Do you think actors are obliged to appear/sign at the stage door?
Do you think actors are obliged to appear/sign at the stage door?
ghostlight2
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/5/04
#1Do you think actors are obliged to appear/sign at the stage door?
Posted: 4/18/10 at 7:24pm
While I think it's nice if they do, I personally don't think they owe an audience for anything except a performance. Many of the actors seem to enjoy stage door interaction, others, not quite so much. Someone like Nathan Lane, for example, while not well known for being necessarily gracious with fans, will often send a batch of pre-signed playbills out, if he doesn't intend to sign or come out himself. Angela Lansbury often does the same. Some avoid it altogether if possible, and others will stay behind until the last fan is gone. I think all of the above are valid behaviors.
I understand the desire to make a quick connection, express thanks and/or admiration or get an autograph/photo with a performer you enjoy, but I'm increasingly uneasy with the type of fan that feels entitled to these things, as though they think it is bought and paid for with the ticket to the show.
I know how some of you feel about this - what do the rest of you think?
MamasDoin'Fine
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/28/08
#2Do you think actors are obliged to appear/sign at the stage door?
Posted: 4/18/10 at 7:26pmAbsolutely not.
wickedfan11
Broadway Star Joined: 6/17/06
#2Do you think actors are obliged to appear/sign at the stage door?
Posted: 4/18/10 at 7:39pmTheir job is to give the performance, which ends when the curtain comes down.
#3Do you think actors are obliged to appear/sign at the stage door?
Posted: 4/18/10 at 7:39pmIn my mind, their job and thus their obligation to me as an audience member ends as soon as they leave the stage after their final curtain call. It can definitely sometimes be disappointing when someone you've been hoping to meet doesn't come out the stage door, but I would never hold it against them or dislike them because they didn't come out and sign.
#4Do you think actors are obliged to appear/sign at the stage door?
Posted: 4/18/10 at 7:39pm
No.
And I'm not even a (blurb) author!
"This thread reads like a series of White House memos." — Mister Matt
#5Do you think actors are obliged to appear/sign at the stage door?
Posted: 4/18/10 at 7:40pmIf I ever go to a stage door, I take any appearance as a bonus and expect nothing, as ultimately, after a 3 hour show, the last thing they probably want is to stand and smile for hundreds of screaming audience members!
#7Do you think actors are obliged to appear/sign at the stage door?
Posted: 4/18/10 at 7:44pm
@ghostlight2
No actor is obliged to do anything at the stage door. Like you said, some avoid it as much as possible (i.e Nathan Lane), but some revel in the chance to meet their fans (i.e Alice Ripley, who personally greets and signs everyone regardless of how many). Each perfomrer is different.
I do like to wait outside the stage door and anyone who signs is fine...I think fans who wait at the stage door want to personally praise the performers (and I feel that resonates more than sending fan mail...At least that's how I am.
Some people are just autograph hunters and its sad....
Check out my eBay page for sales on Playbills!!
www.ebay.com/usr/missvirginiahamm
#7Do you think actors are obliged to appear/sign at the stage door?
Posted: 4/18/10 at 7:44pm
@ghostlight2
No actor is obliged to do anything at the stage door. Like you said, some avoid it as much as possible (i.e Nathan Lane), but some revel in the chance to meet their fans (i.e Alice Ripley, who personally greets and signs everyone regardless of how many). Each perfomrer is different.
I do like to wait outside the stage door and anyone who signs is fine...I think fans who wait at the stage door want to personally praise the performers (and I feel that resonates more than sending fan mail...At least that's how I am.
Some people are just autograph hunters and its sad....
Check out my eBay page for sales on Playbills!!
www.ebay.com/usr/missvirginiahamm
blaxx
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/28/05
#10Do you think actors are obliged to appear/sign at the stage door?
Posted: 4/18/10 at 7:51pm
At the same time, not wanting to stage door doesn't give anyone the right to be rude.
You can decline politely, but no need to treat those who do wait like they are inferior.
Listen, I don't take my clothes off for anyone, even if it is "artistic". - JANICE
#11Do you think actors are obliged to appear/sign at the stage door?
