Stage Door situation 2023- Page 2

[perfectpenguin]

Posted: 8/27/23 at 8:12am

I do not stage door. I have no interest. But many fans and performers do and enjoy doing it. That said, if performers are uncomfortable right now because of an increase in cases, that’s their choice. They are protecting their health and making the best decision for them. 
 

I agree that a universal/industry wide solution is not an option - for performers or audiences. Leave the choice up to the person for them to decide what to do. 

[quizking101]

Posted: 8/27/23 at 9:33am

WldKingdomHM said: "Bettyboy72 said: "I got COVID this summer while traveling to Ptown. The illness itself was uncomfortable but mild. However, the cough lasted 2 months and if I talked for too long I’d start hacking or my voice would just quit. My MD is seeing more of that and feels it is the new strain. Something like that would be brutal on an actor and vocalist.


It sucks that this disease goes for the respiratory system. I don’t blame any actor for avoiding crowds and masking up. I mean an actor might just be out of a show for a few days but if they get a cough that lasts for months that is pretty precarious."

I got Covid also from Ptown last year. Interesting lol"

Dammit. I’ve been in PTown this whole weekend. 

To quote Madeline Ashton, “NOW a warning?!”

[uncageg]

Posted: 8/27/23 at 9:57am

QueenTwinnied said: "Impeach2017 said: "you know what ship has also sailed? the one where people try to make political hay out of COVID prevention efforts and concerns. Absolutely no one wants to hear that crap anymore, so just stop."

Wow not sure who would use the word “political hay” unless they were born in 1950….



but regardless I would like to know who is making a “hay” about wanting to keep actors safe from Covid? You sound like a horrible person who needs to drink some prune juice. Go call your grandkids"

 

Pot/Kettle

 

 

[perfectpenguin]

Posted: 8/27/23 at 10:02am

What’s Ptown? 

[uncageg]

Posted: 8/27/23 at 10:12am

perfectpenguin said: "What’s Ptown?"

Provincetown

 

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 8/27/23 at 3:10pm

A few things:

1. Aside from the one about there always being new variants (which is 100% factual, and I believe there are people who still haven't accepted that), every one of my posts is just simply my opinion. Same as everyone else. By no means did I mean any ill will, nor did I desire to start any petty nonsense. That being said, if someone curses at me and calls me an a-hole, especially if for no reason, I'm going to defend myself. If people still can't talk about covid in a civilized, logical way, rather than letting their emotions dominate them, all discussions about it are going to devolve into childish nonsense.

2. I don't understand why people get all bent out of shape about stagedooring. I truly don't. It's supposed to be fun, both for the audience members, and for the actors. Both of whom choose to do it. Remember when I said there are multiple reasons why I don't stagedoor as much as I used to? This is one of those reasons. The general attitude around the practice, and self-righteous way people on both sides of the equation talk about it, has made the whole practice feel less fun.

3. I don't know who the "political hay" thing was directed at, but I haven't seen anyone here trying to get political about any of this. I certainly wasn't, and I don't even think the person who cursed at me was. All people are doing here is stating their opinions. And, in the case of my post about new variants, facts.

TL/DR: Covid will always be here, how people approach it is their choice/their business, threads like this are why stagedooring is less fun now, and cursing at people for no reason is a sure-fire way to drag any discussion into the depths of middle school.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 8/27/23 at 7:12pm

I’d never politicize COVID. I will admit I had some hubris about not getting sick. I had the OG Covid in February 2020.  It was relatively mild. As soon as mandates were dropped I never really wore masks. I wanted to get my own immunity doing it’s thing again. (Again, not a political statement.) I got sick after Ptown this summer. It really hung on even though it was mild -the cough and voice loss was exhausting and difficult.

I find the weird thing about COVID is it affects everyone differently so each person is at its mercy. It might feel like allergies or you might become deathly ill. You might have a cough that lingers for months like me. I don’t think we can just “get over” new variants because we don’t know what they will do. If you voice is your living I think there is a reason to be vigilant.

I do think a production could take the onus off of actors to stage door by saying the production will not stage door. Security and stage door staff and can tell people to not congregate. Again, not political. Just a nice way to protect people who rely on their voice to make a living  

 

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 8/27/23 at 7:23pm

Here's my thing, though: All viruses mutate. All viruses spawn new variants. All of them. Every endemic virus in existence.

But why do people only get in a tizzy over it with covid? Covid is basically endemic at this point, like the flu. Why don't we freak out over new variants of other viruses?

