need fake cigarettes for play?

Question

i am doing a play where i have to be smoking, so i was wondering if any of you knew or recommended fake or herbal cigarettes that still look real and blow out smoke. thanks!

Thank you all for your feedback, but in regards to your comment Steven, I am 16, this is a high school production, I am totally against smoking, it is necessary to the part, and I am one of the directors. Thanks for trying to convince me otherwise, but I was just asking that you answer the question not provide your own opinion.

Answer 1

the prop shop SHOULD provide you with fake smokes that can blow out a little (if any at all). If the suspension of disbelief is there, having smoke onstage won't matter.

The only reason I ever put real smoking in a play I directed was because it was a very big moment in the play where the smoke became something they were talking about. But since it was at the very end, the real smoking didn't happen until that scene. And this was in a black box theatre, so people knew they weren't actually smoking during those other scenes. Suspension of disbelief should get you there.

ps. what the hell is up with this steven wolf? you cant just cut segments out of a play! and if the play calls for a cigarette and it's a vital role - you'd better have it in there!

Answer 2

Well, like your other respondent, I'm an ex-smoker, and I'm dead set against it.

HOWEVER, people smoke out there in the world, and the business of smoking is written into hundreds and hundreds of plays. There's no getting around the fact that actors WILL be called upon to smoke from time to time. We're doing a disservice to play and playwright if we take it upon ourselves to edit out any behaviors we find questionable or offensive. I mean, what's next? Noel Coward without martinis? If the director has that big of an issue with the scripted behaviors of the characters, then he or she should have selected a different play.

My advice:

1) If you're actually lighting up and smoking, then you have to actually SMOKE the dang things! The WORST thing of all is that "fake smoking" nonsense where someone takes a little smoke into their mouth (usually puffing out their cheeks in the process), and then puffs it out without ever inhaling. It looks awful. Next to shoddy dialects, nothing is more irritating to an audience than fake smoking.

2) TRY to persuade your director to opt for smoking business using unlit cigarettes. Audiences "get" this immediately, and are very willing to go along with the convention, as long as it is established right off the bat, and consistent throughout.

Actually, try #2 before #1.

Answer 3

With no offense, I assume you're young. Perhaps too young to actually buy cigarettes legally? I'll also assume some poor judgement on the part of the director in having anyone use a cigarette as a prop, Fake or not.

I suspect if I was directly involved I'd have to suggest that segment be re-written, or deleted entirely. That said however, it can be just as effective in the context, to just hold a cigarette, and even put it to your lips, but again I have to ask, WHY?"??

Might there be any youth in any audience who views this production, and if so, what message are you supporting?

I'm not trying to sound Saintly or GODlike, and have been a smoker, but come on, it isn't strictly neccessary to promote it.

Believe me, the audience will get the idea even in the absence of actual "smoke" Sigh.

I'm sure you won't offer this, but I'd very much enjoy knowing who, what, where, when. The directors name, school or program name, possible audience affiliations, etc. NO I'm not a narc, or Censor.

Steven Wolf

Answer 4

While I generally agree with the two above, if you must have smoking in the play, it is possible to get herbal "cigarettes" that aren't harmful at all. They may not smell like real cigarettes, but they certainly look the part. I'm not sure where you are so I don't know where you'd find them, but in California you can find them at pipe shops.