Would you pay extra to stage door

[Theatrefanboy1]

Posted: 8/20/20 at 10:15am

With stagedooring on hold until a vaccine or something is in place. Im curious if a broadway show started to charge extra for a stage door experience how many people would opt in from attendees of that nights performance. If that would be a way to limit crowd control in the future.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 8/20/20 at 10:17am

Absolutely not, and this also leads to a slippery slope of obligation for the performers.

[Huss417]

Posted: 8/20/20 at 10:36am

Theatrefanboy1 said: "With stagedooring on hold until a vaccine or something is in place. Im curious if a broadway show started to charge extra for a stage door experience how many people would opt in from attendees of that nights performance. If that would be a way to limit crowd control in the future."

No "stagedooring" limits crowd control even more.

[Broadway61004]

Posted: 8/20/20 at 10:55am

I don't stage door when it's completely free, so no, I definitely would not pay extra.

Plus to LizzieCurry's point, shows could never require actors to stage door without paying them extra, which given how financially unstable most shows are going to be post-covid anyway, seems highly unlikely.  (Not to mention the amount of extra liability they'd hold if one of the actors happened to catch covid from someone stage dooring).

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/20/20 at 11:34am

Could you imagine the entitlement that would come with this? Imagine the stage door comments when the experience is FREE! Also...to whom would tne money go?

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 8/20/20 at 11:44am

Why would I pay money to be miserable?

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 8/20/20 at 11:50am

Just abolish the stage door. It doesn't have to be forever — just long enough for people who won't miss it to realize that, and for those who will miss it to find something else to do after a show. Performers who want the attention (and that's fine!) will find another avenue.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 8/20/20 at 11:51am

Stage dooring has zero to do with the show, the actors or the theatre. It’s equivalent to anyone leaving work and confronted on the street by a stranger. An actor signs and interacts with fans of their own doing. It’s not part of their job and they are not deducted from their pay or reported to Equity is they don’t stage door. Charging fans would legally bind the theatre and cast to “perform” after work, which no one would do nor would Actor’s Equity go out of their way to make legal.

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 8/20/20 at 11:56am

I don't particularly like this and don't see it happening for Covid reasons, but singers, drag queens, cabaret artists, etc definitely sell "meet and greet" tickets where you get a photo, autograph, and a quick hello with the performer, but usually before the show. Heck, many actors were already using  Cameo.

But like it's been said the performer would have to be paid extra for this and have to agree to it in a contract beforehand (and an actor might lose a job if they don't agree to it). 

[Tag]

Posted: 8/20/20 at 11:57am

BrodyFosse123 said: "Stage dooring has zero to do with the show, the actors or the theatre. It’s equivalent to anyone leaving work and confronted on the street by a stranger. An actor signs and interacts with fans of their own doing. It’s not part of their job and they are not deducted from their pay or reported to Equity is they don’t stage door. Charging fans would legally bind the theatre and cast to “perform” after work, which no one would do nor would Actor’s Equity go out of their way to make legal."

I mean this technically happens all the time, with performers signing up for talkbacks and tour groups, after performances, which aren't paid.  There is precedent there for a rotating sign-up amongst cast for stage-dooring.  If an actor doesn't want to do it, they don't sign up.

[nealb1]

Posted: 8/20/20 at 12:22pm

BrodyFosse123, perfectly said!  Beautiful!

[KnewItWhenIWasInFron]

Posted: 8/20/20 at 12:33pm

I would pay extra to never have to hear about stage dooring again.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 8/20/20 at 12:52pm

^ Seriously. 

[Jarethan]

Posted: 8/20/20 at 2:38pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "Stage dooring has zero to do with the show, the actors or the theatre. It’s equivalent to anyone leaving work and confronted on the street by a stranger. An actor signs and interacts with fans of their own doing. It’s not part of their job and they are not deducted from their pay or reported to Equity is they don’t stage door. Charging fans would legally bind the theatre and cast to “perform” after work, which no one would do nor would Actor’s Equity go out of their way to make legal."

Well said.  IMO the original idea was just desperate.  When I was a kid, i.e., 50 years ago, I used to see the same people stage dooring regularly...I often wondered (since I did start to recognize a number of the regulars) whether some of them had actually been to see a performance in ages.  

