catch-22?
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URL: http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2394
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Topic: catch-22?
Posted By: eveharrington
Subject: catch-22?
Date Posted: 5/05/07 at 10:08pm
OK, I have a kinda odd question, Illinois is about to pass a smoking ban which will effectively ban us from smoking on stage when it's called for in the script. Would leaving out the smoking be the same thing as dropping lines from the script? and if so, doesn't this sort of ban Il theaters from producing plays that include smoking characters? (yeah, yeah, I know you can fake it but it's always really obvious looking)  ------------- "If nothing else, there's applause... like waves of love pouring over the footlights." |
Replies:
Posted By: jphock
Date Posted: 5/06/07 at 12:17am
| There are herb (the legal kind) cigarettes that are available and are allowed under most state non-smoking laws. It usually can't be tabacco smoke.... |
Posted By: Kurt Muller
Date Posted: 5/06/07 at 6:13am
Eve, the way I see it, it's not really that much of a problem. If a play stands or falls on whether or not one of the characters smokes, then it ain't much of a play, (and probably doesn't deserve to be shown, imo).
I mean, how many plays do you know that totally rely on a smoking character for their success?
And even if there are some, you can get fake cigarettes. Check out this thread.
http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2340 - http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2340
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Posted By: B-M-D
Date Posted: 5/06/07 at 8:30am
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We have the same issue at our theatre. There is no smoking allowed anywhere in the building. We've gotten by on the fake cigarettes quite well and it hasn't been that big of a deal for us. Our directors and actors seem to be able to come up with ways to mask or minimize the "fakiness" of it. ------------- BD 
"Dying is easy, comedy is hard." |
Posted By: teridtiger
Date Posted: 5/07/07 at 10:58am
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The state of California has banned smoking inside public buildings for many years now, and we still continue to do shows with smoking on stage (i.e., "The Graduate").
We notify our local fire department that we will be doing a show with live flame on stage (we also have to do this when we have fire on stage as well - i.e., "The Laramie Project" with its many lit candles). The fire department schedules an inspection to make sure all our fire extinguishers are up to date and in working order, we place buckets of sand off stage at each wing, and the Stage Manager is responsible for making sure everyone in the cast and crew know how to operate the fire extinguishers and the placement of all sand buckets.
That's the safety part. Now for all the many issues people have with second-hand smoke....
We purchase herbal cigarettes for the actors to smoke - they also smell a lot better than regular cigarettes, so patrons can also tell immediately that it's not a tobacco cigarette. We post a large sign in the lobby stating that "non-carcenogenic herbal cigarettes" will be smoked on stage during the production, and we place the same disclaimer in all our programs. We also make the same concessions for strobe light usage and gun shot (or other loud) sound effects. Of course, we try and keep the smoking to a minimum.
To the best of my knowledge, we have only had one patron complaint. During "Dancing at Lughnasa", I played Maggie - who smokes. One of the sisters in the show says, "It's those damned cigarettes that are gonna kill ya." And one older lady in the front row said - very loudly - "They're killing me too!"
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Posted By: POB14
Date Posted: 5/07/07 at 2:48pm
From http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/illinois/chi-ap-il-smokingban-chicag,1,3477296.story?coll=chi-newsap_il-hed - yesterday's Chicago Tribune :
------------- POB Old Bugger, Curmudgeon, and Antisocial B**tard |
Posted By: red diva
Date Posted: 5/07/07 at 6:10pm
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Posted by Kurt Muller:
Eve, the way I see it, it's not really that much of a problem. If a play stands or falls on whether or not one of the characters smokes, then it ain't much of a play, (and probably doesn't deserve to be shown, imo).
I mean, how many plays do you know that totally rely on a smoking character for their success?
Well, there are quite a few plays which are well worth doing in which cigarette smoking is an important or necessary plot or character device. I cite Dr. Livingstone in "Agnes of God", who chain smokes as an obsession in the first act until she starts obsessing about Agnes in the second act.
But, yes, we did use herbal cigarettes and it worked just fine.
