Play Suggestions: Work-around for "smoke" in The Nerd?

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Work-around for "smoke" in The Nerd?

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Category: Producing Theater
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Topic: Work-around for "smoke" in The Nerd?

Posted By: n2drama
Subject: Work-around for "smoke" in The Nerd?
Date Posted: 7/24/08 at 9:21am

Good Morning,

I am directing The Nerd with a teenage cast for our summer youth selection. I'm having a problem with the scene where Rick blows smoke from a cigarette through the hole in the "chimney". None of our youth smoke and I don't want to use fake cigs either. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

N2D

Replies:

Posted By: KEB54
Date Posted: 7/24/08 at 2:52pm

White handkerchief pulled through.

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KEB

Posted By: ahadon
Date Posted: 8/05/08 at 2:00pm

we just did this show last summer with out the cigarettes, I played Axel.... the drunk smoker....lol

we just eliminated the lines that were attached to cigarettes, and the whole smoke thru the chimney thing was easily thwarted for us.. our rick was great he fit the part really well, and no one even noticed that there were to be cigarettes in the play. he just refrenced the hole and said it was for the smoke to come thru.... rather than blowing smoke thru.

its a great choice in show, but watch the whole first 15 minutes... you have a sex joke, and other non descript things that you might want to reword to make them less inuendoed (if thats a word lol)

Have a great show, and break a leg, The Nerd is one of my favorites, keep us posted on how it goes.

Don

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Currently at Bartlett Community Theatre, Bartlett, TN

Technical Director
Set Design

Posted By: n2drama
Date Posted: 8/06/08 at 6:57am

We finished this show this past Saturday (Aug 2) and it was great. Ahadon - we did the same thing you guys did, just eliminated the smoking and references to it. There is enough hysterically funny content that it's not even missed. Even on the last night I was still laughing (especially since I had stuffed Rick's suitcase with 90 pounds of stage weights for the second act). If you like to hear an audience laugh, I highly recommend this show.

Posted By: skoehler
Date Posted: 8/06/08 at 1:21pm

I don't have an answer for you as I have never done the show so do not know how critical the smoke is, but I feel an obligation to warn against the previous two responses. It is illegal and against your performance contract to "eliminate the lines" or to "just eliminated the smoking and references to it". If you wish to make ANY change to a script you must acquire written permission from the publishing company and often the playwright themselves. Some will be accepted with no problem, but you cannot depend on this. Some playwrights (Neil Simon) have been know t shut down high school productions days before opening because they high schools eliminated curse words. Do not take this lightly, the play is a copy wright protected work, and you cannot make changes to it.
I also have to state that I for one fully back these laws, the playwright worked hard to craft the script in just the way they wanted, they and their art should be respected as highly as any.

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Steven Koehler
Managing Director
Civic Theatre of Greater Lafayette
www.lafayettecivic.org

Posted By: ahadon
Date Posted: 8/06/08 at 3:25pm

skoehler is right... make sure to make a reference about this to dramatists... that way you are legally covered... they will tell you that you can or can't do it. I should have mentioned that we did talk to them about it, and had no problem.

again heres to a great show!!

Don

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Currently at Bartlett Community Theatre, Bartlett, TN

Technical Director
Set Design