<p>Maybe it’s not so much an issue with MT performers, but for straight actors, it is an unfortunate fact that most of us will end up being cast in roles that require smoking from time-to-time. The addiction to nicotine, like any addiction, plays a fairly big part in the makeup of a character, so it pays to at least have closely observed smokers’ behavior in regard to their cherished stinky nastiness. Fortunately, you don’t necessarily have to take up the habit to get it right. I’ve run into this before and got a carton of Smoke Free Non-Nicotine Cigarettes for use in such scenes. They’re still nasty and can’t be good for your voice, but at least they’re not addictive. They aren’t even tobacco, but are made of cocoa beans instead. I’ve actually been working with a grad student on his directing scene which requires my character to smoke and have been using them. Just something to think about before the time comes that you might have to smoke or not get cast.</p>
<p>Magic shops also have “trick” fake cigarettes that look very authentic and actually emit some “smoke.” My D was in a production of “Gypsy” with an older guy who played Herbie and used them on stage for every performance. They were quite convincing looking.
Re: smoking on stage. I recently heard an experience director say that he seldom, if ever, has characters smoke on stage anymore unless it is absolutely, positively crucial to the show and character, because smoking takes audience members “out” of their suspension of disbelief when they attend the theater. His theory is that the tide of public opinion has turned so much against smoking that if audience members see a character light up on stage, they begin to think “Will I be exposed to second hand smoke? Will I smell it? etc.” and that that kind of self conciousness in audience members snaps them back to the here and now, rather than keeping them in the “now” of the play’s reality. I found that interesting.
L</p>
<p>NotMamma , thanks for your concern, yes I’ve tried hypnosis, twice and gum and patches and hopital programs and even electro shock, it sounds ridiculous, I know, but I guess I’m one of those with the chemistry that makes breaking away super difficult, for that reason I am pretty much a tea-totaler in the rest of my life. There is a new medication comming out of France that is going through FDA testing right now, I have high hopes. And yes I think actors should not smoke on stage. Say the actor or the role is a “cool” person, I think young people can be swayed if they think it will make them look or feel “cool”,
that is certainly the reason I started when I was a teen.</p>
<p>I commend everyone’s children for refusing to follow the crowd and take up such a dangerous, disgusting and, let’s face it, annoying habit. </p>
<p>Unfortunately in the high school and college setting peer pressure is still a big cause of kids starting smoking. However I think that nowadays alcohol is becoming the big “peer pressure” activity. And even though many schools, at least where I’m from, have a strict no alcohol policy there are still many drinking parties and underage drinking. I think having a dry campus makes the problem even worse. When a local newspaper had to do a front page article on the “Thirsty Thursdays” at a school I used to attend over very prominent political news, then you know there’s something wrong. I think that the schools really need to start cracking down on these policies they have written up. When campus and local police will break up a party, even though they know a good half of the people are underage, action won’t be taken. It’s like they don’t want to have to bother with the paperwork or something. It’s the reason why a lot of illegal alcohol, as well as drug use, continues to go on.</p>
<p>Sorry for that rant there, it’s just a subject that really bothers me because I have a friend who is into that whole party scene (smoking, drinking, pot, etc) out of peer pressure. And she really thinks that these people are her friends and I know that one day she is going to get hit hard by reality and then it might be too late. It’s just a shame how kids today are so swayed by wanting to fit in, at any cost.</p>
<p>srw- Don’t give up. I once heard a statistic about those who manage to quit, and most had to try quitting at least 3 times for it to stick. I think it’s great that you want to give it another shot.</p>
<p>So the medical scoop relating to vocal folds is:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Smoking FRIES your vocal folds - it’s the DRY HEAT that really does damage directly to the folds (as you inhale and the smoke passes directly through your folds) in addition to the chemicals in ANY type of cigarette (herbal, etc.)</p></li>
<li><p>People who smoke when they are young and are “unaffected” WILL be affected in later years - we all know what long-time smokers sound like as speakers! There may be VERY infrequent exceptions to this - but they are VERY rare. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>I quote from my fave Voice Center’s website:
Smoking
The chemicals and heat of first- or even second-hand smoke irritate the entire lining of the throat, including the vocal cords. Long-term exposure to cigarette and/or cigar smoke causes changes to the vocal cords. The vocal cords become enlarged due to swelling. This swelling is from an accumulation of fluid inside the vocal cord, which causes the voice to become rougher and less reliable.</p>
<p><a href=“Voice Center Services| UPMC”>http://voicecenter.upmc.com/LifestyleDiet.htm</a></p>
<p>And of course there are the terrible cancer risks, addiction, etc. - but NotMamaRose’s D said it best with her analogy of leaving a violin out in the rain. THERE’S a smart young performer!!!</p>
<p>SRW: My mother died of lung cancer at age 62 and it was a sad, painful death. My father had serious lung disease which certainly contributed to his death. Both were heavy smokers who started when they were in their teens. Through the years I have occasionally gotten someone to stop just with the plea that you don’t want your kid to see this happen to you. So keep trying.</p>
<p>Yes, srw, keep trying. I KNOW you can do it. You just have to find the right approach. There is too much at stake to give up. I know: my mom, who started smoking as a teenager to be “cool” (and to be fair, back then no one knew the risks and smoking was even promoted as being health enhancing, as crazy as that sounds to us now!) died last year of cancer. My father, who also was a heavy smoker and began in his teens but quit about 13 years ago, has had cancer twice: prostate (not necessarily related to smoking, though they say the jury is out on that) and in his larynx, which <em>was</em> related to smoking.