------------- "I've worked long and hard to earn the right to be called Diva!" |
Posted By: Linda S
Date Posted: 5/08/07 at 5:26pm
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I am using fake cigarettes on stage right now. I got them from Theatre House http://www.theatrehouse.net/ - http://www.theatrehouse.net/ . They are the most realistic that I have found. They puff smoke and the ends glow. From 10 feet you can't tell the difference. The problem is the cigarette never gets any smaller. Like BMD said, you can find a way to make it less obvious. It is working for me. Linda
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Posted By: biggertigger
Date Posted: 5/08/07 at 8:08pm
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One of the most creative ways I got away with smoking on stage, during a scene a charactor asks for a cigarette, since the actor didn't smoke and was hell bent on not smoking (even herbal), I used some cleaver stagging. She asks for the cigarette, few lines before she receives it, then she does, she has no lighter, few lines later she receives lighter, then throughout the final lines she attempts to light the cigarette, but has lines everytime she goes to light it. Never added lines or subtracted lines. Kept with the script and it looked natural for her to old the cigarette and wait as she speaks never having a chance to light up before the black out. As it has been said, think outside of the box and use creative staging. But yes, there are scripts that call for smoking and you have little way around situation. Only your group can decide what is the right decision to do with it.
Good luck. ------------- The two greatest days in a theater persons life, the day you start a new show and the day the damn thing closes. |
Posted By: Kurt Muller
Date Posted: 5/11/07 at 4:10am
Well, Red, I stand corrected. That's one.
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Posted By: whitebat
Date Posted: 8/13/07 at 12:52am
| Colorado has such a tight smoking ban, they don't even want herbal cigs used onstage. I think they may have closed a show in some larger town (Denver? Boulder?). It hasn't come up yet for us, character who requested cig didn't smoke it, just handled it. Basically the Colorado ban applies to any substance packaged for smoking, which apparently includes roll your own. I'm thinking there's a few plays you pretty much couldn't do with such tight restrictions. |
Posted By: Topper
Date Posted: 8/13/07 at 10:57pm
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As far as I know: murder, rape, incest, adultery, and assault are also illegal in many municipalities yet actors continue to exhibit these behaviors onstage without any interference from law enforcement authorities.
I'm not a smoker, and I detest the use of tobacco products, but I'm pretty sure the theater will soon be the ONLY place where people can watch others smoke in public. ------------- "None of us really grow up. All we ever do is learn how to behave in public." -- Keith Johnstone |
Posted By: Gaafa
Date Posted: 8/14/07 at 2:16am
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We have had smoking restrictions in theatre auditoriums & public
assembly areas from way back in the 1900's. Which was extended to include pubs, all
buildings & public transport systems, about 7 years ago. Yet there is still fags smoked on stage at pro venues, when it is part of the script. But not allowed in venues used by amatuer theatre. Actualy the strangest breach of the smoking ban, where smoking took place on a stage, was for the production of 'Steaming'. Although it was sponsored by Healthways 'Smoke free zone', quite a few fags were devoured during it? Yet the government department never turned a hair & chose to ignore it, but still fronted up the sponsorship money. {maybe the punters never noticed & were distracted. As they were smoked by naked women in the show.] To my mind substituting herbal fags is stll smoking the same as tabacco - which is a herb the same as any 'puff'n stuff or wacky weed'. As suggested there is ways & means of simulating smoking, without lighting up. ------------- Joe Western Gondawandaland turn right @ Perth. Hear the light & see the sound. Toi Toi Toi Chookas {{"chook [chicken] it is"} May you always play to a full house} |
Posted By: jayzehr
Date Posted: 8/14/07 at 11:52am
| Another example is the Odd Couple which repeatedly refers to the smoking and how smoky it is in the apartment. We tried using hebal cigarettes but frankly they smelled as bad as tobacco, at least to my nose. |
Posted By: Nyria
Date Posted: 2/10/08 at 1:46pm
But they don't ACTUALLY rape or murder on stage - where as here we are talking abouit actually smoking on stage KWIM?
We getting around the smoking in grease by - everytime an actor goes to smoke he takes out the smoke and then gets so involved with what's going on that he 'forgets' to start smoking. LOL - it;s the best we can do right now ;)
(in the Sandy trying the smoke scene we use a fake on though) ------------- NYRIA |
Posted By: JoeMc
Date Posted: 2/10/08 at 2:35pm
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Here the Act prohibits a person smoking any substance in a public place.
Tobacco is a herb anyway, so where is the logic of substituting with herbal puff 'n stuff?
I wonder if it will be extended one day to include smoke machines? ------------- [western] Gondawandaland "Hear the light & see the sound! TOI TOI CHOOKAS {may you always play to a full house!} |