Posted: 4/18/10 at 7:55pmNo, I don't think they're obliged to, but it's always pleasant when they do. I love praising the actors at the stage door after a show- their hard work is to be congratulated.
Past 12 Months On Stage:
24 Hour Plays: Otawri (Other Black Woman, 9/11), Hairspray (Shayna, 11/18-21) Twelve Angry Men (5th Juror, 12/9-11), Wilson Winter One-Acts: Mannequins (Bloomingdales Salesperson, 2/11-12), Twelfth Night (Maria, 3/24-26), 30 Plays in 60 Minutes (Various Roles, 6/4), Ragtime (Sarah, 8/11-13)Current Avatar: Me looking quite sleepy. This shot gives you a nice view of my various posters: ITH, Hair, The Lion King, the list goes on...
#12Do you think actors are obliged to appear/sign at the stage door?
Posted: 4/18/10 at 8:04pmblaxx, I was going to say something similar. I don't think any actor is obligated to sign at the stage door, but you should at least be cordial if you DO decide to. You don't have to be nice, but you shouldn't be rude.
When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain.
-Kad
ghostlight2
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/5/04
#13Do you think actors are obliged to appear/sign at the stage door?
Posted: 4/18/10 at 8:24pm
Again, my opinion, but while it isn't nice, people (yes, even actors) do have the right to be rude on occasion , a bad show, a bad day, recent bad news - but I think you're referring to a discussion from another thread, blaxx. I don't think it's wise to be rude, but who defines "rude" in cases like this, anyway? One person recently said an actor was "talking sh!t" simply because that actor explained they had chosen to no longer sign autographs. Is that rude? Wouldn't it have been ruder still to ignore the fan, though sometimes it's just easier to keep walking, especially if they've something pressing on their minds or are in a hurry to get somewhere (planes, trains, dinner dates).
I took more than the "quick search" you suggested that would show me "horror stories" about Charlotte d'Amboise at the stage door, blaxx, and all I found was this thread:
https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?page=2&thread=957895&boardid=0
which included one snipe at her from you, followed by three or four separate people claiming how incredibly sweet she was (and I wasn't even one of them).
Do any of you have stories where actors were deliberately rude to you personally, and what about their behavior was it that you considered rude?
Also feel free to tell positive stories, if you like, even though I know (in fact have linked to) other threads on that subject.
Lizzy Curry, you're trying to get my thread deleted, aren't you? 
Updated On: 4/18/10 at 08:24 PM
#14Do you think actors are obliged to appear/sign at the stage door?
Posted: 4/18/10 at 8:29pmI agree that of course they're not obliged to come out the stage door. But I also agree that if you do come out you should be polite. With some of my experiences I'd rather have the actor not come out at all than have them behave the way some have.
#14Do you think actors are obliged to appear/sign at the stage door?
Posted: 4/18/10 at 8:29pmI agree that of course they're not obliged to come out the stage door. But I also agree that if you do come out you should be polite. With some of my experiences I'd rather have the actor not come out at all than have them behave the way some have.
blaxx
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/28/05
#16Do you think actors are obliged to appear/sign at the stage door?
Posted: 4/18/10 at 8:32pm
You're taking this personal, love. There are quite a few threads where posters have expressed their stories about bad stage door experiences, with a number of performers.
That girl was an acquaintance and a poster here and she put it up as soon as it happened. I can't find the thread, but the argument was so heated that I wouldn't be surprised it got deleted.
There are, however, other posts of people expressing the disappointment about that performer. Maybe not to that extreme, but she certainly hasn't been exactly sweet at stage door every time. Feel free to look them up - I don't have time, but if it really is that important for you to read an opinion about her that is not mine, I'll do a search.
Listen, I don't take my clothes off for anyone, even if it is "artistic". - JANICE
#17Do you think actors are obliged to appear/sign at the stage door?
Posted: 4/18/10 at 9:07pm
The publics feelings that an actor's time offstage or off camera entitles them to an autograph and/or picture really irritates me. The price of a ticket includes the performance and nothing more. It's one of the few professions where people feel the celebrity is a commodity and they have rights to engage in conversation, take pictures and ask for their signature.
