Dear “STANS” ... — Page 3

JBroadway said: "dearalanaaaa said: "90% of phone use that I've observed in the theatre has been from middle aged people, and 99% of the cases of loud talking I've observed have been elderly people. Not saying you're wrong about the Stans doing it too, but it's certainly not just them! Far from it!"

100% agree that the most annoying audience members are usually the older folks... though maybe not as intentionally as the teen stans. (At My Fair Lady the octogenarian next to me was singing along to the whole show. I really don't think he had any idea he was doing it, but that didn't make it any less annoying. Never mind the full-volume talking and candy unwrapping.)

But outside of show audiences.... I agree that there's a toxicity with younger fans happening now that I don't ever remember happening in the past. I was honestly shocked at what I saw on Instagram this morning. I clicked on the Tony Awards post congratulating Katrina Lenk and comments were absolutely HORRIBLE. Not "I wish Taylor Louderman had won!" but so much disgusting hate spewed directly at Katrina Lenk! ...Even though so many of them were saying "I have no idea who she is." It really is not ok, and the anonymity of social media enables it so much. (...Can't help but mention that 45 isn't exactly setting the best example of how to behave on social media.)

Really, though... what's the solution here? Hearing that these fans are stalking stage doors and following people home (?!?!!)... that's so beyond unacceptable. What can be done to put a stop to this?

Updated On: 6/11/18 at 06:47 PM

I honestly think it would help if these actors maybe said something? Let the fans know it's not appreciated and it's not a compliment, it's disgusting and wrong. Obviously, you want to be diplomatic and appreciate your fans, but when they spew hate on your behalf, it crosses a line.

I think a lot of them purposely "stan" actors they know won't say anything reprimanding toward fans, because they're too polite. (i.e. Christy Altomare, Hailey Kilgore, Christian Borle, etc.)

Thanks, Lizzie. Oh, boy. Any time I want to feel good about BWW I just need to look at something like that.

Side note: I looked it up and Pew has decided that millennials are between 22 and 36 as of 2018. So can we please stop applying it to all young people who do something that annoys us?

Considering in the 1960s someone tried to literally mail themself to the beatles...

Obsessive fandoming is nothing new. And I think there is a line that needs to be drawn about what is acceptable and what is not.

If someone wants to write BOM fanfiction, let 'em. They're not hurting anyone provided they're doing it in their circles, asking before they share it with others, and keeping it far away from the cast.

There's got to be a difference between "This grosses me out and I don't know why you'd do it, but have fun I guess" and "This is harmful behaviour"

Acting out at the stagedoor is harmful behaviour. Stalking actors is harmful behaviour. Sending any kind of hate to actors is harmful behaviour. ffs leave actors alone!

tied into this is also the idea that things need to stop being a battle. It's fine to say "The band's visit is very much not for me, but I can see why other people like it." Or even "I feel like Dear Evan Hansen is a bad show and here is why, but I'm happy for all the people it's touched and the good things it's brought." Like things without putting other things down! Dislike things without making it a moral judgement!
"I don't like this thing but I support you liking it" - great!
"I don't like this thing and you should not like it too/feel bad for liking it" - bad

Another bit of teen stan behavior that annoys me:

When people try to defend others being toxic and disrespectful by going all "Let people be sad!!!!"

Like there's a difference between being sad, and being horrible.

Impossible2 wrote:

"Narcissists believe that if they like something then it MUST be amazing as THEY like it and THEY are amazing.

They take complete ownership of it and it becomes an extension of themselves, so any criticism of it is taken as a disgusting personal attack on them as people."



Long before I ever heard of stans, I witnessed the above phenomenon with respect to Sunday in the Park With George, Passion, Fun Home...

When you encounter such individuals, any attempt at rational conversation is futile.

Updated On: 6/12/18 at 06:11 AM

- Teens waiting before shows to see their favorite actor

That was going on during Wicked as well.

- Rude comments about one show "robbing" another at the Tony's

That's been common practice since the dawn of the internet. It's not really "stan" behavior. You'll see it in pretty much every thread that discusses the Tonys (no apostrophe to pluralize a noun) on BWW by all sorts.

- Generally trashy behavior in theatres (on phone, live streaming, being loud) all by Stans.

After the first couple of years, t??????he Rentheads started behaving like every performance was their own private party. The last time I saw it on Broadway around 2005 or 2006, it was a miserable experience. The Rentheads and much of the cast basically threw the show out the window in order to indulge themselves.

Robbie2 said: "I've never heard of STANS till this post...had to google.

Teens will be teens.

stan

an overobsessed;">fanto the point of following a star around.

It is formed from the words;">stalkerand fan.

;">Stalker+ fan = stan.

I'm trying to watch a;">Amerievideo and all of these Beyonce;">stanskeep saying "Amerie sucks,;">Beyonce'sbetter."

#stan#fan#groupie#stalker#obsessed#overzealous"

It's not only teens. I know people in their 20s,30s and even a few in their 40s and 50s that exhibit all the behavior of a stan. The Wicked tour and the Waitress tour have stans of all ages that are the worst I've ever come across.

It's also about a weird sort of "currency" within fan groups, too. Especially with the younger fans who congregate on social media, there's this whole hierarchy of the "big name stans" who are like mini-celebrities with the fan group, presumably because they have gotten noticed by the actors they stalk. It's as if the creepier you are, the most important you become - ironic, since it turns the objects of their affection into means to their own ends.

I think the actors don't speak out more because then they're stuck between a rock and a hard place. If they put their feet down and call out the inappropriate behavior, then those stans will turn on them and suddenly they're being vilified on social media (I'm not kidding, I watched this happen last summer to a certain "Broadway princess" because... wait for it... she didn't react the way a stan wanted when the stan met her and claimed to be a friend of another "princess" actress). And unfortunately, social media following is something that's taken into consideration in the business now when actors are seeking work. But if they don't speak up, then they get stalked online or followed after they've left the theatre. It's gross that they have to deal with it and I don't envy them at all.

bwayrose7 said: "It's also about a weird sort of "currency" within fan groups, too. Especially with the younger fans who congregate on social media, there's this whole hierarchy of the "big name stans" who are like mini-celebrities with the fan group, presumably because they have gotten noticed by the actors they stalk. It's as if the creepier you are, the most important you become - ironic, since it turns the objects of their affection into means to their own ends.

I think the actors don't speak out more because then they're stuck between a rock and a hard place. If they put their feet down and call out the inappropriate behavior, then those stans will turn on them and suddenly they're being vilified on social media (I'm not kidding, I watched this happen last summer to a certain "Broadway princess" because... wait for it... she didn't react the way a stan wanted when the stan met her andclaimed to be a friend of another "princess" actress). And unfortunately, social media following is something that's taken into consideration in the business now when actors are seeking work. But if they don't speak up, then they get stalked online or followed after they've left the theatre. It's gross that they have to deal with it and I don't envy them at all."

Kinda like Trump and his followers...

It's not like psychopathy is anything new, though now they have a much bigger and more anonymous playing field with the internet.