plays Archives — Thrifty Mommas Tips

Time to Stop Smoking in Movies Now

Paula — Wed, 12 Sep 2018 20:36:39 +0000

I have partnered with YMC and Region of Peel and have received compensation for this post. All opinions are my own. Smoking in movies has been irksome to me for years. It’s so very unnecessary and irresponsible. I am a drama Mom. Both of my girls act and have for years with a local youth theatre troupe. It’s an amazing emotional outlet and youth development program. So I know all about character and plot devices and that smoking has traditionally been used as a character tool, but here’s the thing. It doesn’t have to be. I’ve seen many of the plays my kids act in altered ever so slightly to be more socially responsible, such as through losing old references to outdated and inappropriate language. Smoking in movies is like that to me. It’s outdated and socially inappropriate and even more, irresponsible. The older I get, the more I realize how juvenile using smoking in movies as a tool to convey coolness or rebellion or any of the other emotions attached to it really is. This holds especially true for me since I became a mom and even more relevant as a mom of teenage girls. I have two daughters aged 14 and 17. Right now, they’re fully coming into the age of independence and peer pressure. That’s a dangerous combination. Over the years, I’ve had several conversations with my daughters about smoking. We’ve talked about how dangerous it is. How unhealthy and disgusting it is. We’ve talked about what it can do to you and we have discussed all the people we know who have passed away from cancer. Then we also discussed what it does to your health and to your appearance and how addictive it can be as well as how hard it is to quit if you ever start. Smoking in Movies Perpetuates the Act My motto is honesty with my kids. When my younger daughter asked a few years ago: “Mom did you ever smoke?” I answered honestly with: “Yes, I did for seven years.” But I also often follow that with a discussion about research and science and I remind them knowing all that we know now compels us to do better and make healthier choices. Since having that conversation about smoking, I’ve used myself as a prime example of how ridiculous it is. I started smoking in my early teens. During my teens, movies and media portrayed smoking as being glamorous and a way to stay thin. As a teen girl I bought that hook, line and sinker. When I began working after school at a fast food restaurant, where many other employees smoked, it reinforced that it was okay for me to do so socially. I didn’t stop until I was around 23 or 24. So I smoked for about seven years before deciding to quit. Starting a new career and getting married convinced me it was time. So did a doctor I had at the time. The thing is even though I thought it was cool and relaxing in high school, quitting was anything but cool or easy. Smoking in Movies Needs to Go As a concerned mom, who knows all too well about how difficult it is to break away from smoking once you start, I’m proud to be partnering with YMC and Region of Peel- Public Health to bring awareness to their Smoke Free Movies campaign. The campaign asks parents to support the change by signing an e-petition that would require any new movies in Ontario, which contain tobacco imagery to be rated 18A, allowing parents to decide if their children are exposed to the act of smoking. I love this because evidence strongly suggests this is an effective method of protecting children and youth from exposure to onscreen smoking and is also an incentive for movie producers to remove smoking from their films altogether. That’s important because 86% of movies with smoking in them were rated for kids and teens in Ontario. On top of that, the more kids and teens are exposed to smoking in the movies, the more likely they are to start. Take a look at these statistics: An estimated 185,000 children in Ontario will start smoking due to their exposure to its onscreen use. Of those, 59,000 will die from tobacco related diseases. 37% of Ontario youth smokers are recruited to become smokers due to onscreen smoking. Those are two horrifying statistics for me as a Mom of two beautiful, healthy daughters. There’s no reason for smoking to appear in the movies anymore and if it does it needs to be restricted to those who are 18 plus. Schools work towards making sure kids know that smoking is not a healthy choice. Most parents do too of course. Now it’s time media started getting the message and accepting that they have a greater role in our culture too. Help Make Smoking in Movies a Thing of the Past Smoking is so easy to start, and it’s incredibly difficult to quit. Smoking is one of the most common activities that kids and teens are pressured into taking part in, and it comes at them from many sides. The last thing we need is a movie theater being the prime pusher of these incredibly addictive and deadly products. So What Can You Do? Movies influence kids. We need to make them smoke free. Please, join me in the fight to end smoking in movies. Help support a rating change for all new movies in Ontario and protect our kids from ever starting. Visit the Smoke Free Movies petition page and sign the petition to help us end smoking in movies.

