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COLUMBUS (AP) - Bill Conner can't imagine staging "Twelve Angry Men" without having actors light cigarettes onstage, but he worries the state's new smoking ban will prohibit a key element in many performances.

The play, which re-creates a smoke-filled jury room during heated deliberations, wouldn't be the same without cigarettes, said Conner, president of the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts.

Musicians, actors and other performers worry that a new statewide ban on indoor smoking in public places will limit their ability to smoke while performing.

"Can you imagine 'Twelve Angry Men' with 12 guys not smoking? For a theater, when you're doing a piece that's period-based, not having them smoke would be kind of odd," he said.

The city of Columbus already has a similar ban, and has not received complaints about performers smoking during shows - such as Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. Ohio officials hope to have rules in place to enforce the new statewide law next month.

"Enforcement is complaint-based, so if there was a complaint, the local enforcement entity would investigate," said Kristopher Weiss, Ohio Department of Health spokesman. Under the law, Weiss said, both establishments that allow smoking and smokers themselves could be ticketed.

The law leaves little room for interpretation, said Marie Collart of the Central Ohio Breathing Association.

"They are in a public space," she said. "Performers should not be lighting up in public."

Still, Conner is hoping for a little leeway. In New York City, despite a 4-year-old smoking ban, theaters can apply for a waiver to smoke during a performance.

Ohio State University Law professor David Goldberger thinks that there's room for moderation in the enforcement of the new ban.

"For the most part, public officials are pretty sensible about these things, the law notwithstanding," he said.

If a middle ground can't be found, performers can always use fake cigarettes, said Tracy Sabetta of SmokeFreeOhio.