought us closer and closer to the entertainment side of art. We started wearing different costumes and outfits for different clients and added more dramatic flair to the process. Over time it sort of morphed into a full fledged show.”

The idea has done so well that Scott (who handles the business, marketing and promotional aspects of the operation) had to split the organization into two branches simply to accommodate all of their business. In addition to Fear No Ice, Big Ice, Inc. now handles the large-scale ice sculptures for the end user’s various own purposes (as the company originally did), but not in a live show setting.

Ice Sculpting isn’t your average hobby, so a natural curiosity is how these guys got involved in this form of art in the first place. “We were all artists. We would sculpt in clay, marble, paint, and practice many other different forms. We still do today. Ice just happened to be a medium the three of us had in common.”

Scott clearly remembers the day when the three of them met, already engaged in what would eventually become Fear No Ice. “We all lived in New York and on December 11, 1989 we all happened to be sculpting ice outside the Plaza Hotel. We had a blast.”

Jump ahead three months to a championship ice sculpting competition held in Michigan, with a prize of an all expenses paid trip to the world championships in Japan for the winner. A three-man team was required to enter and all three up-and-coming artists knew this, though each was pining separately over how to get involved. “We were acquainted, but had never worked together before,” Scott says. “There were many established three-man teams at the time, but neither Peter, Kevin or I were a part of any of them. We got in touch somehow and on a whim decided to go to Michigan and compete.” They went and won.

They immediately knew the chemistry and ability of the group had clicked. While all of them had (and still have) their individual ice sculpting companies, the three felt they could bring something really special together by uniting forces.

Word of mouth quickly spread and Fear No Ice’s popularity was almost immediate. They were able to book full-fledged tours and theatres within a short period of time. They still have regular shows in Las Vegas and have had the opportunity to work with some of the most famous and prolific acts in Sin City, such as Blue Man Group and Cirque du Soleil. Scott says working in so many places and with so many unique groups has kept Fear No Ice on its toes. “The company and our shows are constantly evolving. Every year, we have to reinvent the business. New shows, new costumes ad new ideas keep us constantly growing. It is truly a moving target.”

Fear No Ice currently offers some amazing presentations based on their experiences of what does and doesn’t work for corporate groups today. Clients can choose from several turnkey programs especially designed and choreographed to keep any audience’s attention. If that’s not enough, or if one of the prefab themes doesn’t suit your needs, not to worry. Fear No Ice can literally build any show for any theme you wish. They start out with massive blocks of ice, you direct where it goes from there. Fear No Ice’s ability to deliver “the goods” has become practiced to the point of being intuitive, due in no small part to an attention to detail bordering on obsession, resulting in unimaginable hours of research and testing. “For nine years, we have talked to every single client that calls and custom designed every single performance for them, each show on a one-off basis. Each individual aspect was cut from scratch every single time and the process started to weigh us down.”

The team decided they had gained enough experience in this market to have the ability to put together a basic set of shows that would work as a template for future clients. “We decided everything would be much more streamlined and simpler on both ends if we put together a limited number of shows that were ready to go out of the box. Then, if a particular client wants to modify it from there, we already have some basic notions to go on. This speeds things up remarkably.”

Scott says that if a client comes to them with a specific request, concept or idea, they can still sit down and beat it out the old fashioned way. The majority of their clients though, now find a more practical, time-tested and proven method in the pre-planned shows. “After nine years of one-offs, it is nice to have some templates to get a quicker start from. Not that these five shows we do are the same every time. For example, we do a logo reveal show for companies who choose it, but it is not the same show every time. Aside from obviously using different logos for different clients, the presentation is different each time as well. We may change the music, costumes, pacing and add unique theatrical elements to any given show to enhance its basic elements. The concept is just that, a concept. What happens after that is never the same.”

