How do you feel about going to the stage door? — Page 2

I like stage dooring, but I agree a line has to be drawn when it comes to these personal interactions. I usually just thank the performers for a great show (and get their autographs since most of them come out with sharpies ready). I have seen some people do the whole small talk thing with the performers, that is something I wouldn't do, because they are probably tired after the show and to be honest, I don't have anything to say to them other than telling them how amazing they are on stage. Of course, I have nothing against people who do this, because sometimes people are big fans and have questions for the stars - when I meet performers who I really like or have seen before, I also tell them how big of a fan I am and let them know I appreciate their work. However, when people think they can become the stars' friends by chatting with them at the stage door, I think that's kind of delusional.

I think the main reason I enjoy stage dooring is because at almost every stage door I have been to, the stars were very happy to see fans there. If they are happy to see fans there, and happy to hear fans thanking them personally, then I think the stage door is a great. If a star comes out of the stage door and sees almost no one there, I can't help but think that it might be kind of disappointing for him or her. So if everyone behaves properly at the stage door, I think it can be a great experience for both the fans and the stars.

Updated On: 6/6/13 at 01:10 AM

I feel that going to the stage door is very un-New York. New Yorkers are famous for being too cool/rushed/self-involved to care about celebrities, and taking time out of your day to go to the stage door contradicts that.

Obviously there are some New Yorkers who do go crazy for celebrities.

When I lived in New York, I had a friend visit me who would always want to see whichever show had a big celebrity in it, an then he would have to stage door it afterward. I did it with him the first time, and it was such an awkward experience(partly because everybody was spazzing and screaming and I was just standing there observing so of course the famous person returned my glare). After that, I stood across the street and waited for him to finish his fanboy activity.

These actors are just people like everybody else. Imagine if we started treating everyone that way. You waited at McDonald's until the shift change and then stopped the girl who made your Big Mac and told her how amazing she is. You stand outside your dentist's office and wait til closing time just to tell him how great your teeth look now. Wouldn't writing letter be a better thing to do? Stagedooring shows a lack of respect for the actor's time, and it smacks of entitlement. If there is a theater of 1500 people, can/should all 1500 people expect a brief personal moment with the star? Or just a few? I would say that if someone really cares to communicate with an actor about how wonderful the performance was, etc etc then a letter wold be the best way to express that. It can be read at the actor's leisure, and he can choose to have an interaction with, rather than having it forced on him.

Updated On: 6/6/13 at 01:51 AM

I'm with Gaveston on this one. I only go back if I've been invited, and even then, it feels unnecessary. Let's just meet at a bar for a drink.

I know several actors who hate the stage door thing, a few who love it, and some who just accept it as a part of the job.

But personally, I find the whole idea that you need to "thank" an actor or celebrity personally just a little creepy. You bought a ticket, you watched, and you applauded. Really, that's all you need to do. The notion that your life has been enriched by standing close to someone who doesn't know you and won't remember you has a tinge of the pathetic about it.

The absolute worst, of course, are the chronic stage-doorers who feel like the actors are really their "friends," that they have an authentic personal relationship (the ones who start a post by saying, "I was talking to Jenn [or Hunter, or Alice, or Patti] at the stage door, and they told me...").

It's funny that this question was posed because just yesterday I stage doored for the first time since HAIRSPRAY closed. Now I know why I don't do that anymore because the people are horrible (see below).

The show was I'LL EAT YOU LAST. I've been a huge Bette fan since I was a kid and I thought she hasn't been on Broadway in awhile plus I only have to deal with getting the one autograph.

I stood there patiently against the barricades waiting for Bette to come out. Everyone else? Not so much. Middle-aged women were acting like toddlers throwing tantrums and expecting Bette to come out right then because they had waited long enough. During this time, Candice Bergen, Michael Korrs and Gina Gershon came out. Now I wonder if Bette would prefer talking to them or signing your Playbill and be gawked at by you.

The action I found to be completely deplorable was when three older women (very posh, well-dressed) came out of the stage door and just lingered for a moment. Two middle-aged women standing along the barricades begin yelling at them "LADIES! CAN YOU MOVE. WE'VE BEEN WAITING A LONG TIME TO GET A PICTURE OF BETTE COMING OUT!" The older ladies were very gracious and explained (I believe) that they would be moving along shortly. Bette didn't come out for another 15 mins.

It's been said on here before but it is not the actor's job to come out whenever you feel they should and sign your Playbills. That is a courtesy they are affording you so act like an adult and show some decorum. I know it's very difficult to do.

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I always wondered why this tradition started and does it really help a show economically. If you tell a friend or family that a actor/actress from a show was really nice at the stage door,is that going to really help sell a ticket to that show. I would think if you told friend/family the show or actor was great it would help sell ticket to show better than the stage door experience. JMO

Is this chiefly a fangirl experience? Is it equally a guys and girls thing? Mostly folks under 25, or is it pretty much spread across the range of demographics?

In my experience, no, it’s not just a fangirl thing. I have seen all ages, all genders. At certain shows the stage door might be filled with younger girls, but at another you will see couples in their 50s as the majority.

As many others on here have said, I will stage door if a show/performer really moved me and I want to express my gratitude and get an autograph and/or a picture. I know actors are not required to stage door (and never expect them to) and am always grateful when the choose to do so. I say thank you/give my brief praises, ask for an autograph/picture, and try to let the actors move on as quickly as possible. Only if an actor initiates more will I continue the conversation.

