Hugging Actors At Stage Door — Page 3

Wick3 said: "I remember that's what Bette Midler did two years ago when westage doored for Hello Dolly and I still remember shaking her hand!!! Of course she wore gloves but heck my friends and I didn't care!"

I remember hearing that she did this! What a classy lady.

After having a lovely conversation with John Mulaney at Oh, Hello, I asked if I could shake his hand. I said “you’re brilliant” to which he said “YOU’RE brilliant.” A very on-brand interaction.

"We've gone from "stage dooring", to "is it OK to talk to actors at the stage door", to "is it OK to ambush actors on their way going IN the stage door", to "is it OK to hug actors at the stage door". I guess the next logical step in this insane progression is :"is it OK to fondle actors at the stage door?"

Thoughts?"

No it is not ok bothering actor going into the stage door on their way to work. They have things to do to get them ready for a performance that you have paid money to see.

No it is not ok to hug actors. They are not your relatives or friends, be thankful for anything they do for you at stage door (autograph, photo) and don't invade their personal space.

I think it is fine to talk to actors at stage door after the performance. Politely saying you enjoyed their performance and the show is fine. The actor will usually let you know if they are willing to engage in conversation or just simply reply thank you to a compliment.

yankeefan7 said: ""I don’t even take pictures with people because I feel it’s a bit weird. They’re people, not famous landmarks to get a photo with."

It is part of the social media age we live in today, you know 90% of these pictures are being posted on FB the moment the person leaves the stage door line -lol."

Taking a picture of yourself with someone famous was a thing long before the concept of “social media” even existed. Don’t pretend it’s something that only started recently.

I've told this story before, but this is a good thread to repeat myself. Years ago when Alan Alda was on Broadway for something, it was me and a guy with a bunch of MASH crap that he wanted signed. Since he was there first, I let him have the first encounter. Alan refused to sign any of the MASH stuff and the guy whined and whined. Alan said I will shake your hand though. I thought at the time it was kind of odd, because shaking a hand is still kind of personal. The guy refused and continued to whine. At that point, I butt in and introduced myself and shook his hand. I was kind of thrilled. However, the other guy stormed off really mad.

I think it always has to be initiated by the actor. That's the only time. I've gotten hugs from alot of actors but only when they initiated the hug

Updated On: 6/4/19 at 08:24 PM

These days, I think a lot of people aren't living in the moment, and are thinking about the future, and the "likes" the picture will get on their social media. I think many actors understand that, don't appreciate it, and don't want pictures taken of them. My brother has been in the ensemble of two shows on Broadway, and he told me that a lot of the popular actors don't stage door or limit it because of their mental health. Understandable. Please have respect for them and their personal space.

Updated On: 6/4/19 at 09:59 PM

SweetLips22 said: "LizzieCurry said: "SweetLips22, why do you keep inserting yourself into the replies here when the thread clearly doesn't even involve you (other than how much you love to talk about how you don't do the most innocuous version of the conceit of this thread)?"

and not even a racist remark did I make cause I know how touchy your are. Please block me, it's easy and anyone else who objects to free speech.

PS love your last bracketed remark as it doesn't translate that well in English."

I think you guys need a hug from an actor.

Sadly, more and more these days.

Pose2 said: "These days, I think a lot of people aren't living in the moment, andare thinking about the future, and the "likes" the picture will get on their social media."

This is my personal bias but I do think a good part of it is that the ephemeral nature of theater is less comfortable these days. I think it's some combination of people expecting a signed Playbill, more productions getting filmed, teenagers growing up with a massive amount of bootlegs floating around, generations growing up with all manner of home video (VHS, DVD, DVR, etc.), all of the officially filmed press/promotional footage, all of the merch being sold, etc. My experience of most old shows is just through the cast album and I was perfectly with that. I didn't even think to look up photos or any archived material. But now people want to capture fleeting moments in some tangible way. It's rare that something isn't preserved and recorded.