Actors not coming out stage door- Page 3

[oasisjeff]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 3:35am

"If you're friends, why would you be stage dooring at all? Just to be silly?"

As nealb1 mentioned, usually you are grabbing dinner or some such afterward. Plus, if they know you're seeing the show that night, it would be weirder not to say hi, really. But I stay at wherever the very end of the line is, and then we head out.

[jeffrey2]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 8:51am

I love to stage door and never expect anything in return, most times the actors are gracious with their time in signing, These past few weeks have been extremely cold in NY, and I took in a matinee of a play with an above the title actress. I was not expecting anyone to come out , but when I came out the barricades were up so I figured I was wrong. We waited 50minutes in bitter cold ( and I mean bitter) to be told the actor left the building, no one else from the play came out either. There were 9 people there. My wife was furious and I said they don't owe us anything but a performance. But it did bother me somewhat. I thought in cases like that where no one comes out, don't put up barricades. I know theater mgt does not know what the actor is going to do, but the actor Tweeted a picture of themselves in a big coat after they left the theater. And we are still standing there. Go ahead and bash me.....

[dramamama611]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 8:59am

The stage door people aren't told either if anyone's coming out. They are just doing their job. You chose to risk it, nobody's fault.

You are annoyed that they tweeted a picture of themselves? How dare they enjoy their life without regard to yours. Sheesh.

[jeffrey2]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 9:17am

If I ever was a big named star, knowing people are waiting for me in 5 degree weather, I would just send a message to the stage door mgr , I would not be coming out. I would not ride past them in my suburban, and tweet a picture of myselff in a winter coat. Just didn't feel right, that's all.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 9:22am

I would.

[mikem]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 9:23am

The problem is that there are too many crazy, inappropriate people for certain courtesies to work.

If actors came out and politely waved at everyone and thanked them for coming without posing or signing, some people might be mad. (However, I've seen Morgan Freeman, James Earl Jones, and Denzel Washington do that without being criticized; it can be done but I think a younger person could not make it work. If Idina did that, people would flip out.)

If the actor is still in the building and there is an announcement that person isn't signing, some people will try to find alternate exits and try to trap the actor. So that announcement isn't going to be made in many cases until after that actor has left. Which means people are standing out there for nothing because the crazies are ruining it for everyone else.

And then there are the inappropriate, pushy Ebay dealers. I wouldn't want to have to deal with them on a daily basis.

SweetLips, I think the moral of the story where you politely accepted that Lena Horne didn't want to sign while the other woman wouldn't let the car door close until she got what she wanted is that you have class and the other woman doesn't.

[delongpre]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 9:28am

Bitter cold. Late night. Above the title name. Do you really expect that person to stop and chat with one of the hundreds of strangers who sat in a seat in that dark theater? Some people will accept nothing less than an autograph, a photo or two, and an exuberant, smiling actor. Amazingly, many actors do give that up willingly at the end of their workday. To dozens of people! Would you happily stop and talk with a neighbor on a freezing cold day if you were on your way somewhere and he was chatting about his missing garbage can cover?

I have been able to come out the stage door with big names on occasion and have had a taste of what they see every night. They have said it can be annoying, frustrating and downright scary, but sometimes can connect them to decent people with words of great support and kindness. Try to put yourself in their place and imagine what might make you feel safe and appreciated after a long day. If I see an actor come out the door and he or she looks extremely tired or if the smiles seems very forced, I explain to my daughter that it isn't the time to bother the actor. She can say 'thank you for your wonderful performance,' or something like that and then we leave. I think some of the misconception of what should happen at a stage door comes from the ignorance of the theatergoer who thinks that acting isn't a job but just a fun activity that these lucky people do to make tons of money.

Also, the stage door security has been kind enough to share the information that all of the cast members have left. They didn't have to do that. They could have left you standing there for hours. And those barricades? They are there to protect the actors from people crawling all over them, sharing germs that might risk the actor's ability to do his job next week.

