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Monthly Archives: January 2007

Non Smoking Ordinances vs. Smoking on Stage

Zachary Pincus Roth has written an interesting piece about on-stage smoking in the theatre.

Does the 1st Amendment apply to smoking as a form of “speech”. If the stage directions call for a cigarette, and it's a significant part of a scene, isn't a ban on smoking a ‘prior restraint' on the expression of ideas?

Could this conceivably have a chilling effect, by causing producers to NOT select material that calls for on-stage smoking?

Couldn't it also cause playwrights to self-censor by excluding or altering scenes that involve smoking?

Should government be in the business of dramaturgy?

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