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Post by ensembleswings on Jul 2, 2018 16:24:49 GMT
I enjoy visiting the stage door and hunt for autographs (if I have visited a show) I do have a few actors I have seen more often and I do bring gifts to some. Usually stuff from my country as they seem to enjoy that. I even had an actor sending me a message once, when I send him a tweet I enjoyed the show, why I was not at the stage door after the show as he would have loved to catch up. I do love watching maddness at the stage door too. I'm also someone who goes to see certain actors in multiple different shows and I too have had messages/tweets asking me why I hadn't popped round to stage door afterwards and caught up with them. It's happened with two different actors now and I'll admit it was a real surprise, I never went round as I assumed I'd just be annoying them by going and showing my face again when it'd only been a few months since I last saw them. I love visiting the stage door after a show and getting my programme signed if I've enjoyed the show or want to see a particular actor, but I think I'd feel too awkward to stage door if I haven't seen the show, or even stage door before the show had started. I agree watching everything unfold round by stage door is a fun pastime in itself |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 2, 2018 16:42:08 GMT
I don’t get autographs but i’ve engaged with companies initially on a basis of appreciation and then through professional links. One leads to the other, really. I like the work and share it with students, then engage them for workshops and, when possible, programme their shows, occasionally even contributing ideas in return.
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Often students do the same and invariably get a good response as people are keen to share their experience and insight, maybe even work experience or similar.
As long as you have an interest in the work then you rarely get a negative response. Those using you for profit, however..........
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2018 18:34:36 GMT
I swear to god, sometimes the Wicked stage door makes me ashamed to be a fan of the show. There have been people giving cast members ridiculous, expensive presents (such as microwaves - some stalkery psychotic girl bought Rachel Tucker a microwave!), people pushing and shoving to stand in front of the door, people yelling at cast members to get their attention and chasing them up the road to the tube (even the poor ensemble members and swings aren’t safe!) and shoving programmes in people’s faces instead of politely asking them to sign. If you know what the Wicked programme is like, you’ll know it’s a huge A3 brochure and is quite heavy. Not ideal for cast members to constantly have to reach out to scrawl their name.
Also, Willemijn Verkaik’s fangirls started singing to her in German once!
It reminds me of American stage doors because there’s an actual queue along the barricade, and it’s literally next door to the theatre.
I’m dreading to think of what it will be like for a huge cast change.
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Post by welsh_tenor on Jul 9, 2018 18:58:49 GMT
I swear to god, sometimes the Wicked stage door makes me ashamed to be a fan of the show. There have been people giving cast members ridiculous, expensive presents (such as microwaves - some stalkery psychotic girl bought Rachel Tucker a microwave!), people pushing and shoving to stand in front of the door, people yelling at cast members to get their attention and chasing them up the road to the tube (even the poor ensemble members and swings aren’t safe!) and shoving programmes in people’s faces instead of politely asking them to sign. If you know what the Wicked programme is like, you’ll know it’s a huge A3 brochure and is quite heavy. Not ideal for cast members to constantly have to reach out to scrawl their name. Also, Willemijn Verkaik’s fangirls started singing to her in German once! It reminds me of American stage doors because there’s an actual queue along the barricade, and it’s literally next door to the theatre. I’m dreading to think of what it will be like for a huge cast change. Ok, but with all due respect are you not piecing together stories you’ve heard from others and creating a world that isn’t quite as bad as you’re painting it for Wicked!? The programme isn’t A3, it’s not heavy and 9 times out of 10 people stand politely at the barriers - I’ve been to many “last nights” and everyone just queues, it’s a buzzy atmosphere but there’s no shoving or pushing! I’m pretty sure having read your Wicked posts that you’re a relative newbie to the show and have certainly not been around since the Ellis/Tucker days of stage door? Don’t badge us all with a brush you’ve not actually experienced! |
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Post by kathryn on Jul 9, 2018 19:30:49 GMT
Yes, do take these sort of stories with a pinch of salt - people love nothing more than to exaggerate about bad fan behaviour at stage doors and other events, and before you know it very minor transgressions have grown out of all proportion in the retelling.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2018 19:35:39 GMT
Wicked stage door can get busy especially during cast change over periods but it isn't as crazy as it used to be from what I've heard.
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349 posts
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Post by kimbahorel on Jul 9, 2018 19:36:52 GMT
The times I have been to Wicked SD I have never seen it crazy as people say it is. The last time I went Samantha Thomas was on as Glinda and there was about 20 odd people at SD. Turned out it was all her family & friends. When she went they all did leaving me and 2 other people.