[cknick]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 9:30am

"I think some of the misconception of what should happen at a stage door comes from the ignorance of the theatergoer who thinks that acting isn't a job but just a fun activity that these lucky people do to make tons of money."

YES YES YES! A constant struggle.

[ethan231h]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 9:49am

I heard Nathan Lane never came out in the Addams Family Updated On: 2/22/14 at 09:49 AM

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 9:54am

"but the actor Tweeted a picture of themselves in a big coat after they left the theater. And we are still standing there. Go ahead and bash me..... "

The only thing that would have made it even better was if the actress tweeted a picture of herself in her suburban holding up a sign that read "To Jeffrey2 who is still waiting outside the theater" and then held it up with her two middle fingers.

Consider yourself bashed.

[bwayobsessed]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 9:55am

As the person who started this post, I just want to say that I in no way way was attempting to start an argument about entitlement and all that. I agree that actors are not obligated to sign. I also do think it would be sorta awkward if I waited an hour for someone and they just walked by. When I saw "Nice Work if You Can Get It," the security guard told us Matthew Broderick would be at least an hour but we waited and he was super nice, signed everything and took pictures. But if he just walked by I would have rather the security guard just saying he won't be signing as oppose to waiting an hour in the cold.

When I started this thread I was honestly just wondering whether or not it had something to do with the day of the week. The shows I have stage doored at several ensemble members and maybe a few leads come out. If, say, just Boq and several ensemble members did come out, I wouldn't have batted an eye. I was just confused as to the fact that no ensemble members came out.

[jeffrey2]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 10:01am

That was pretty funny

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 11:34am

2 who will not anymore

Yul Brynner
Mickey Rooney

[Wynbish]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 11:46am

I heard Nathan Lane never came out in the Addams Family

Some say, you can still hear ol' Nathan shuffling around, waiting for laughs. And souls.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 11:56am

"Before 'stage dooring' became a thing you were lucky if you even got a glimpse. I don't expect anyone to ever comne out, to come out consistently, to sign,take pictures consistantly or not."

Stagedooring was always a thing. Stagedoor Johnnies used to court chorus girls back at the turn of the twentieth century. You're lucky people just want pictures these days instead of a piece of ass.


"If you're friends, why would you be stage dooring at all? Just to be silly?"

To say "hi, loved the show, great job" without having to go through the whole to-do of prior notice and arranging to put you and your guests on a list to come backstage. Sometimes it's fine. It depends on the night, the show, etc. Musical stagedoors are way worse. I found that out the hard way.

Also learned that plenty of stagedoor staff are willing to blatantly ignore you if you're under the age of 40 and not check the list, or lose the list, or claim you're not on the list and then apologize to the actor when you all come down an hour later: "Sorry, I was looking at tomorrow's list!" That's always fun. So yeah, sometimes better to just skip that nonsense.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 12:12pm

Also learned that plenty of stagedoor staff are willing to blatantly ignore you if you're under the age of 40 and not check the list, or lose the list, or claim you're not on the list and then apologize to the actor when you all come down an hour later: "Sorry, I was looking at tomorrow's list!" That's always fun. So yeah, sometimes better to just skip that nonsense.

I've had that happen. It was actually a little embarrassing because the the stage door guard loudly announced that I was not on the list and they were not going to let the person I was waiting for know I was there. I felt like I was being stared down by all the rabid fans. Finally the person I had been waiting for came down and brought me and my sister back. It happened again at the same stage door and few months later.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 12:30pm

If an actor is truly my friend, I'll usually meet them wherever we're having dinner unless they want to use me as an excuse to go ("Sorry, my friend over there is waiting for me" at which point I wave).

If it's an actor that I have worked with and am acquaintances with, they may not know I was at the show, and all i want to do is just say a quick "hello, enjoyed the show". I don't need the backstage experience - just want to touch bases.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 12:33pm

"We waited 50minutes in bitter cold ( and I mean bitter) to be told the actor left the building, no one else from the play came out either. There were 9 people there. My wife was furious and I said they don't owe us anything but a performance."

