Should "Stage Dooring" Be Required?- Page 2

[Eris0303]

Posted: 3/31/11 at 10:22am

Consider yourself lucky. I have to have carnal relations with the people outside my office.

Do you have a choice as far as genders go?

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 3/31/11 at 10:45am

I think the OP is right: if doctors and lawyers have to sign autographs after work because of their high salaries, why shouldn't actors?

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 3/31/11 at 10:46am

AND my new television cost 400 bucks. You think I didn't make the guy at P.C. Richard have a picture taken with me?

Part of the price, as far as I'm concerned.

[bwayrose7]

Posted: 3/31/11 at 10:51am

I don't think it should be a requirement, but it does add a bit to the overall experience for me. One of the best things about theater that no other entertainment medium has is the chance for interaction between the performers and the audience, whether it be reactions during the performance or time at the stage door. Many of the actors I've been lucky enough to meet have said they like to meet the audience; it feels good to be told they did a good job, especially if they feel they had an off night. Some of the nicest people I've ever met are actors I've met at stage doors.Arequirement would take away some of the fun for both fans and actors; it would just be an obligation, not a choice.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 3/31/11 at 10:53am

You know what...why stop at autographs? Every ticket should include a backstage tour & the chance to try on any costumes you wish.

[newintown]

Posted: 3/31/11 at 11:11am

Do you have a choice as far as genders go?

Not even species, actually...

[Huss417]

Posted: 3/31/11 at 11:18am

"I think the OP is right: if doctors and lawyers have to sign autographs after work because of their high salaries, why shouldn't actors?"

After reading some of the posts in this thread I would love to get an autograph from a doctor on a prescription for Ambian.

[Patash]

Posted: 3/31/11 at 11:29am

A friend of mine worked at a Steakhouse and was required to hang around after work and have carnivore relations with his customers.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 3/31/11 at 11:34am

It's in Miley Cyrus's contract that she has to sign auto-tunes after every show.

[rorschach37]

Posted: 3/31/11 at 12:33pm

Stage dooring should not be a requirement. Audience members should consider themselves lucky that an oppurtunity like waiting at the stage door exists. I always stage door and it does add to the experience for me, but if someone doesn't come out I don't get angry. It's completely the choice of the actor as to whether or not they want to meet the fans. However if they do want to meet the fans, I don't think they should be rude about it. When I saw Reeve Carney come out of the Spider-Man stage door he jumped over the barricade and left without signing anything. If he didn't want to sign anything that's fine, but he could've used another exit or just walked out rather than make a scene of himself.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 3/31/11 at 12:36pm

When I saw Reeve Carney come out of the Spider-Man stage door he jumped over the barricade and left without signing anything.

In a show as dangerous as Spider-Man vaulting over barricades seems like a really bad idea. No, I take that back - vaulting over barricades is a bad idea no matter what show you're in.

[mybigsplash]

Posted: 3/31/11 at 12:46pm

I think performers should be required to only stagedoor and sign autographs, and they shouldn't have to perform at all.

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 3/31/11 at 12:57pm

So I stagedoored for the first time a few weeks ago at Priscilla and it felt really weird... I think I'll stick to BCEFA and fanmail to get autographs...

[sinister teashop]

Posted: 3/31/11 at 1:10pm

The expectation of an autograph at the Stage Door is a chaste reminder of what "Stage Door Johnnies" used to expect from the performers they were waiting for. But back then they knew they'd have to give something TO the performer if they wanted something back. They weren't demanding somethin' for nothin'.

[yournamehere]

Posted: 3/31/11 at 2:06pm

I agree with the person that says they should not have to act at all. For me, the performance really just gets in the way and cuts out on precious stage door time. I mean, Aaron Tveit should have left Next to Normal right after the scene where he is shirtless to sign each and every playbill.

Also included should be a map to the stars houses. I mean, shows end so late and I've already paid so much money, that I should be entitled to visit their homes and get the autograph at my convenience.

[Patash]

Posted: 3/31/11 at 2:19pm

The only thing worse than people who make stagedooring the most major part of their attending a show is people who stagedoor for shows they didn't even attend.

