Ever have someone be rude at a stage door?

[Wayman_Wong]

 I have a Diana Rigg story from 1994 when she was doing ''Medea,'' for which she won a Tony. I had read an interview with her in which she said she was crazy about fly fishing. The year before, the movie of ''A River Runs Through It,'' which is about two brothers who fly-fish in Montana, had come out. I wondered if Ms. Rigg had seen it, so I just left a videotape of it for her at the stage door. She sent me a handwritten thank-you note, saying I couldn't have given her ''a nicer gift,'' and looked forward to seeing the film. Classy!

[LxGstv]

Wayman_Wong said: "I have a Diana Rigg story from 1994 when she was doing ''Medea,'' for which she won a Tony. I had read an interview with her in which she said she was crazy about fly fishing. The year before, the movie of ''A River Runs Through It,'' which is about two brothers who fly-fish in Montana, had come out. I wondered if Ms. Rigg had seen it, so I just left a videotape of it for her at the stage door. She sent me a handwritten thank-you note, saying I couldn't have given her ''a nicer gift,'' and looked forward to seeing the film. Classy!"

That is amazing! Thank you for sharing this, it’s great to see a nice story in the middle of all this negativity...

[haterobics]

LxGstv said: "That is amazing! Thank you for sharing this, it’s great to see a nice story in the middle of all this negativity..."

The thread is specifically soliciting supposedly rude stage door stories... so the negativity was baked in from the start.

[LxGstv]

haterobics said: "LxGstv said: "That is amazing! Thank you for sharing this, it’s great to see a nice story in the middle of all this negativity..."

The thread is specifically soliciting supposedly rude stage door stories... so the negativity was baked in from the start."

Fair point! But I was referring to a recent post that condemns stage door like it’s this horrible thing... which wasn’t the purpose of the thread...

[Elfuhbuh]

In theory, there's nothing wrong with stagedooring, and evidently the actors who choose to do so enjoy interacting with their fans to some degree. A lot of theatregoers wait at the stagedoor primarily to thank the actors and share how wonderful they thought the show was, and believe it or not, there are indeed actors who think it's fun to sign things and chat with fans they know appreciated their fine work. I have no clue why some people in this thread are acting like stagedooring is something that fans inherently demand from the actors by gunpoint, when the actors are the ones who decide to participate in the first place.

That being said, there is a certain degree of entitlement from many fans who stagedoor, particularly when an actor chooses not to come out at all or comes out just to briefly say hello to the fans and leave without doing autographs or selfies. That generally seems to be when the whiny fan pitchforks come out on Twitter and Instagram, DEMANDING to know why Aaron Tveit or whoever chose not to come out and sign autographs that evening. I feel like the main issue with this sort of thing boils down to the intent behind stagedooring: Are you there to thank the actors, or are you there because you think you're entitled to an autograph?

[JBradshaw]

I’m curious. You don’t have to say what shows you’ve been in. People that are on here that have been on broadway or tours or regional.

Do you like/enjoy coming out the stage door?

I, personally, hate it.

[AprilWheeler]

I met Tony Shalhoub after The Price last year and he couldn’t have been nicer.

“The whole stage door thing has become just plain creepy.“

Unfortunately, after my experience at Lobby Hero, I agree with this. What used to be a fun way to talk to other people who had seen the show and possibly have a brief moment with an actor has become mass entitled hysteria based on what I experienced that night. We were barricaded in on all sides for crowd control purposes, people were shoving and screaming. I was in front of the barricade and had bruises afterward due to the Avengers fans shoving me forward. Chris Evans did come out and was very nice but he keeps it brief—leading to full on sobbing from some that didn’t get what they were hoping for. It’s amazing he does it at all because I would run to my car if I was in his situation. No surprise at all that Michael Cera goes straight home.

[morosco]

No drama at the stage door for 1984's Sunday in the Park with George.

[newintown]

Dollypop said: "Eartha Kitt gave me "the stare" until I reminded her that without fans like me, she wouldn't have achieved her level of success. She ultimately signed my Playbill but never broke her stare or said a word."

That's a truly grotesque story, and Ms. Kitt is not the one who looks bad.

I've heard many performers talk about their loathing and trepidation of the stage door; as has been addressed here, far too many lunatics and insane celebrity worshippers have turned it into a Fellini-esque nightmare.

