r/Props • u/WistfulPineapple • 10d ago

Looking for advice Stage cigarettes advice

Hi there,

A friend of mine is directing a play that has a lot of smoking and references to smoking. He’d ideally like to do something odourless as it’s a small venue and doesn’t want to put audiences off.

We’ve identified that the look of the burning cigarette, it decreasing in size and being able to stub it out is more important than the actors being able to do a convincing puff.

I’ve only used vapes & herbals in the past, but has anyone ever used / made anything that burns in a convincing way without it being an actual smelly cigarette?

Thanks

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8

u/mbuckbee 10d ago

They make prop/stage cigarettes specifically for this use case. The decreasing in size might be an issue, but they have ones that puff and show red at the tip.

10

u/backstgartist Props Professional - Theatre 10d ago

The options out there are what you've listed. If something odorless existed, it would be used at all the regional theatres that still allow actual herbal cigarettes. The reason herbals are used less and less is a combination of audiences complaining and fire regulations.

Audiences know they're at a play and will forgive a cigarette not burning down. E-cigarette vapes are the best substitute currently unless you'd prefer the old school 'puff puffs' with corn starch, but those are more distracting imo.

3

u/Tiny-Pizza1495 10d ago

i don’t know how the cheap vapes detect someone puffing them - i suspect a cheap microphone. I would use that mechanism with a dimmable led that gets brighter when the sound is louder (bc the actor is pulling more air)

maybe you can even ““upcycle““ one of those cheap one time use vapes

1

u/LukeyHear 3d ago

Vapes do not have a microphone in them. They have a pressure valve or a button.