I think the rude behavior at the stage door often stems from the people who believe they have the right to expect an after-show interaction with the actors. And, if it doesn’t go exactly the way they want it to, that is when issues arise.

Perhaps one of my biggest stage door pet peeves is someone who keeps talking to the actor after he/she has moved on to other fans. I have, one too many times, not gotten to even say “thank you” to an actor because, as he/she is signing my playbill, someone who had their playbill signed 5 people before me is still shouting down the line talking to the actor. The actor, you can tell, almost always feels awkward as he/she doesn’t want to tell this person to shut up, but also doesn’t want others to feel slighted.

I agree that, at times, stage dooring can be an extension of the theatrical experience. For example, “Follies” was the first time I had seen Bernadette perform after being a fan of hers since I was a little kid. Not to say that seeing her perform would not have been more than enough, but getting to meet her afterwards was the cherry on top. I was floating on air that night.

I find nothing wrong with stage dooring as long as a you are respectful and polite of the actors (unfortunately, this often seems like too much to expect out of some theatre-goers). If you are respectful, I don’t think there is anything wrong with someone stage dooring, as the actors who do come out the stage door are willing participants.

I, like many other here, will usually stay away from stage doors of shows that have big celebrities in them. There has yet to be a Hollywood star that I have wanted to meet so badly that is worth standing in those unruly crowds.

While I usually only stage door if I am moved by a show/performer, there are also the occasions where a show has moved me so much I could not possibly immediately go stand in a crowd right after or the theatrical experience was so perfect I want only the experience of seeing the show to remain in my mind.

What an interesting thread! I love reading everyone's views on this. I, for one, started seeing shows semi-frequently in high school so I was a big fangirl and loved getting autographs and pictures with my favorite actors so I could show them off to my friends. As I got older, I got less giggly about it but I still like to stagedoor a lot of shows I go to. For me it's more about the actors than the show...and it is about the memorabilia I will have for the rest of my life (that signed playbill or picture with someone I admire). I have a huge Playbill collection and have plans to one day do some kind of decorating thing with them (any suggestions??) so I like to add autographs to the cover if I have a few minutes after the show.

When an actor approaches to sign a playbill, it always feels to me like something needs to be said in that moment to avoid the awkward pause. I used to rack my brain trying to come up with something unique to say to these amazing actors I was such a fan of. But as others have mentioned, there is almost nothing you can say that they haven't heard before. So these days I just like to look them in the eye and tell them how wonderful their performance was and how happy the show made me. Most of the time they just smile politely, say thank you, and move on to the next playbill down the line. But every so often an actor looks truly touched and seems to really appreciate fans loving what they do. Since it makes ME happy, and might make THEM happy, I like to stagedoor. But yes, you see lots of awkward encounters, especially with supporting actors who don't usually get recognized. But overall I think most actors are okay with it.

I've tried explaining why I love taking pictures with celebrities or broadway actors that I meet to people who don't get it, and I'm not really sure I have a good explanation. It just makes me happy to look back on it. I'll always have the memory, but a picture is just such fun evidence. I've only had a few great conversations at stage doors... J. Robert Spencer from Next To Normal was the absolute sweetest and chatted with my friends and I for a few minutes in the freezing cold one time. Gabriel Ebert and Bertie Carvel were actually both very chatty and hilarious at the Matilda stage door a few weeks ago! It's just so cool to see them as "real people" just minutes after they give such a spectacular performance (Bertie especially).

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Seriously, I have many down to earth friends who are in shows who I met at stage doors when they came out after a show and if it's one thing they can't stand is all those eldergays hissing for autographs.

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"I've said it elsewhere (these threads do pop up) - what happens these days is a phenomenon like no other - it has NEVER happened like this and is a product of the Internet generation, and maybe a bit before. The first time I took notice of it was Beauty and the Beast, so it's going on that long, although that was a very specific case back then."

If it's such a new phenomena, then why is the term "stage door johnny" such an old one? I've seen people waiting at the stage door LONG before Beauty and the Beast, bk. Sure, more people do it now, but to act like it's a brand new thing is silly. For example, from your own post:

"When I was a teen I saw every tour that came to LA - and if I loved some actor in a show I was precocious enough to just walk right up to the stage door. But there was no "stage dooring" as its known today. I was the ONLY one there and I would tell the person at the door who I would like to meet, and I would then be taken directly to the dressing room of that person, where I would meet and have a short, nice conversation."

So it was "nice" and "fun" when you did it, because it was only you and you didn't have new-fangled technology, but now that there are more people, it's "a game" and "media crap"?

Personally, I only stagedoor if there's someone in the show I've worked with but don't know well, then I just say hi, good to see you, great show, and move on. If it's someone I know well, I just meet them later. I have never stagedoored for someone I don't know at all.


eta: I don't think stagedooring is a weird thing. It just isn't my thing. Some actors aren't fond of it, some LOVE it.

Updated On: 6/7/13 at 02:36 AM

"Poem For Daniel"

God bless, and never 4get.

http://www.myspace.com/video/vanessa/jersey-boys-fans-read-poem-to-daniel-reichard-on-1-9-08/25921868

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Updated On: 6/7/13 at 08:56 AM

"Nobody is there against their will."

As already pointed out, there are actors who don't like it. Their choices are 1) sit in their dressing room until the crowd is gone, 2) find a different exit from the theatre, 3) grin and bear it, 4) snarl at the crowd or ignore them completely.

who cares who goes to the stagedoor? all these eldergays need to give it a rest. it's not 1965 anymore. jfc.

Don't worry. All of us eldergays will be dead soon.

Will that make you happy?

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