That was 100% YOUR choice to stick around, not knowing anything about that actor's schedule. The entitlement that you and your wife have is gross.

"If I ever was a big named star, knowing people are waiting for me in 5 degree weather, I would just send a message to the stage door mgr , I would not be coming out. I would not ride past them in my suburban, and tweet a picture of myself in a winter coat. Just didn't feel right, that's all.

Not one day this year, not one, has NYC been five degrees. The actor came to work and performed for you. That is their obligation. Afterwards, I'm pretty sure they can do whatever they want to do to have fun and relax. They owe you nothing, no explanation, no autographs, nothing.

Updated On: 2/22/14 at 12:33 PM

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 12:35pm

^^ Not that it matters, but you're wrong about that. Temps have been as low as 4 degrees in nyc this year.

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 12:39pm

[cknick]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 12:56pm

I don't understand why people need to be so mean on here. All someone did was ask a question, obviously thinking that actors always signed after shows. When you hear about stars and actors signing, of course you expect they will do that for you. I know people get mad and out of hand, but I don't think it's "entitlement." They're just disappointed that they didn't have the same experience someone else did. They didn't need a lecture from know-it-alls about how "they're not obligated to sign" and how "they're only obligated to perform," as if the performance is a huge favor. I love theatre very VERY much and have tremendous respect for the actors and their work (being one myself), but with the ridiculous prices people pay it's not outrageous for them to think they can get an autograph out of it. And as I agreed with someone earlier, a lot of people don't realize that the actors work very hard and are actually tired after the shows.

I'm sorry, I just don't understand the mean-spiritedness on this board.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 1:30pm

"It was actually a little embarrassing because the the stage door guard loudly announced that I was not on the list and they were not going to let the person I was waiting for know I was there. I felt like I was being stared down by all the rabid fans. Finally the person I had been waiting for came down and brought me and my sister back. It happened again at the same stage door and few months later."

It's ridiculous how often friends and I have run into that problem. I don't go backstage often, but it's come up in about 75% of my experiences.

I had a theatre staff person blatantly, repeatedly lie to my friend and I that they had asked and the actor wasn't having anyone backstage when he knew we were coming to see him.

I saw a stagedoor staff person blow off my friend, whose father is a major Broadway producer. That was the "I was looking at tomorrow's list!" guy.

I had another friend who was dating an actor and was turned away at the stagedoor. She had to hang out on the street in the stagedoor crowd until he wondered why she hadn't come up and checked his texts.

They see a younger person, assume "fangirl" and don't even bother to be polite or professional. Every single one of those situations would have been a non-issue if they had just bothered to ask instead of making a snap judgment on behalf of the actor.

Updated On: 2/22/14 at 01:30 PM

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 1:43pm

Ghostlight, looking back in January, there were a few five degree nights as a low. So, you're right. However, this has not happened in the past few weeks, when the poster went to see the performance.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 1:48pm

Oh, skittles. How true it is. It's why I have started to resort to texts rather than connect AT the theatre with friends in musicals. Some stage door people are wonderful once they know you, but absolute terrors if they don't know you and you have the least amount of youth to your appearance.

cknick, if someone gets out of hand and thinks that they are supposed to get something that they are not required to get and have a major attitude about it, it really is "entitlement".. "disappointed" is different. Certain people here have expressed disappointment. Others have expressed an entitlement. Saying that they are only obligated to perform is not saying that the performance is a favor, it is saying that taking pictures and giving autographs is the favor. You have that flipped. Yes, it IS outrageous to think you are owed an autograph because you spent money.

[cknick]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 1:54pm

broadwayguy2, I agree it's outrageous but I can see how the average theatergoer would expect that sort of thing. I guess you can't really justify that attitude just maybe rationalize it. Not that it needs to be or should be tolerated, per say. As I've said, I don't ever expect to get anything but I like to hang out just the same!