SAFETY: Food allergies in rehearsal

[BeccaTheSM]

saerie, I appreciate the need for a little something for yourself in the kit, but I've run into far too many peanut-allergy actors/designers/directors. While I am always PRO your-chocolate-is-in-my-peanut-butter, I've had to keep that stock at home. My chocolate choice in public is Lindt's Dark Chocolate with a hint of Sea Salt. Still the same kind of sweet/salty combo, but does not run the airborne allergen risk.

Moderator note: this post has been split from the topic:  "[FAQ] - what goes inside a SM kit?" - kmc307
Edited added tag to subject line-Rebbe

[Maribeth]

I have to say, I've never had a a problem with people having peanut allergies triggered by airborne causes. I think it's ok to eat peanut m&ms in public - if one of the actors or designers has a peanut allergy, I'm sure they won't eat them. If they can't be anywhere near peanut butter for fear of airborne allergies, they should inform people themselves.

Just my 2 cents.

[BeccaTheSM]

I think I've just worked with enough airborne peanut allergies that it has just become second nature to think about peanuts.

[Maribeth]

Allergies are definitely something to consider- if an actor told me they had a _____ allergy and couldn't be near peanuts/bananas/fill in the blank, it totally makes sense to keep that food out of rehearsal. But there are any number of things that people are allergic to, and without knowing that someone has a specific allergy, I don't think the burden of responsibility is on me to keep that food out of the room.

If I was working with kids (who may not be old enough to know about an allergy like that), I might feel differently. (Although, in my experience, kids at almost any age know if they have been diagnosed with a food allergy).

If there is food in the show, it's my responsibility to ask the actors if they have any allergies.

[On_Headset]

I have to say, I've never had a a problem with people having peanut allergies triggered by airborne causes. I think it's ok to eat peanut m&ms in public - if one of the actors or designers has a peanut allergy, I'm sure they won't eat them. If they can't be anywhere near peanut butter for fear of airborne allergies, they should inform people themselves.

Just my 2 cents.

We might consider that, of the common allergens, peanuts and shellfish are probably the two "worst" in terms of causing an immediate reaction. (Some people only have to get a whiff of peanuts from several feet away and they start showing symptoms.) Shellfish is "easier" insofar as, f'ristance, you never sit down on a bus and have the person next to you whip out a bucket of mussels and start shucking away, but peanut allergies are actually pretty serious business. (So much so that, by the time the person is in a position to inform you themselves, you might already need to be rooting around for an epi-pen.)

The obvious solution is to include allergen information on your contact cards. (Name, Address, Home Number, Cell Number, Emergency Contact, Allergens.)

[KBowman]

I am actually dealing with an actor who is seriously allergic to citrus.  It was even triggered by airborne causes like if someone peeled an orange around her.  It was never really a problem because we banned citrus from rehearsal, until someone from the costume shop didn't read my email to them and sprayed a citrus air freshener in the green room.  Needless to say, Benadryl is a SM's best friend and I always keep a supply in my kit.

[BeccaTheSM]

I went to a camp where a lot of "peanut-kids" attended, so the camp was declared a peanut-free camp. Also, a girl in school with me was nut-allergic, so I got used to it.

I also, just today, received a text about 2 hours prior to call that one of the kids in my show tonight had accidentally ate chocolate containing nuts. He went to the hospital, and we had to rehearse a replacement for him before the show started.

I don't know - it's a simple enough solution to just not have peanuts around. Just in case.

But I do understand the idea of asking before assuming.

[Rebbe]

I tend to agree with Maribeth.  I ask about allergies on a first rehearsal actor info sheet, and would share the info or take precautions as necessary (with the actors’ permission).  I’ve never had an actor with a serious enough food allergy that no one could eat a certain item in rehearsal.  It has been more of an issue of avoiding it for edible props and not offering it to them in their birthday cake!  Perhaps with child actors it makes sense to request serious allergy info before rehearsals start.   

[Cedes]

I've had actors that have had a myriad of serious allergies, peanuts being the most common.  I had one that was allergic to grapes once! (I about died, I love grapes) So, I always double check for any food allergy, and make it very clear to everyone what is allowed and what isn't because of safety. 

[b3m4s]

I actually ran into this situation last year. The other ASM on a show I was doing said she had a nut allergy but said it had been a long time since she had had a reaction, so it was not really a dire situation. One day I was in rehearsal, eating trail mix with peanuts and while we were having a conversation she felt her throat starting to react, she couldn't talk for two days. We also realized that anything that nuts touched could be a potential problem so me and the SM cleaned the tables that nuts had been on before she could touch them.

[MysterySM]

I've never met anyone with so serious an allergy that it is caused by airborne things, so until reading this thread I had completely forgotten about that possibility! But  I agree that it's just easiest to have everyone write down their allergies ( even if they don't think they'll run into that thing!) at the first Read-through/ rehearsal. It's just easier to purge your stash/ inform cast and crew if you make a point of asking them.

[MatthewShiner]

Most adults (and even working children) will come to the stage manager if they have a serious allergy and mention it.  I have to admit in my 22 years of doing this professionally, I have never had to ban a food item from rehearsal.

[babens]

I have had to ban nut products from a rehearsal in grad school as the guest director was highly allergic.  However, she made it well known going in that she had this allergy from the first day of pre-production.  Like Matthew said, I tend to believe that an adult with a severe allergy is well-versed in letting the people they work with know about it at the start of the process, as do the parents of children with any allergies.  There does reach a point where we have to expect that grown adults will take personal responsibility. 

[Jonas_A]

Interestingly there's been very little mention of what to do when allergic cast have a reaction... When you deal with allergic cast (of any age), do you know where they keep their epi-pen/ana-pen while in the theatre? Do you (or first aid) keep a spare handy? Of course it's much better if they take care of themselves, but given the speed of some anaphylactic reactions it's better to be safe than sorry.

(As a person with a severe nut allergy myself, though, I'm inclined to say that the onus does fall on them... but as a SM, I do prefer not having to deal with corpses.  )

[Maribeth]

Interestingly there's been very little mention of what to do when allergic cast have a reaction...

I've called paramedics before when an adult cast member had a severe allergic reaction during a performance. He had his epi-pen with him, but it didn't help quickly enough, and (like Jonas said) better safe than sorry. The actor had eaten something at dinner that he didn't know he was allergic to, but had other allergies and kept an epi-pen on him.

I wasn't the stage manager of the show- I was the venue supervisor, and part of my responsibility was maintaining the safety of the group renting the venue. I helped him administer his epi-pen (I am first-aid certified), called the paramedics, alerted the stage manager (who dealt with covering his absence in the show), and called his family. He was fine, and I hope to never have to do it again.