Scott explains that in this respect, Fear No Ice is nothing like Blue Man Group, Cirque du Soleil and others. “With most of those shows, everything is pre-planned and packaged for entire tours. There is a beginning, middle and an end – good night! Our shows aren’t like that. They are not on a timeline. It is freeform, off-the-cuff and unpredictable.”
Aside from the carving of the ice itself, a lot goes into a Fear No Ice performance. Besides the lights, sounds and music in each show, audience interaction plays a significant and often pivotal role in the events. “What happens depends on a lot of factors. Like the antics we go through during the show. Those are always spontaneous. One of the greatest pleasures we get out of our performances is that we can see how thrilled the audience is when they become a part of the show. It depends on the age group, the personality and the enthusiasm of the crowd. We always find out all the relevant information we can at each event before we go in. You have to feel out the audience and make it happen.”

When it comes to other technical aspects of the show, Fear No Ice is no less inspired. They have gone as far as possible to produce their own soundtrack for the events, not having to depend on canned goods for their music. “We created it from a variety of instruments, even some of the tools we use. It’s really cool. It gives the show a uniqueness and helps perfectly control the mood and pace of the show.”

While the team emphasizes the importance of having a hand in creating every aspect of their shows, they also know when to consult the pros so that everything can be the very best it can be. “Peter actually got together with the musical director from the Blue Man Group some years ago which sparked a concept that we developed in the studio to create this really cool, funky soundtrack using nail boards and chisels and power tools we use to sculpt ice.” They also have created all their own custom video art as well and are sporting new super-cool (pun intended) iceman costumes.

A typical Fear No Ice show may run fifteen to twenty minutes depending on the needs of the planner, but nothing is written in stone with these guys. “The shows can easily run up to 45 minutes depending on what we are doing. It all depends on what our clients want. We can put pyro in our shows. We can include fire dancers, live drummers, and costumed and choreographed casts; there are a ton of possibilities. We have done so many shows. Over a period of ten years we have given thousands of performances and no two have ever been the same.”
Not that Fear No Ice hasn’t had the chance to strap down a concrete show and repeat it in one place. “We have been approached by people to do extended runs in New York City and Las Vegas. We are open to the ideas of theatre runs, but I wasn’t really ready to hand over the reins at that time. We really enjoy running this company, but at some point it will be an option.”

Is anyone wondering if, during an extended show, in a room full of hot lights and people, the ice may start to melt? “That is never a concern. No matter what we do, the ice has lasted far longer than any function where we have performed. A simple sculpture on a table will last 8 hours and none of our stuff is small or simple sculptures. It is very thick and keeps itself cold for a long time.” Scott says they have even done a few sculptures for Disney in the blistering 100-degree heat of mid summer and it has still never been an issue.

One thing Fear No Ice assures potential clients is a quick, easy and pain free planning process with their event. “We have done so many shows that it is not a big puzzle. We can sit down with a planner and figure out what their needs are and where to go with the show in about fifteen minutes. If there is a special custom show, the circumstances of the event itself will always guide us where we need to be. We are creative people and can tap into our client’s wants and needs easily. If someone is having a big party on the beach and the theme is Jimmy Buffett, what do we do? We’ll sculpt some big palm trees, a big margarita glass, a parrot, letters spelling Margaritaville, whatever. You give us the theme and circumstances of the event, we will turn out a million ideas; and you are sure to like at least one.”

There are a lot of reasons to bring Fear No Ice to your next event. First and foremost, they are the only group who does what they do. Second, as Scott says, people love to see things being created in front of their eyes. Performance “Art” shows have proven that time and time again in the corporate and special events markets. “When we used to sculpt all over the world, way before Fear No Ice, we sculpted these things in public and crowds would just gather. They would stay mesmerized for hours. Some would even leave and come back just to see the progress. It has a magical effect on people and we invite any meeting planner to let us come prove it.”

Also, check out their other Ice Sculpting performance, Big Ice, Inc.

BOOK IT!
Scott Rella
Fear No Ice
(516) 383-4536