[NEohioPAL]Fog/Smoke in shows (was: Smoking Ban in Public)

[Richard B. Ingraham]

OK, before we all stop going to see shows with any fog or smoke effects
in them, please be aware that there has a been a ton of research done on
this very subject over the last 15+ years now.

An excellent article for those that are interested:
http://livedesignonline.com/mag/show_business_fog_safety_concern/index.h
tml


Frankly, in my not so humble opinion it is all psychosomatic.  People
see smoke and automatically feel that they need to cough.  I can not
tell you how many shows I've done where people start coughing when they
see dry ice fog.  Sorry folks.... that is just water vapor by the time
it gets to the end of the hose of the machine that creates it.  It won't
make you cough, even if you have asthma.  :-)

Actors Equity and other performer's unions have had a lot of concern
over the use of fog in shows for years now, and frankly I don't blame
them.  If you are a professional doing 8 shows a week with a lot of that
stuff, it's only right to be concerned.  But there have been numerous
studies now, by organizations independent of both the performer's unions
and the manufacturers of these devices, and to the best of my knowledge
not a single study has shown any serious ill effects caused by fog/smoke
machines.  It's worth noting that the one study that is mentioned in the
article I linked to above had not released it's finding at the time that
article was written.  But they now have, and if my memory serves they
also found no evidence of long term ill effects.

I guess the effect of a dryness of the throat could make some folks who
are more sensitive cough, but I still stand by my feelings that it's
mostly just psychosomatic.

A crazy friend of mine (and I don't recommend this!) in my college days,
just to prove a point took a fog machine and blasted it straight into
his face.  He was literally only 1 or 2 feet away from the nozzle on the
machine.  It didn't make him cough.  :-)

Now I would say that's a bit extreme and frankly just stupid.  But he
did prove a point. 

Some of the products do have an odor and that can irritate some people.
But that is really about it.

It's also worth noting that there have been a lot of new products made
in the past 15 years or so now.  So how annoying a smoke effect is can
also have a lot to do with how old the equipment the theatre is using.
A lot of the older products are no longer allowed in theatres where
there is a formal agreement with Actor's Equity.  (also talked about a
bit in the above article)

Maybe it's just because I was a server in a Roman Catholic church until
I was 25, and you learn not to cough when you get a face full on
incense.  :-)

Richard B. Ingraham
RBI Computers and Audio
http://www.rbicompaudio.20m.com/
rbI at rbicompaudio.20m.com

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