I remember once being in a restaurant seated in a small patio room with Raquel Welch sitting at the next table from me. Throughout the meal people came in and out of the room gawking at Ms. Welch with some even interrupting her for her autograph while she ate(which she gave). However what beat all was when two women came right up to her table, stood there staring for a moment with one saying to the other in a voice that everyone in the room could hear, "Gee I look even better than Raquel Welch in person."
In fact when possible I think there should be expandable covered walkways (sort of like what one walks through to get from the airport terminal building to their plane) that leads the celebrity from the theatre stage door to their waiting limousine.
ghostlight2
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/5/04
#18Do you think actors are obliged to appear/sign at the stage door?
Posted: 4/18/10 at 9:12pm
I freely grant I took your acquaintance's story personally, blaxx, especially because it supposedly involved a minor physical altercation and some ugly words, and that flies in the face of everything that that performer has shown me and as far as I can tell, her fans, for over ten years.
Full disclosure, yes, I have been associated with her for a long time, though we're far from BFFs. I honestly did spend quite some time last night looking for more information on this board regarding bad stage door behavior from Charlotte d'Amboise, and that thread I linked to above was all I could find - and all of the posts were positive except for yours - and that wasn't even your experience. I'm not attacking you. I like your posts. I'm just trying to set the record straight, just as I'd hope you might, if an associate of yours were unjustly maligned publicly, especially secondhand from an acquaintance. PM me if you like, but yes, I would like to know of these other threads that you speak of. It wouldn't surprise me if I lack the proper searching skills, but it would surprise me even more if anyone but a disgruntled fan would have anything really bad to say about her.
As I'd said before, she's not the chatty sort, isn't one that loves the stage door, is often in a rush to get home to her kids, but I have never, ever seen her be rude to anyone under any circumstances, not even when she's had cause for it.
However, I return to the original purpose of the post, and to ask again (to everyone), if a performer was rude to you, what was it about their behavior that you considered rude? Another thing to consider - not every theater has easily accessible multiple exits. Sometimes a performer simply cannot avoid passing by the fans as they exit the theater.
eta: lol, Dmitri, most of the broadway people I know (Tony winners and all) take the damn subway!
Updated On: 4/18/10 at 09:12 PM
#19Do you think actors are obliged to appear/sign at the stage door?
Posted: 4/18/10 at 9:14pmTerrence Mann punched me in the nads when I yelled at his wife for cold cocking some old lady who asked for an autograph.
ghostlight2
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/5/04
#20Do you think actors are obliged to appear/sign at the stage door?
Posted: 4/18/10 at 9:22pmYeah, well you obviously had it coming, Jordan. Those little old ladies aren't as innocent as they seem. Plus, you must be awfully tall if he punched you in the nads. Seems like giving you the knee would have been easier.
winston89
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/18/06
#21Do you think actors are obliged to appear/sign at the stage door?
Posted: 4/18/10 at 9:22pm
The only recent rude encounter that I can think of off the top of my head is Van Der Pol during her stint in Beauty And The Best. Ghostlight, I am taking into consideration that the Lunt may not have multiple exits ( I don't know for sure either way). However, she was acting like someone was twisting her arm to wait and sign autographs. And, had the attitude to go with it.
I believe I am not the only one that posted here about her attitude at the stage door during her run in Beauty.
"If you try to shag my husband while I am still alive, I will shove the art of motorcycle maintenance up your rancid little Cu**. That's a good dear"
Tom Stoppard's Rock N Roll
#22Do you think actors are obliged to appear/sign at the stage door?
Posted: 4/18/10 at 9:25pm
"Seems like giving you the knee would have been easier."
Well he was already down there anyway.
blaxx
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/28/05
#23Do you think actors are obliged to appear/sign at the stage door?
Posted: 4/18/10 at 9:30pm
The first search I did gave me this thread. I know there are a lot more, but really no time to search at the moment.
It has anecdotes of bad and good ones:
https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?thread=916937
Yes ghostlight2, I'll PM you when I get a chance.
Listen, I don't take my clothes off for anyone, even if it is "artistic". - JANICE
#24Do you think actors are obliged to appear/sign at the stage door?
Posted: 4/18/10 at 9:31pmThis poor dead horse.
"If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition and then admit that we just don't want to do it." -Stephen Colbert
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