I concluded there are three groups of people: those who come to see the show; those who come to stage door; and those who come to see the show and do occasionally stage door.  I wonder which group the person who started this thread falls into.

[veronicamae]

Posted: 8/20/20 at 2:51pm

Stop calling it stage dooring and people will start to calm down about it on this board, for one.

This is common in other entertainment fields. Most music performers have VIP meet & greet packages available for purchase, run contests, etc. It's extremely common and limited in quantity. I don't really know why Broadway would have to be treated any different [in a non-COVID world]. I've long though that a better solution than the current iteration of 100+ people waiting on a sidewalk.

I think VIP meet & greets are a valid option for heightening the experience just as it does for meeting authors at book signings and singers at photo ops, while minimizing crowd exposure. Of course, some is not as good as none, etc. But humans cannot go the rest of our lives 6' apart from one another. (But hell, a meet & greet COULD be 6' apart with mandatory masks!)

I'm not educated enough on the nuances of union rules for such things to speak to if an actor would have to be paid for such a thing, etc. (Perhaps a rule for that scenario doesn't even exist?) Edit: I see Brody's message above about this but there's always a new way of looking at things. Not that this industry ever cares to evolve...

Whether or not someone would pay for it would almost solely depend on who would be present at the experience. I don't think this concept works in a, "pay a fee and you're let into the cattle pen for a traditional stage door scenario." I think it works in a, "Pay $200 extra and you will get 5 minutes with your favorite Broadway star" way. (Legal technicalities notwithstanding.)

Updated On: 8/20/20 at 02:51 PM

[Theatrefanboy1]

Posted: 8/20/20 at 4:45pm

Well I’m definitely more of the go to shows and occasionally stage door person. I’ve seen waaay more shows than I’ve ever stagedoor. Typically if it’s an OBC or someone in a show whose worked ive admired even before seeing the show. I’m not much of a picture person. Out of the last ten shows I’ve seen. Only once did I ask for a picture. I won’t stagedoor a show I’ve never seen. And outside of an OBC there may only be like 10 performers that I would like to see. And please, no offence to anyone on here. But when I’m like 40 or something. It would really take someone special or some mind blowing incredible show for me to stagedoor. I’m just saying

[mpkie]

Posted: 8/20/20 at 9:21pm

I love the stage door and have done it a lot. It's turned some okay theater nights into a great nights, and I've become fans of certain actors after visiting stage door because of how they interacted, otherwise wouldn't have remembered their names.

No actor is obligated to do it, so I always feel thankful when they do. I'm courteous and respectful and I never say anything worse than "great show!" even if I didn't enjoy anyone's performance. There was a stretch of time where I stopped doing it but it was more than occasional, I think.

Right now, do I care about it at all? Absolutely not. I don't think I'm going to be thinking about it for a loooong time.

Would I miss the stage door if it disappeared forever? Probably, but I wouldn't necessarily care. It's no big deal one way or the other.

But anyway, the first time I staged door was completely by accident and it was pretty memorable. I did a couple stage doors incidentally as well, like Come From Away... we lost our group on our way to after-show drinks and decided to turn around and go home. We passed the theater again just as the actors came out, so we stopped to say hi. And they were so much fun!

I have never paid for a picture or an autograph or the chance to say hi to someone and I am not about to start.

[sparksatmidnight]

Posted: 8/21/20 at 1:29am

I don't do it for free so most likely no

[blaxx]

Posted: 8/21/20 at 2:50am

veronicamae said: "Stop calling it stage dooring and people will start to calm down about it on this board, for one.

This is common in other entertainment fields. Most music performers have VIP meet & greet packages available for purchase, run contests, etc. It's extremely common and limited in quantity. I don't really know why Broadway would have to be treated any different [in a non-COVID world]. I've long though that a better solution than the current iteration of 100+ people waiting on a sidewalk.

I think VIP meet & greets are a valid option for heightening the experience just as it does for meeting authors at book signings and singers at photo ops, while minimizing crowd exposure. Of course, some is not as good as none, etc. But humans cannot go the rest of our lives 6' apart from one another. (But hell, a meet & greet COULD be 6' apart with mandatory masks!)

I'm not educated enough on the nuances of union rules for such things to speak to if an actor would have to be paid for such a thing, etc.(Perhaps a rule for that scenario doesn't even exist?) Edit: I see Brody's message above about this but there's always a new way of looking at things. Not that this industry ever cares to evolve...