This is just my view of course, but I personally group covid in with all the other endemic viruses we've lived with our entire lives at this point. Because that's gonna be how covid is forever. And also because, to be perfectly honest, I had a particularly nasty bout with the flu in March 2019 (didn't get my flu shot that year), that did pretty much what you described with covid this summer.

Again, I'm JUST asking, and just stating my view on it. I don't need anyone biting my head off over a virus. I will not engage with anyone who is unable to be mature and civilized about this subject.

Bettyboy, your view/opinion is completely valid.

Updated On: 8/27/23 at 07:23 PM

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 8/27/23 at 7:33pm

Another thing I would put out there (and I don't know if anyone is implying otherwise, but I still think it's worth mentioning):

I don't know any actors who stage door if they don't want to. Like literally zero. In my experience, any actor who signs/takes selfies at the stage door is doing it because they want to. I've seen arguments thrown out, not necessarily in this thread, but in other threads, that some actors stage door because they feel pressured to; but I have not known that to be the case with any actor I know, personally. I know actors who choose to do it, and I know actors who choose to not do it. But I genuinely don't know any actors who only do it because they feel pressured to.

Personally, if I'm ever lucky enough to end up on Broadway (yeah, fat chance, I know), I probably won't do it. Not out of any lack of appreciation for audience, but because it seems exhausting. Updated On: 8/27/23 at 07:33 PM

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 8/27/23 at 8:19pm

BroadwayRox3588 said: "Here's my thing, though: All viruses mutate. All viruses spawn new variants. All of them. Every endemic virus in existence.

But why do people only get in a tizzy over it with covid? Covid is basically endemic at this point, like the flu. Why don't we freak out over new variants of other viruses?

This is just my view of course, but I personally group covid in with all the other endemic viruses we've lived with our entire lives at this point. Because that's gonna be how covid is forever. And also because, to be perfectly honest, I had a particularly nasty bout with the flu in March 2019 (didn't get my flu shot that year), that did pretty much what you described with covid this summer.

Again, I'm JUST asking, and just stating my view on it. I don't need anyone biting my head off over a virus. I will not engage with anyone who is unable to be mature and civilized about this subject.

Bettyboy, your view/opinion is completely valid."

Rox, your question is a good and valid one that I think many are trying to answer. Myself included. I’m probably oversimplifying this but I feel like people lump a cold together in the same group. Like we all get the same cold. Not true but we are so desensitized. No one thinks twice about colds. Until the pandemic, we used to come to work with colds. 
 

As for Covid, it’s still very stigmatized in the workplace. You have to take a set number of days off, sometimes even test negative to return. There is still a hyper vigilance with it. I think because it affects so many people so differently. 

 

[ACL2006]

Posted: 8/27/23 at 8:31pm

Most workplaces now, including mine currently, won't grant you time off if you test positive for COVID. They force you to use your PTO, sick days or vacation time. So people are more or less unlikely to go get tested now because of this. They may take one day off from work, but then show up the next days still feeling sick (positive or not).

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 8/27/23 at 9:15pm

I have to admit that in 2019 during that awful bout of the flu, I dragged myself to my acting class when I was pale as a ghost, and incredibly nauseous. I didn't want to hurt my grade, but my professor told me to go home when it was clear that I could barely stand up. But I think the culture of "pushing through" when you're sick, whether with covid, flu, or whatever, is definitely an unfortunate one. And one that I hoped would be a thing of the past with the pandemic. And I don't blame individuals; the culture just hasn't changed like it should have.

Updated On: 8/27/23 at 09:15 PM

[perfectpenguin]

Posted: 8/27/23 at 9:38pm

The only remaining COVID thing in my company is if you test positive via doctor testing / urgent care, you get 5 days automatically off work with COVID sick days. No need for a negative test to return but if you need to be out past 5 days, you have to use your sick time for day 6, 7, etc.

I also lump COVID in with flu and colds. Flu mutates each year. So does the cold virus. And so will COVID. They’re all endemic and we’ve learned to live with them. IN MY OPINION, COVID, like many other things, is now a political tool which is why people separate COVID from flu and colds. People don’t fight over flu and how to treat it, but mention COVID and arguments start. 

[uncageg]

Posted: 8/27/23 at 10:18pm

perfectpenguin said: "The only remaining COVID thing in my company is if you test positive via doctor testing / urgent care, you get 5 days automatically off work with COVID sick days. No need for a negative test to return but if you need to be out past 5 days, you have to use your sick time for day 6, 7, etc.

