[NEohioPAL]Smoking Ban in Public

[TONY BROWN]

actors and other performers are asked to make many sacrifices. chevy chase =
and jerry lewis have suffered damage to their bodies from taking pratfalls.=
 ballet dancers, from an early age, contort their bodies into unnatural =
postures. opera singers risk their vocal chords with demanding scores. =
smoking a cigarette, or an herbal cigarette, onstage once a night (or =
twice on matinee days) hardly constitute a life-threatening undertaking, =
unlike using a loaded gun or an unbuttoned epee. as for obscenity and =
nudity on stage, plenty of right-wing nut-cases who believe that they are =
unhealthy, possibly even enough so as to cause eternal damnation.

at any rate, the first ammendment is likely to prevail here.

tony =20

>>> "" <bobbywms1 at excite.com> 4/15/2007 3:44 PM >>>


Mr. Brown, From my perspective as a member of the Cleveland theater =
community for almost two decades as well as a former health care profession=
al, I find the comparison of the smoking ban in public places, to attempts =
to censor language and nudity onstage almost laughable. Language and =
nudity do not constitute a public health hazard, while the dangers of =
smoking and second-hand smoke are well documented. I wonder, would any of =
the directors mentioned in your article ask an actor to take a loaded gun =
on stage? Or stage a fight with sharpened/pointed swords or knives? Of =
course not. According to the Center for Disease Control smoking related =
illnesses killed 10 times more Americans than guns in 2006. Not only is =
the ban now the law, it is also the will of the people, many of whom =
patronize our theaters. I've been involved in numerous productions where =
lines were cut/edited or situations adapted because of length, time, or =
whatever need the director felt had to be met. Why is=20
this different? Change is an inevitable part of life. Our challenge as =
artists is to embrace the changes and to adapt.Compared to the welfare of =
actors and audiences, what should our priority be? After all...it is just =
a play.  Very truly yours, Robert J. Williams

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