First off I'd just like to mention how nice it is to read
introductions from new members. So much so, that it would be nice for
older members who have spent months to years in lurkerdom to perhaps
make their presence felt in the same manner once in a while too.
Anyhow, a story caught my eye today which I felt was fairly relevent
to list members and I wondered what your responses to it might be,
and indeed what your experience with Fog machines was also. I
remember using one in my student days, but luckily only as a stage
manager, not as a singer for that production. It affected my
breathing, brought on mild asthma actually, and quite a few cast
members had some harsh words to say about it too, but the director
and our teachers were pretty scathing and told us all off after one
singer complained, telling us to "grow up and act like
professionals". Having seen it used to good and bad effect in
productions over the years, I wondered if our "betters" had been
correct in their harshness, or whether one of music theatre and
Operas big snow jobs, as it were, has indeed been the (mis-)use of
fog machines around singers.
What's YOUR experience? Any medical evidence for or against?
(I don't care WHAT the findings of the health and safety people are,
if it legitimately affects a majority of singers then there is a case
to be answered as to whether it's a good idea to use them in Opera
productions.)
As for this one particular singer, I'm not convinced all her problems
are due to the use of a fog machine, I just thought the article was a
good starting point for some discussion about them in general.
[QUOTE]
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?
tmpl=story&ncid=573&e=6&cid=573&u=/nm/20021206/od_nm/arts_turner_d
FAKE FOG FELLS OPERA SINGER?
Fri Dec 6,10:12 AM ET
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A San Francisco singer has sued her opera
company over fake fog used in performances, alleging the mist made
her sick with asthma and prevented her from hitting the right notes,
her lawyer said on Thursday.
The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court, is the latest
twist in a fight between the city's opera and several singers who
claim the fake fog is damaging their health.
"The respiratory problems are having an affect on how she sings
because it has affected her breathing," Michael Papuc, the lawyer for
singer Alexandra Nehra, said. "When she is sick she can't sing."
The recently-filed lawsuit comes as the San Francisco Board of
Supervisors also held a hearing on Thursday to review complaints from
others who say they were felled by the fake fog.
Nehra's lawsuit accuses the San Francisco Opera Association, Rosco
Laboratories Inc. -- the world's biggest maker of fake fog machines --
and other manufacturers of fraud and negligence for knowing about
the health risks but doing nothing to address it.
A spokesman for Rosco Laboratories said his company's faux fog
machines were safe but declined further comment. A representative
from the San Francisco Opera Association also declined to comment.
Papuc said his client, a chorus member for 17 years, first became ill
in 1999 in the middle of a performance when she had an attack as the
fog machines churned out mist. Since then Nehra has had breathing
problems and migraine headaches, Papuc said.
He added his client, whose lawsuit seeks an order to force the opera
house to stop using the fog machines and an undetermined amount in
monetary damages, had to take a year off work to recuperate.
"She had an attack while singing when they were using these fog
machines," Papuc said. "She was coughing up this black residue."
Performers nationwide have long complained about fake fog. A 1995
study commissioned by the Actors' Equity Association, for example,
found that fog-exposed performers were much more likely to report
respiratory problems.
But another survey, conducted by the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health in 1994, found no evidence that the
fake fog caused asthma.
[End QUOTE]
Surely the fog machines can't be blamed for her coughing up BLACK
RESIDUE can they??
Michelle
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