[Kad]

newintown said: "Dollypop said: "Eartha Kitt gave me "the stare" until I reminded her that without fans like me, she wouldn't have achieved her level of success. She ultimately signed my Playbill but never broke her stare or said a word."

That's a truly grotesque story, and Ms. Kitt is not the one who looks bad.

I've heard many performers talk about their loathing and trepidation of the stage door; as has been addressed here, far too many lunatics and insane celebrity worshippers have turned it into a Fellini-esque nightmare."

I hope she signed his Playbill with "FU"

[dramamama611]

I can attest to the stage door of Sunday in the Park with George.   I was in college and had driven a bunch of friends in for the day.  One other student and I saw Sunday, the others went to see something else.  An alum of our college (Mary D'Arcy) was in the show (Celest 2, I believe) and we used her name to "get" backstage.  (I was hoping to get to meet Patinkin) Worked like a charm....except as we had just gotten past the doorman, SHE came walking out.  (We had never previously met.)   We did the right thing, and chatted with her and even walked with her to the place her husband was picking her up a few blocks away.

By the time we got back (to meet our friends) Mandy's car was waiting for him and I wasn't leaving  until he came out.  Me and my friends were the only ones there.  I got about 5 or 6 minutes of his undivided attention.  I was on cloud nine.

I don't think I stage doored for 20 or more years after that.  Just never felt the need.

 

As to JBradshaw's question.  I was working for a children's theater where we were contractually obligated to do signature sessions after the shows.  We did 3 shows a day, mind you   The first  few times, it was a blast....but it very quickly got mundane and even annoying.  By the end of the run of my first show with them (some 40 performances later) I hated it.   So demanding, so exhausting.  

I have occassionaly stage doored, and mostly for when my daughter has wanted to.  (My son almost never does.)  Can't stand the crowds, the mood or the rudeness.    

[Wayman_Wong]

I understand why JBradshaw (and many others) would hate doing the stage door and enduring its attendant hysteria. A performer doesn't owe the audience anything other than their best performance onstage. So doing the meet-and-greet is a bonus. No one should disparage any actor for choosing not to do it. 

That said, I give credit to the ones who enjoy it, and nobody has this down to a science more than Zachary Levi. He brings out the boom box and creates a party atmosphere. He then makes small talk with each person and signs everyone's Playbill, and he'll go down the line a second time in case anyone wants to take a photo. In an interview for Playbill.com, I once asked Levi why he goes the extra mile. He says it's something he learned to do in community theater, and he simply likes saying thank you to his fans. 

[Danielle49]

That Lobby Hero story (sobbing fans, boxed-in barricades) sounds like a nightmare. I didn't dare go near that stage door because I knew it'd be insane. Why stage door if it's such a madhouse that there's no chance of saying something meaningful to the performers?

I only stage door if I know there is something I really would like to say to one of the actors or if the performance particularly moved me. I planned not to stage door Angels because that cast is doing such draining work, but after seeing the show and the force of nature that is Andrew Garfield, I just had to tell them how beautiful the performance was. I went after Part 2. Andrew Garfield took about 40 minutes to come out, but took time with everyone, which really surprised me. It was really gracious of him. But along with that comes the screaming fans who are just like "why is he taking so long what is he even doing" or "come onnnn I just want Spiderman's autograph." I don't even think those immediately around me saw the show.

I echo others who have said that the stage door could theoretically be a nice experience for everyone - if people like that didn't turn it into a feeding frenzy.

[TravisOKC]

I have only ever had amazing experiences at the stage doors with both NYC and touring casts.

Only bad experiences I have had are from other stage doorers who felt like they were entitled to everything.  

Some of my highlights:

Cabaret:

---Emma Stone didn't pose for pictures, but she was incredibly kind, gracious, and talked to fans and signed their playbills.

--- Alan Cumming visited with fans and signed playbills.  Very kind and handled a heckler incredibly well.

Wicked:

Have had nothing but incredible experiences with the casts of multiple companies across the country.  One experience with a cast member at the SD in NYC has turned into a friendship!

Legally Blonde:

Favorite experience was after Kathleen Monteleone went on for Elle in OKC--ended up chatting with her for about 15 minutes after the show and she sang some of Oh My God in german.

Next to Normal: 

Had great experiences with the cast, but Ben Stiller was in the audience and stage doored with the rest of us non-famous people...really cool guy!