New Bill Would Ban Smoking on Stage
By:
DULUTH - Actors may need to do what they do best, and simply act as though they are smoking a real cigarette, if one state senator has it her way.
Sen. Barb Goodwin introduced her bill Thursday banning actors from smoking as part of a theatrical production.
It is currently one of the rare exceptions to a state-wide ban on smoking indoors in public spaces.
One local playhouse said a ban will not affect them because they have not used tobacco cigarettes for several years.
“A performing artist myself, it wouldn’t make a big difference if it was nicotine. Maybe some actors would feel otherwise, but I do think that respect and consideration is important for everyone else that might be subject to it,” Christine Gradl Seitz, executive and artistic director for The Duluth Playhouse, said.
Gradl Seitz said she sees both sides of the argument, but The Duluth Playhouse made a collective decision years ago that respect for fellow actors and the audience outweighs the need to light up a real cigarette.
