[SML] swimming pool onstage

[Duncan Mahoney]

Having built more than a few pools onstage in my time, I'll pass on that bromine works just as well to disinfect the water as chlorine, without the chlorine smell.  It costs a bit more, but most theatrical pools are not all that big and a little bromine goes a long way.  And for small (a few hundred gallons) pools, a lot of submersible aquarium heaters can do the heating for a comparatively small investment compared to a full-on pool system.  Remove the heaters from the water when actors/crew are in the pool, if the glass breaks on a heater, the water will be electrified until the GFCI trips

Oh BTW, have a plan for focusing the lighting that does not involve an electrician standing on an aluminium stepladder placed in the pool full of water.   (Yes I did work that gig...)


Duncan Mahoney
Director of Technical Direction
Associate Professor of Theatre Practice
University of Southern California School of Dramatic Arts