I also lump COVID in with flu and colds. Flu mutates each year. So does the cold virus. And so will COVID. They’re all endemic and we’ve learned to live with them. IN MY OPINION, COVID, like many other things, is now a political tool which is why people separate COVID from flu and colds. People don’t fight over flu and how to treat it, but mention COVID and arguments start."

 

I think this is because the colds and flus we have had up to this point have been around and they have had a handle on how to treat them. Covid is still relatively new and they are still studying it. I think it is quite smart to be as careful as possible for at least the next few years. 

What I have "issue" with is people saying that people should "do what is right for them" regarding Covid, masks, etc. This isn't taking someone's "power" away to decide. This is a health issue. A global one. So if someone feels that what is right for them is to not wear a mask, not only to protect themselves but others, and contracts Covid and spreads it, then what is right for them could make others sick. And yes, we spread the regular cold and flu but it isn't sending thousands of people to the hospital where many end up on ventilators. We can get over the counter meds for a cold or flu. I suspect we will be able to do that at some point for the Covid strain.  I think it should just be an across the board thing. If the League or a show says no stage dooring then no stage dooring. Same with masks. JMO

 

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 8/27/23 at 10:45pm

uncageg said: "I think this is because the colds and flus we have had up to this point have been around and they have had a handle on how to treat them. Covid is still relatively new and they are still studying it. I think it is quite smart to be as careful as possible for at least the next few years.

What I have "issue" with is people saying that people should "do what is right for them" regarding Covid, masks, etc. This isn't taking someone's "power" away to decide. This is a health issue. A global one. So if someone feels that what is right for them is to not wear a mask, not only to protect themselves but others, and contracts Covid and spreads it, then what is right for them could make others sick. And yes, we spread the regular cold and flu but it isn't sending thousands of people to the hospital where many end up on ventilators. We can get over the counter meds for a cold or flu. I suspect we will be able to do that at some point for the Covid strain. I think it should just be an across the board thing. If the League or a show says no stage dooring then no stage dooring. Same with masks. JMO"

I definitely respect your opinion/view. I don't agree with very much of it (though I would have in 2020/2021), but I respect it.

Updated On: 8/27/23 at 10:45 PM

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 8/28/23 at 12:23am

uncageg said: "What I have "issue" with is people saying that people should "do what is right for them" regarding Covid, masks, etc. This isn't taking someone's "power" away to decide. This is a health issue. A global one. So if someone feels that what is right for them is to not wear a mask, not only to protect themselves but others, and contracts Covid and spreads it, then what is right for them could make others sick. And yes, we spread the regular cold and flu but it isn't sending thousands of people to the hospital where many end up on ventilators. We can get over the counter meds for a cold or flu. I suspect we will be able to do that at some point for the Covid strain. I think it should just be an across the board thing. If the League or a show says no stage dooring then no stage dooring. Same with masks. JMO"

This is a sincere thought, but not a real world one. The open and shut of it is that if you are immunocompromised or you have concern about COVID the only thing that can be done to protect you is to wear an N95 Mask and gloves when out and don't touch your face. A standard mask that is up/down/all around all day while you (in particularly in NYC) shuffle through the subway isn't going to protect anyone. Right now the death tally for COVID deaths in 2023 is about 44,000 and we're 8 months into the year. That's about on par with a bad flu season death that is tracked from October to April-ish each year (52,000 2017-18 | 51,000 2014-15) . You're right that there are OTC medications that you can take for the flu, but none of them actually TREAT the flu. The only thing that would treat the Flu is Tamiflu which is prescription and has to be taken early and COVID has an "equivalent" with Paxlovid, they're antivirals. The OTC meds treat the outward manifestation of the symptoms. The same way they would if you were taking them for similar symptoms from COVID. Trust and believe, the flu does hospitalize hundreds of thousands of people every year and those who die from it (And many of those who don't) are very much on Ventilators. 

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 8/28/23 at 12:42pm

Just a reminder that there is still at least a death every day in NYC from Covid.

[perfectpenguin]

Posted: 8/28/23 at 12:56pm

ghostlight2 said: "Just a reminder that there is still at least a death every day in NYC from Covid."

Also a reminder that there’s an overdose death from fentanyl nearly every hour and a shooting related homicide almost daily in Philly. These are things we learn to deal with, just like COVID. 

[Voter]

Posted: 8/28/23 at 1:18pm

perfectpenguin said: "ghostlight2 said: "Just a reminder that there is still at least a death every day in NYC from Covid."

Also a reminder that there’s an overdose death from fentanyl nearly every hour and a shooting related homicide almost daily in Philly. These are things we learn to deal with, just like COVID."

Jesus....