I do think, though, that people underestimate how tough it is to quit. Your brain is just so accustomed to having those chemicals.
Have you tried Welbutrin? I know that has worked for some people. (My guess is that you have left no stone unturned, so the answer is “yes.”)
We’re on your side.
L</p>
<p>Thank you all for your support and I am DEFINATELY gearing up to try again.</p>
<p>I’m glad to see the anti-smoking support of everyone on here, especially srw (and I’m sure you’ll find some way to quit). It’s pretty upsetting to me to realize that a lot of people find nothing wrong with smoking. I hate the smell of smoke, and even the idea seems disgusting to me. And you’re filling your body with all that gunk; fiberglass cutting into your bloodstream. That’s just sooo gross. But for all the kids who don’t smoke, I think the best thing we can all do (besides never trying it in the first place) is to spread the word and make sure other people don’t smoke. Don’t let youself be surrounded by all that. It is sad to know that so many people smoke in the theatre, but I feel like if I’m annoying as possible to smokers and tell them (random strangers) not to smoke, I’m doing my part. Plus, I was in this anti-smoking musical that toured to elementary schools to teach kids the dangers of smoking. Doing stuff like that is really helping out the kids of tomorrow as well. </p>
<p>But now I’m rambling…</p>
<p>be a star I aplaud your efforts to encourage young people (kids) to not smoke! Most of the time if someone can get through their teen years and not smoke, they probably will never start. Although on this thread there’s some scary stuff about theater kids starting up in college or in professional settings.</p>
<p>As a sad addendum to this thread, I wanted to mention the sad passing of Dana Reeve. Although she was not a smoker, she was a wonderfully talented singer/actor and she loved musical theatre so I thought it appropriate to acknowledge her passing here. When I heard this morning, a piece of my heart broke. I’ve seen Dana onstage on a few occasions and had met her a few other times at various functions. She was a wonderful woman, wife, mother, activist, and actor. I grieve for Will. No 13 year old boy should have to go through what that poor child has.</p>
<p>Well put Alwaysamom. The Reeves lived in my county (Westchester), so there was extra interest locally in this sad story. She has done many public events in our area.</p>
<p>I had never met her, but I felt so bad when I heard about it. I mean, she basically cared for an invalid for the last 10 or so healthy years of her own life, and then that was cut short! She had so much strength and courage. How sad that she and her family had to deal with more than their share of tragedy.</p>
<p>Everyone I have listened to on TV comments on how Dana never wallowed in her tragedies. Paula Zahn stated this afternoon that whenever Dana was thrown a curve ball she simply chose to deal with it. She always knew that there was a lesson to be learned or cause to be championed. We should all take a page from Dana Reeve’s playbook. What a woman!</p>
<p>SUE aka 5pants</p>
<p>Julie Andrews lost her voice because the doctor that operated on her throat cut into her vocal chords. Please make sure you have your facts straight.</p>
<p>Why did she have to have surgery at all?</p>
<p>NMR- I believe that Julie Andrews had throat nodules.</p>
<p>SUE</p>
<p>Wow! It’s great to see such passion voiced against smoking! My daughter has concluded from her MT smoker aquaintences that smoking is primarily done to keep weight under control, (for the post adolescent smokers). It supresses the appetite, and satisfies like a big Chocolate milkshake. Most of these smokers are filled with guilt over it and are always struggling and wanting to to give it up. </p>
<p>The draw to be thin is powerful and dancers are especially vulnerable. If you look at all the old movie stars, they were so thin, and they all smoked, at a time when it wasn’t known to be harmful. Audrey Hepburn would look a lot different back then if she didn’t smoke 4 packs a day! It is a very sick standard that Hollywood has set. Here’s to exercise and promoting healthy normal sized bodies!!!</p>
<p>I wasn’t aware that Audrey Hepburn smoked four packs a day, but I was aware (or read, I should say!) that she went without food quite a bit during her childhood and adolescence in EUrope (Netherlands or Belgium, not sure and can’t take the time to look it up), which she also claimed kept her small. Though stars such as Hepburn (and the other Hepburn, Katharine!) certainly were thin as rails, many other, earlier movie stars weren’t. Marilyn Monroe, for instance, was reputedly a size 12. Watch the movie version of “42nd Street” and you will immediately note how much fleshier the women were, including the dancers in the Busby Berklee numbers. Monroe, Lana Turner and other stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age were, in general, much fleshier than the stars of today are.</p>