Whether or not someone would pay for it would almost solely depend on who would be present at the experience. I don't think this concept works in a, "pay a fee and you're let into the cattle pen for a traditional stage door scenario." I think it works in a, "Pay $200 extra and you will get 5 minutes with your favorite Broadway star" way. (Legal technicalities notwithstanding.)"

This kind of approach must not be profitable to try on Broadway, otherwise producers would be all over it already.

I know other countries do offer Meet and Greet style packages when buying the franchise rights to some big Broadway shows. Certain performers take pictures with the audience members in costume 30 mins before curtain. There is no guarantee, however, as to who from the cast will be in your group (may be Simba, may be the giraffe). Performers do get a small bonus for this.

[Islander_fan]

Posted: 8/21/20 at 9:10am

Tag said: "BrodyFosse123 said: "Stage dooring has zero to do with the show, the actors or the theatre. It’s equivalent to anyone leaving work and confronted on the street by a stranger. An actor signs and interacts with fans of their own doing. It’s not part of their job and they are not deducted from their pay or reported to Equity is they don’t stage door. Charging fans would legally bind the theatre and cast to “perform” after work, which no one would do nor would Actor’s Equity go out of their way to make legal."

I mean this technically happens all the time, with performers signing up for talkbacks and tour groups, after performances, which aren't paid. There is precedent there for a rotating sign-up amongst cast for stage-dooring. If an actor doesn't want to do it, they don't sign up."

I work a decent amount at Come From Away. Out of all the show’s I’ve worked, this is one that has had the most talkbacks. But, one of the questions that I always get from a group leader/chaperone is who to give their check to. Now, I do know that money is involved, but I don’t know if it’s for either going to the cast members who are giving the talk back or if it’s a donation to BC/EFA in exchange for a talk back. 

 

[Tag]

Posted: 8/21/20 at 10:46am

I imagine that money is to cover paying the House staff and one of the IA heads to stay on the clock post-performance.

[veronicamae]

Posted: 8/21/20 at 10:50am

blaxx said: "veronicamae said: "Stop calling it stage dooring and people will start to calm down about it on this board, for one.

...Whether or not someone would pay for it would almost solely depend on who would be present at the experience. I don't think this concept works in a, "pay a fee and you're let into the cattle pen for a traditional stage door scenario." I think it works in a, "Pay $200 extra and you will get 5 minutes with your favorite Broadway star" way. (Legal technicalities notwithstanding.)"

This kind of approach must not be profitable to try on Broadway,otherwise producers would be all over it already.

I know other countries do offer Meet and Greet style packages when buying the franchise rights to some big Broadway shows. Certain performers take pictures with the audience members in costume 30 mins before curtain. There is no guarantee, however, as to who from the cast will be in your group (may be Simba, may be the giraffe). Performers do get a small bonus for this."

Oh, interesting, I had no idea! I wonder what the history of that for Broadway is, then, and why it doesn't work/isn't profitable.

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 8/22/20 at 2:04am

I do not think you can abolish the stage door but fan fans will have to stand across the street and forgo autographs.

[Islander_fan]

Posted: 8/22/20 at 3:58am

Tag said: "I imagine that money is to coverpayingthe House staff and one of the IA heads to stay on the clock post-performance."

But, we don’t stay later when there is a talk back. We leave as soon as the house is clear which doesn’t take long at at all. And, if it did drag on for some considerable amount of time there’d be overtime headed our way. But, we only collect overtime if the show itself goes over four hours, come from away is only 90 min so that’s not the case

[Demitri2]

Posted: 8/27/20 at 8:40pm

The few times I stage doored I found the cast members were having as much fun as I was. After MATILDA my friend and I thought it would be fun to hang out afterward. We were fortunate to have been able to secure seats in the front row. Note the production is pretty well lit. After the show when the cast exited the theatre a bunch of them recognized us. Sweet Jill Paice said she could feel my energy and asked if I saw her wink at me at curtain call. I said yes but to be honest missed it. Leslie Margarita was hilarious as were others. And we didn't even ask for autographs. No need. It was the interaction and ability to thank them personally that marked the evening.

Besides, I was under the impression that there are other ways for a performer to exit a theatre other than the stage door if they choose, The lobby being one.