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Shrek The Musical #WordlessWednesday

Paula — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 03:17:19 +0000

This past week we went to see Shrek The Musical at The Grand Theatre in London, Ontario. The Grand is a local asset to the arts scene and it is often very family friendly. Both of our girls enjoy the theatre and always have because we have always taken them to see age appropriate plays. My older daughter has of course also done the local youth theatre group in our town too. The girls have a deep appreciation and admiration and respect for theatre and the arts. In fact, they enjoy theatre as much, or maybe even more, than I do. We are super lucky in this area of Ontario to be centrally located and able to access so many amazing theatre resources. We have only to drive for one hour to get to Stratford Festival Theatre and we have tried to make it there at least once a year. We haven’t always succeeded at that but when we go we are never disappointed. My brother and I used to actually take the train ourselves, back when I was in high school, or a bit older and we would see the plays together. I was lucky to have a sibling who loved arts and culture and wanted to experience that with me as well. Shrek the Musical at the Grand Theatre in downtown London was hilarious and very entertaining. I love being able to enjoy and nurture this love of theatre in my children. Did you see Shrek?

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Fun Tour For Drama Queens and Kings: Stratford Festival Warehouse Tour #travel

Paula — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 17:51:00 +0000

Stunning hats, caps, crowns and bonnets One of the highlights of our summer was a day trip to Stratford, Ontario. Just under one hour from London, Ontario and not too far from Detroit (two and a half hours about) by car, there is a good deal to see and do in the pretty town of Stratford. This theatre town is well known for its lovely scenery, its trademark swans and world class theatrical productions. Since my children both are very dramatic and my eldest acts with Original Kids Theatre Company we were eager to explore the city. This year we did not take in a production, but we did the warehouse tour which runs all summer and until the end of October when the season ends. We did the warehouse tour on a Wednesday morning. It runs just over an hour and costs $8 a person. The price is well worth it and we loved seeing behind the scenes. The tour begins with a small lecture on props and the mechanics of how the stages go together, materials used. For instance pool noodles repainted and positioned just right help to frame a massive mantlepiece for a set. Other materials include tin foil, hangers and plywood. There are over 55,000 costumes inside the warehouse. We learned that one dress can cost from $3,000 to $7,000. There are multiple layers and each costume used from the warehouse is changed in some small way to appear in a new production. The dresses are multi-layer and intricate. Costumes changes can be as fast at seven seconds and each change occurs without the use of velcro. The velcro is too noisy. Instead hook and eye closures are used. The actors and actresses have dressers which speed the process. As a former props lady who helped my daughter’s production of Original Kids Theatre Company Guys ‘N Dolls, I was amazed and flabbergasted at how organized it all is. Every costume is recorded in a computer. Each piece well documented and easy to find. Some of the costumes have been in rotation since 1953. The portion of the tour where the kids or adults get to try a select rack of costumes on. Outside the warehouse – a gigantic and amazing building filled with props and costumes for the Stratford Festival There are other fun little trivia bits about the theatre and its warehouse too. For instance, at the end of the season all of the clothes that were used are drycleaned and preserved locally at a drycleaner that is accustomed to period pieces and delicate work. Pure Russian vodka is used to draw odours out in a spray bottle. And also when the costumes are put away after a show, they are sprayed with pure Russian vodka. Another trick is laying a dress in a box filled with cat litter. The litter absorbs sweat. Other spray options that are popular on the market don’t seem to work because they merely mask odours. The warehouse is climate controlled. Wigs and hairpieces are often made of Yak hair, because it is the hair that most looks human. I highly recommend a day in Stratford. It was a great and enjoyable, educational experience. Not much money either. $24 for the three of us plus gas. We visited with my sister-in-law, a teacher, so she could report back on the possibility of a field trip for one of her visual arts classes. Happy to say everyone enjoyed it. The try on portion of the morning might have been a bit longer as the children with us really enjoyed it and also needed a good deal of help getting in and out of the costumes. $$$$1/2 out of $$$$$ I have been secretly waiting for this for years. Now that both my children are school aged Stratford is a great resource and a quick drive. We will be back for the theatre, the shopping and all the other wonderful tours. I wouldn’t recommend the warehouse tour for anyone under seven. Most things cannot and should not be touched. At the end there is a try on period of time for the costumes. But wandering children and curious hands have to be kept in check.

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