[uncageg]

Posted: 8/28/23 at 2:51pm

Voter said: "perfectpenguin said: "ghostlight2 said: "Just a reminder that there is still at least a death every day in NYC from Covid."

Also a reminder that there’s an overdose death from fentanyl nearly every hour and a shooting related homicide almost daily in Philly. These are things we learn to deal with, just like COVID."

Jesus...."

I will add the Christ...

[xoxobwayjohndoe]

Posted: 8/28/23 at 3:26pm

BroadwayRox3588 said: "Here's my thing, though: All viruses mutate. All viruses spawn new variants. All of them. Every endemic virus in existence.

But why do people only get in a tizzy over it with covid? Covid is basically endemic at this point, like the flu. Why don't we freak out over new variants of other viruses?

This is just my view of course, but I personally group covid in with all the other endemic viruses we've lived with our entire lives at this point. Because that's gonna be how covid is forever. And also because, to be perfectly honest, I had a particularly nasty bout with the flu in March 2019 (didn't get my flu shot that year), that did pretty much what you described with covid this summer.

Again, I'm JUST asking, and just stating my view on it. I don't need anyone biting my head off over a virus. I will not engage with anyone who is unable to be mature and civilized about this subject.

Bettyboy, your view/opinion is completely valid."

One major difference that I wish more people would talk about is the frequency with which people get the flu. I'm sure there is non-anecdotal data, but I think I've had the flu, on average, fewer than once per decade. Obviously everyone has different situations, but – like COVID – the flu has a number of nasty sequelae. If people were contacting the flu 2-3x per year, I think the scientific community would advise more caution, etc., since, like COVID, it has a "long" form.

Just to be clear, too, I am not saying this is the only difference. There are many others, but I'm just focusing here.

Obviously people and shows can disagree with what to do with such information, but one major way it differs from the flu is how frequently people are contracting it.

Death numbers are definitely down, but at this point, I'm more concerned with potential long-term consequences than I am dying from any one infection during the acute phase.

Updated On: 8/28/23 at 03:26 PM

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 8/28/23 at 3:28pm

perfectpenguin said: "ghostlight2 said: "Just a reminder that there is still at least a death every day in NYC from Covid."

Also a reminder that there’s an overdose death from fentanyl nearly every hour and a shooting related homicide almost daily in Philly. These are things we learn to deal with, just like COVID."




Okay, let's be serious here. I've left little need for inference for my opinion that covid in 2023 need not be viewed the same way as covid in 2020/2021, but...come on. This is a ridiculous comparison.

Updated On: 8/28/23 at 03:28 PM

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 8/28/23 at 3:30pm

xoxobwayjohndoe said: "One major difference that I wish more people would talk about is the frequency with which people get the flu. I'm sure there is non-anecdotal data, but I think I've had the flu, on average, fewer than once per decade."

I greatly envy you. I got it all four years when I was in high school.

[xoxobwayjohndoe]

Posted: 8/28/23 at 3:34pm

BroadwayRox3588 said: "xoxobwayjohndoe said: "One major difference that I wish more people would talk about is the frequency with which people get the flu. I'm sure there is non-anecdotal data, but I think I've had the flu, on average, fewer than once per decade."

I greatly envy you. I got it all four years when I was in high school."

Oh, students definitely comprise a subset that contracts illnesses, in general, more frequently than average. JAMA found that 70% of community spread for COVID, for example, originated with a child. I have no trouble believing that you had the flu that many times, nor would I doubt other students.

That said, for the population of non-students, the flu rates are definitely far lower and more in line with my anecdotal experience of < once per decade on average.

Whereas with COVID, I (again anecdotally) know people already on their third, fourth, fifth infections, etc. since summer 2021. That's not a great average, and I do think we're going to start to see (and have already seen) increases in the frequency and severity of other types of illness due to the disease' long-term impact on the immune and vascular systems. I'm thinking people like like WWE pro Bray Wyatt or Anaheim Angels player Jared Walsh, etc.

 

Updated On: 8/28/23 at 03:34 PM

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 8/28/23 at 3:38pm

 But why do people only get in a tizzy over it with covid?

I've noticed this as well and I think it's a good question. With social media, the 24 hour news cycle, and people loving to spread false information, Covid was such a nightmare.  But with all those things constantly, it made it an unbearable time. Nobody seemed to know much in those early days so everyone was freaking out, and I think everyone is still trying to move beyond the trauma that it caused. So, anytime people hear the words "covid" or "new variants", there is a always a major visceral reaction because it's all wrapped up in the trauma of it all. Just my thoughts.