Author Topic: PROPS: No Smoking in Denver  (Read 15978 times)

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ddsherrer

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Re: No Smoking in Denver
« Reply #15 on: Feb 24, 2008, 06:14 pm »
Hal Holbrook is one of the nicest men I have ever met, but I don't want to see his reaction to not having his cigar.  As a non-smoker myself, I'm all about smoking bans in public places.  However, there are ALWAYS exceptions to the rules and I think that at a theatre should be one.  They say one person can change the world.  Let's see how far we get...
If all the world's a stage, where's my stage manager?

smejs

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Re: No Smoking in Denver
« Reply #16 on: Feb 24, 2008, 06:26 pm »
By the way, here's what was in Sunday's paper:

Theatres take ban back to court
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_8267018

Quote
Assistant attorney general Lisa Brenner Freimann bordered on condescension as she mocked the theaters' argument that smoking on a stage is an inherently expressive act protected by the First Amendment.

"You simply cannot make unprotected conduct protected by dumping it into a theater context," Freimann said.

There you have it. Theater, to the state: dumping ground for all manner of illicit and immoral behavior.

Freimann actually predicted a performance exception for smoking would inevitably lead to exceptions for underage drinking and firing real guns. Among the many flaws in her logic: If a play calls for underage (or of-age) drinking, the actor drinks colored water. If a character fires a gun, it fires blanks. And if a character lights up, it's not a real cigarette.

Because you know, all my actors love to get tanked on the prop alcohol...

Also, I can find no record of it online, but the word around town is that there can't be ANYTHING that LOOKS like smoke, not even those "blow-out" types of cigarettes - that the rationale is any kind of particle in the air could affect asthmatics, etc.  My boyfriend thought he'd heard you couldn't even hold one in your hand, lit or unlit.  Still trying to track all that down. 

Erin

smejs

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Re: No Smoking in Denver
« Reply #17 on: Mar 02, 2008, 12:11 pm »
Quote
Also, I can find no record of it online, but the word around town is that there can't be ANYTHING that LOOKS like smoke, not even those "blow-out" types of cigarettes - that the rationale is any kind of particle in the air could affect asthmatics, etc.  My boyfriend thought he'd heard you couldn't even hold one in your hand, lit or unlit.  Still trying to track all that down.

Okay, so the law is about not actually LIGHTING anything with intent to smoke.  You CAN walk around with a cigar or cigarette, unlit.  Or you could use the kind that blow out rather than are sucked in.

Hal Holbrook changed some of his show to include more of Mark Twain's thoughts on smoking, etc, and all got great response from the audience.  And at the top of act two, just before he entered there was a puff of smoke from theatrical fogger (through a paper bag "pounce" at the right height) and then he entered.  To GREAT applause.

Erin

Automaticftp

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Re: No Smoking in Denver
« Reply #18 on: Mar 03, 2008, 02:06 am »
Erin--

You missed the rather spirited exchange I had with John Moore on that Sunday "column."   ;D

Bob

ljh007

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Re: No Smoking in Denver
« Reply #19 on: Mar 20, 2008, 10:26 pm »
Smoking is still banned in Denver. Here's a NYTimes article on the unanimous ruling from the Court of Appeals:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/21/us/21smoke.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

nmno

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No Smoking in Chicago
« Reply #20 on: Jul 09, 2008, 12:29 am »

smejs

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Re: No Smoking in Denver
« Reply #21 on: Jul 09, 2008, 10:57 am »
And Jersey Boys will be playing Denver in December...wonder if they'll go for the "Chicago version" while on tour.

Trinity

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Re: No Smoking in Denver
« Reply #22 on: Jul 09, 2008, 03:12 pm »
Ontario is going smoke free as well.  Sudbury, ON you have to be outside and a certain distance away from All doors to a building or you can be fined.  So smoking on stage is a definite No.  Toronto is worse about smoking on stage.  You can't even have a bare flame - so lighting a match or lighter to "pretend" to light a fake cigarette isn't allowed. I heard through my college special effects teacher there was a show that was either put on hold or cancelled because they tried to use a fake cigarette.  There's apparently a fairly decent fake cigarette out there... but it's hard to get a hold of.  My teacher apparently stocks up on it whenever he can, and freezes them.  I should contact him and figure out what kind it was.

kokobear

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Re: No Smoking in Denver
« Reply #23 on: Jul 09, 2008, 11:23 pm »
What makes me chuckle is that people think that the theater is a healthy environment to begin with!

If one stops to consider the dust that constantly permeates a performance space contains the remnants of every speck of wood dust, metal dust, foam, paint, and carpet scrap.  Not to mention the fumes from acetone, paint thinner, spray paint, hair spray, ammonia and other nasty chemicals.  Plus a consistently darkened space allows mold spores to thrive.  Just try slapping a seat in the front row of your theatre and see what flies out of it!

If people are THAT sensitive, perhaps they need to travel everywhere in a plastic bubble.  Most people ingest more carcinogens during the drive to the theatre, than from the limited exposure of sitting 20 feet away in a ventilated room, frequently with 20+ foot ceilings.

BalletPSM

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Re: No Smoking in Denver
« Reply #24 on: Jul 12, 2008, 08:58 am »
Hear hear, kokobear! 

This whole situation seems to be getting a little out of control!  I've wondered when it's going to go a little too far...

For example, my city passed a law about a year ago that completely nude strip clubs are illegal -- female strippers must have at least "pasties" on top and both male and female strippers must have something on the bottom.  Doesn't matter if there's no alcohol -- no complete nudity whatsoever is allowed.

Will they extend this law into the theatres? And isn't that dangerously toeing the line of censorship?
Stage managing is getting to do everything your mom told you not to do - read in the dark, sit too close to the TV, and play with the light switches!