Guy arrested at Xanadu stage door today!!- Page 5

[Elphie3]

Posted: 5/6/08 at 11:34am

I think there's a certain decorum needed when waiting by the stage door. My general rule of thumb - unless you're dear close personal friends (i.e you have each other's phone numbers and call each other up) with someone in the show treat them as you would treat say, a teacher that you really respect. Be appreciative and respectful. I have to say, coming out of the stage door is a great experience, but with certain crowds it can be a little scary. I'm always happy to sign things, talk, etc. but some people can go over the top, and with some people it's OUBVIOUS that they're just there to get you to sign things so they can sell them on ebay.

I actually think Patrick Stewart is brilliant at the stage door. He's nice, and polite, but has strong boundaries. He also quizzes people on the show, and won't sign if you haven't been to see it.

Oh, and can I just add that one time I walked out of a stage door and was full on chased down the block by a group of fans who wanted my autograph. And I wasn't even in the show! I was visiting a friend backstage!

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 5/6/08 at 11:45am

This would be a fantastic poll, or even just a standard interview question for every actor(Corine, are you listening?) I would bet if the actors were honest 99.9% of them would say the stage door is NOT an enjoyable experience, but part of the job and would avoid it at all costs if people wouldn't write horrid things about them on the Internet.

"Miss Patti, How do you feel about the crowds awaiting you after a performance who expect an autograph or 5, a photo or 5, or just want to hug you? Is that something you enjoy and look forward to, do you feel a special connection to those who show up 4 or more times a week, or would you be ecstatic if it were never allowed again?"

[Elphie3]

Posted: 5/6/08 at 11:54am

I know that question wasn't directed at me, but I would love to respond...

For me it's a case by case basis. To be honest you can tell the "obsessed fanatics" from those who really love your work and your show. If there's like, I don't know, a twelve year old girl who comes to the stage door all the time and just says something like "I'm so excited I got to see the show again, you were wonderful and I just wanted to say hi" - honestly that makes my day, because I know how much it meant to me to get to meet someone I admired.

The one's that are frustrating are those who act like they're at a Madonna concert or something. Lots of screaming, pawing, signing abnormally large quantities of things (my general rule is: poster, maybe a specialty item like book, or something from another show I did, and yes, I'll even do a few playbills (hey, they might be for friends of the person.) But when it's like 10 programs, 5 posters and other random things I start to feel like, why do you need all of this?

[winston89]

Posted: 5/6/08 at 11:14pm

I can understand signing something that isn't show related. I know of a couple of people who have autograph books that they like to use instead of a playbill or something related to the show that they just saw.

[bwaybabe2]

Posted: 5/7/08 at 1:06am

jeffrey1dog, I agree...theatre patrons need to be aware of potential hazard situations at stage doors, and point out anything suspicious to security.
It is true that theatre actors are exposed, unlike movie actors, to the immediacy of fans around them, thus making them so vulnerable to anything. I agree with the thought that some measures should be placed to protect these actors, although it would be sad if they did away altogether with stage door meetings. I hope they can come up with something that would work for both, the actor's security, as well as the fan's enjoyment of their favorites (inside, as well as outside the theatre...).

[bk]

Posted: 5/7/08 at 1:32am

This whole stage door thing fascinates me - it's really a product of this current generation, I think, at least in its present form, where teens adopt shows and performers in ways that are really unprecedented. It's not that people didn't wait at the stage door before, but it's never been anything like the last ten years or so. When I was a teen, it would have been almost unheard of to wait at the stage door - if one even knew what a stage door WAS.

Of course, that was a long time ago, a different world, really. I never waited at a stage door in my life. What I did do was go to the stage door and ask if I could meet whoever it was I was interested to meet. And in those days there were no stalkers or crazy people, and the performers I met all invited me to their dressing rooms and were very sweet and warm. The list includes Tammy Grimes, Jason Robards, Jr., Joel Grey (then on tour with Stop the World), Robert Weede (possibly the kindest, sweetest performer I've ever met, and that includes all the people I've subsequently worked with), Oscar Brown, Jr., and a few others.

But today is something wholly other - I'm not really sure it's healthy for anyone. I try to understand it, but it doesn't really compute for me. It's fine once, I suppose, but the going back multiple times is quite odd.

[winston89]

Posted: 5/7/08 at 8:34am

I think that the crazyness that goes on at the stage doors with teen usually happens with shows that are marketed towards a teen audience or have a teen fanbase. These are shows like Spring Awakening, Rent, Wicked, Legally Blonde. These are shows that have the crazy teen fans out in full force.

Most shows don't. Most shows have casual fans waiting nice and patiently and when the actors come out are very nice and cordal.

I find that it is with shows like Rent and the other "teen shows" I mentioned that it is where the fans adopt the peformers as either "personal friends" or think that they know everything about them.

I don't think that you should generalize what happens at a few stage doors as to what happens typically at all stage doors.

[bk]

Posted: 5/7/08 at 3:56pm

I'm not making generalizations, I'm afraid. One need only peruse this thread (if not others) to know that I am not making generalizations. One need only walk by almost any stage door these days to know that I am not making generalizations.

[winston89]

Posted: 5/7/08 at 7:37pm

I get what it is your saying now.

I still disagree that it is as bad as you make it sound. There isn't a single show that I have been to that doesn't have a barricade around the stage door. And more often then not based upon both the number of people that are there and how the people are acting it isn't needed. Yet it is always there. I feel that sometimes theatres are more protective then they need to be. But, i guess you can chalk it off as you never can be too careful.

Speaking of stage door saftey and things like that. I wonder when they started to always have the barricade up around the stage door. Weather they needed it or not.