I've been collecting autographs this way for a long, long time. I have better luck getting autographs from stage folk than anybody else. They're very generous that way.
I do know that photos cost money, as does postage. For that reason I always send something for them to sign. Usually it's a photo, but sometimes I've sent Playbills. I have a 9" x 12" Tyvek envelope (VERY light) and I slip a thin piece of cardboard into it. This is to keep the photo from being bent in the mail. I address this envelope TO ME and put the words "PHOTO - DO NOT BEND" on the front. I then take this envelope, cardboard, and photo and weigh them together on a postal scale. I then attach the appropriate postage.
I write a one page, 2 paragraph letter to them. I type it and use a fairly large size font (11 or 12) so it can be read very quickly. I am always completely honest in these letters. In para 1 I tell them how much I admire their work. I then point out one particularly favorite role. In para 2 I tell them that I have been collecting autographs for a long time and I would be honored if they would autograph the enclosed photo for me so I can add it to my collection. I let them know that a SASE is enclosed.
Final line is a thank you very much and best wishes for the future.
NEVER make it longer than that. I never assume that they don't care about what I write but I ALWAYS assume that they're just too busy to spend any more than a few seconds to read my note. Any time they spend reading the note and signing the pic is a gift to me and I let them know I appreciate it!
I've even gone so far as to enclose a silver sharpie if the photo I'm sending is very dark. I let them know that they can feel free to keep the pen.
This whole package - the Tyvek envelope with cardboard insert, photo, and note are then placed into a 10" x 13" manila envelope. I address that one to the actor, c/o "such and such a play, at Whatever Theatre, street address, etc.
So far only 2 disappointments. One from Bill Pullman. I never got the photo back and I just assumed that he preferred not to sign. I couldn't have been more wrong! I met him at the stage door a couple of months later. There were only 2 other people there and he spent a good 20 minutes with us - chatting, signing, posing for pics. Couldn't have been nicer. So I assume he just never got it.
The second, slighter disappointment was Liam Neeson while he appeared in "The Crucible". That photo came back within a couple of weeks, but without a signature. However, he did include an autographed Playbill, so I was happy.
As for time - it's anybody's guess. I sent a Playbill to Frank Gorshin with a note that his "Jimmy" was my first Broadway show and it started a LONG love affair for me. (Very true) That one came back with a note WITHIN A WEEK! On the other hand I sent a photo to David Warner when he was appearing in "Major Barbara". I actually had taken the photo with me when I saw the play but I missed him at the stage door. (Probably because there wasn't one!) Anyway, when I got home I sent him the photo c/o the theatre as usual. Eventually the play ended and a couple of months went by and I'd forgotten about it. Then one day, there it was in the mail - along with a lovely little note. Apparently Mr. Warner had taken all his mail back home with him and was only answering it then. What a lovely surprise!
Good luck with your autograph hunting!
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mamie4 5/14/03
