Proper Stage Door Etiquette

At closing of The Vertical Hour it was a madhouse at the stage door. We were already packed in like sardines. This larger woman (not to be size-ist because I know I'm not small, but this woman made two of me!) started working her way to the front saying he daughter was on the other side. They were moving the barricades out to the curb, and she just stopped. The guy was going to let her go across, but she said "No, that's ok." After pitching a fit about her daughter being on the other side. So the girl next to me and I who had moved aside to let her get through to her daughter were crammed into the space for ONE person if that right next to the car. And what's even worse, when the daughter got her playbill signed, the woman decided she didn't need one since her daughter had gotten it.

And to top it off, we'd figured the daughter was a little kid the way the woman was acting. Oh no. When we saw her, she was easily college-age or older.

Oy!

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110 seems to have such rude people. I was where the barricades meet to make a half-square, and of course, the people stand in front of me, when they're told to stand BEHIND the barricade. I had to call out each actor's name. Then, when the security guard finally gets through to them to move, a woman PULLS APART the barricades and justs lets herself in, right in front of me. Rude people.

I've seen it twice now and it really is crazy. I got Lea's autograph the first time, but I didn't even attempt it the second time. Figured I'd get the rest of the cast, while the entire stagedoor crowd surrounded her.

I have two that were the same situation that ended up having me do the same thing in both situations.

When I saw the Les Miserables revival a while back I was the only one being literally pushed against the baracade. It was mostly people who knew not a word of english waiting to meet Lea and younger girls who wanted to meet Ali. I turned to the crowd and yelled " Back the hell up two feet I can't breath." The only lead out at that time was Arron and he saw that I was having trouble breathing because I was shoved against the barricade. He tried to get the crowd to move back. I ended up hopping the baracade and doing the rest of my stage doring right next to the door itself. The security guard had no problem with me doing that and was very apoligitic about what just happend.

The othe time was the same day at the wicked matinee. It was full of young fangirls as usual. Now, keep in mind that the only qualm I have with Wicked is that the show is chock full of fan girls that is the only thing about the show that bothers me to no end.

At the stage door, Julia and Kendra came out at the same time and I was the only guy there. I did the same thing and the two of them gzve me this look to say " wow your tough." at the end of the stage door after everyone left because they were done Julia turned to me and said that I did a nice job. And that she had never seen that much testrone at the stage door before and complamented me on standing up for myself.

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...she paid for her ticket and she can ask him anything she wants.

Wow- I think that is even better than spinach. (And, of course, by better I mean worse.) I'm headed back to Spring Awakening next month, have never stagedoored there, but I just might have to, after hearing these stories...

Yes, she did go there and John, answered, " There are topics I do not discuss, Religion, politcs, my sexuality and my penis size.!"

That was classy- although it makes me a little sad because I wonder if he has that answer prepared because this is not the first time someone at the stagedoor has gone all Veruca Salt and been all "I paid for my ticket and you will answer all my inappropriate questions now, now, NOW!"

silversurfer, yeah that's just wrong. I mean i know people pay a lot to see shows but there is no reason to be disrespectful.

I was at Wicked a few months back waiting for Julia and Kendra and these two girls who obviously didn't see the show walked up to my friend and I and were asking what we were waiting for. We explained why we were standing there and the two girls were like why would u do that, I was trying to be nice and give a little explination as to why we were there, and why there was a crowd growing all around us. The girls than just stood there behind us talking about us. I really felt like turning to them and saying something nasty but no way was i going to go down to their level.

Another time i was waiting to get something signed after another show and this boy stepped infront of me, and normally i don't mind especially if they move over to allow people behind them to get stuff signed but this kid wouldn't move, and it was starting to urk me.

At the stage door for Curtains I was standing at the gate with my sharpie and everything all ready and as everyone was coming out the girl behind me kept throwing her playbill in my face, i would move aside so that she could get her autographs but it was starting to get really anoying cause she kept bumping me, finally DHP came out and saw what she was doing, and after he signed all my stuff he wispered "how nice it was to see someone move aside to let someone else get an autograph" and he smiled at me and went on signing everyone elses stuff.

I can't understand why some idiots don't think that actors are people too... what ticket holders are entitled to ends with the curtain call...

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My favorite is the 40 year old Murder She Wrote fans at Deuce. I saw Deuce and decided to stage door, and this woman and her husband (boyfriend, friend, whatever)pushed their way to the front with an armload of every Murder She Wrote box set and book known to mankind. So Angela comes out and its raining and its clear she wants to go, but she comes over and this woman pushes her way to the front and shoves a book in her face and shoves her face next to Angela's and starts talking like their old friends, and Angela went to sign another autograph and when she turns around the woman does the exact same thing like 3 or 4 times, even after Angela politely asked her to allow her time to sign other peoples Playbills. I can understand twelve year olds not knowing how to behave, but when your forty, you should really know better.

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yep surfer, what paikea said- although, this is the thread where I first learned about spinach (starts at the end of page 10), and I don't know why but 'spinach' has just been making me laugh ever since:
creepiest fan group?

well this wasn't stage door but it is a good story...I went to the today show to see the cast of hairspray perform (it was my birthday and I was in town) well it was me, my mom and 2 friends...we get in the plaza and it is packed and we are standing there and ever so often the crowd moved up so we would move up...we were trying to stay together and this senior citizen with her friends had a cup of hot coffee in one hand and was spilling it on people so she could get by them and when we were moving she started to put her arm in between my friend and I...that arm had the coffee in it...my mom put her arm over us as to say we are all together...well the lady spilled coffee on my shirt and on my mom's arm...my mom reacted and said ow lady and wiped her arm on her...the lady freaked out...she told my mom to chill out that she didn't spill on her and she is just trying to get by us to get to the stage, that she wasn't pushing us, then her friends started to yell at my mom...I had had it by that time and said that look at the wet spot on my shirt and where the hell was she going in case she couldn't see you can't get near the stage...she then rolled her eyes at me and said to her friends well lets go visit my neice at Dean and Dalucca she can get upstairs so we can see and I was like you do that...she was the only rude person we ran into there...but what a witch

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'you dont own them for the price of a ticket' -thats gotta go down in Broadway history! I hope your all listening to these posts- they are human beings with a life and feelings!

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Proper Stage Door Etiquete:

Go only when you are invited or expected. Otherwise leave these people alone!

My two-cents.

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