[yournamehere]

Posted: 3/31/11 at 2:22pm

Don't you need a playbill? How do you just roll up and like poke around and see who is coming out? Baffles me.

PS - If I ask Aaron Tveit for a date at stage door do you think he'll say yes? heheheh.

[CONAries]

Posted: 3/31/11 at 2:24pm

This is the most outrageous and disgusting thread I have ever seen on this board.
How dare you even suggest that after actors have worked a very difficult job, non-stop for hours, and dont finish til late at night, should be forced to then make small talk and pleasantries to a bunch of enthused, high-energy, fans.

Yes, stage dooring is a nice thing, and is very nice of the actors if they do participate, but it is, and SHOULD be there choice whether they should get barricaded by people on the way home from there work!

I think the only way you could seriously post this thread is if you are a child, who has no grasp on the professional world, or as somebody soo deluded by the boundaries of pleasantries and friendship, that you get upset every time an actor doesnt want to be your new "best friend"

Either way, take this as a lesson, go back, look at yourself and think twice before posting such obscene thread, on a "serious" message board.

[HistoryBoy2]

Posted: 3/31/11 at 2:27pm

No. Don't be a mong.

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 3/31/11 at 2:37pm

"Consider myself lucky that they are even giving me the time of day? They should consider themselves lucky that I pay $130 to see them act! They are paid to be public figures and I do believe autographs come with the overall experience. That can make or break a theater goers experience with a show.

And the actors don't have to "pretend to be your friends", only sign the pictures and autographs that people are entitled to. Plus sometimes it's nice to meet actors even for a show you didn't see. I think it helps the communal aspects of Broadway and building the theater as a warm, welcoming place. It's pretty despicable that some actors don't stage door... after all who's supporting their celebrity status?

I know i've begun to send around a petition to a number of Broadway producers and a couple already support my ideas."

If an autograph makes or breaks your enjoyment of the show, then you have issues. It makes it sound like you go there not caring about the show itself but rather about the stuff you receive.

[p.s.]

Posted: 3/31/11 at 2:38pm

The only thing worse than people who make stagedooring the most major part of their attending a show is people who stagedoor for shows they didn't even attend.

I think as long as you saw the show at some point with those same actors, it's okay to stage door on a different day than you saw the show.

Don't you need a playbill?


During 2007, I walked past the Al Hirschfeld Theatre about two dozen times on the way back to my parked car (after seeing Les Miserables at the Broadhurst). Most often, the timing was such that Curtains had let out and David Hyde Pierce was in front signing autographs.

Late in the year, when I finally got to actually see Curtains, I didn't have time to stagedoor and get his autograph.

The following week, once again he was out signing. I waited on line, spoke to him for a while (I saw your show last week, you're terrific, blah blah blah), and finally got his autograph -- on my Les Miserables Playbill.



p.s. He made sure to inform me that he wasn't in THAT show.

[Dawn Davenport]

Posted: 3/31/11 at 2:44pm

I'm paying a *fortune* to "Company" next week.

I believe that entitles me to have Neil Patrick Harris accompany me home and sing me to sleep after the performance. It's the least he can do after I've shelled out all dough!

I don't think my husband would mind......


(my serious answer---stage dooring should NEVER be a given. If the actor chooses to do it, it's nice for the fans, but if they choose NOT to, they shouldn't be made to feel at all guilty. They've already given what's "expected" of them----their performance.)

[Dollypop]

Posted: 3/31/11 at 2:45pm

How rude! I would report that to the Tony Award Committee and have them demand that David return his Tonwy Award!

I swan!

[quizking101]

Posted: 3/31/11 at 2:57pm

How appalling is this OP?
It's simply a nice gesture by the performers, and some fans think its cool to have a memento signed by the cast. But to make this MANDATORY is a horrible thought, since it turns an otherwise nice gesture into a legally-binding action.

[SondheimFan5]

Posted: 3/31/11 at 3:21pm

HA! The actors are not and should not in any way be obligated to stage door. Some like it but others find it annoying because of obnoxious fans like many people on this board.