That's what people say about Les Mis when Carrie was there. But in the few months I went to the show while she was in the cast. The closest it got to busy was her last day in the show.
I always will say the worst SD I ever saw was the first show I ever went to. Birdland. There were ton of mainly woman hounding Andrew Scott. A lot of them were hugging him and touching him without his consent.
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Post by martello736 on Jul 9, 2018 19:43:46 GMT
I swear to god, sometimes the Wicked stage door makes me ashamed to be a fan of the show. There have been people giving cast members ridiculous, expensive presents (such as microwaves - some stalkery psychotic girl bought Rachel Tucker a microwave!), people pushing and shoving to stand in front of the door, people yelling at cast members to get their attention and chasing them up the road to the tube (even the poor ensemble members and swings aren’t safe!) and shoving programmes in people’s faces instead of politely asking them to sign. If you know what the Wicked programme is like, you’ll know it’s a huge A3 brochure and is quite heavy. Not ideal for cast members to constantly have to reach out to scrawl their name. Also, Willemijn Verkaik’s fangirls started singing to her in German once! It reminds me of American stage doors because there’s an actual queue along the barricade, and it’s literally next door to the theatre. I’m dreading to think of what it will be like for a huge cast change. These are a decade's worth of accumulated stories, not a reflection of every single night. You can attribute the worst offences to such a small number of people you could probably count them on one hand. Wicked stage door is mostly a lovely place, as are the majority of stage doors. Wicked has been running in London for 12 years, and over 4500 shows, considering its consistently large fanbase it's actually done very well. I also don't know of anyone ever chasing after a cast member before, perhaps calling their name as they walk past, but not the horrors you're describing. |
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Post by welsh_tenor on Jul 9, 2018 20:40:53 GMT
What they said ⬆️
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Post by ensembleswings on Jul 9, 2018 20:45:30 GMT
I've been to the stage door of Wicked probably about 20 times over the past two years but I've never seen it to be anything more than around 20/30 people waiting politely behind the barriers. In my experience ensemble members don't stop as they don't think anyone is interested in them signing, so yes I've seen people occasionally call out to them in order to get there attention and ask them to sign their programme or whatever but never chasing them down the street or into the station or anything.
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Post by mistressjojo on Jul 10, 2018 0:50:39 GMT
I always will say the worst SD I ever saw was the first show I ever went to. Birdland. There were ton of mainly woman hounding Andrew Scott. A lot of them were hugging him and touching him without his consent. I think you ( and he) may have just been unlucky on that occasion. I stage- doored Birdland twice and it was completely civilized both times. Smallish crowds , although there may have been some unavoidable closeness due to it being a confined space at the end of an alley! But Mr Scott seemed very happy and not at all reluctant to be with his people.  |
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Post by kimbahorel on Jul 10, 2018 5:21:49 GMT
I always will say the worst SD I ever saw was the first show I ever went to. Birdland. There were ton of mainly woman hounding Andrew Scott. A lot of them were hugging him and touching him without his consent. I think you ( and he) may have just been unlucky on that occasion. I stage- doored Birdland twice and it was completely civilized both times. Smallish crowds , although there may have been some unavoidable closeness due to it being a confined space at the end of an alley! But Mr Scott seemed very happy and not at all reluctant to be with his people. I went to the show and stood at SD quite a few times and pretty much all the time it was the same. I didn't want to stand in the crowd of people so I used to stand to the side in the hope everyone would go after they got a photo or signature. But most never did. I stood at the back and got pushed around by nearly everyone pushing there way forward. And the time I did stand in the crowd he looked uncomfortable even the photos I saw he looked uncomfortable. The only different on was when they had a talk after the show. I spoke to a few people that attended the show multiple times and they said it was the same thing when they had gone previously. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2018 5:44:22 GMT
I guess me and my friends have just been unlucky re: Wicked. It might not help that the hardcore fangirls always tend to be in the same nights as us.
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Post by mistressjojo on Jul 10, 2018 5:52:50 GMT
I think you ( and he) may have just been unlucky on that occasion. I stage- doored Birdland twice and it was completely civilized both times. Smallish crowds , although there may have been some unavoidable closeness due to it being a confined space at the end of an alley! But Mr Scott seemed very happy and not at all reluctant to be with his people. I went to the show and stood at SD quite a few times and pretty much all the time it was the same. I didn't want to stand in the crowd of people so I used to stand to the side in the hope everyone would go after they got a photo or signature. But most never did. I stood at the back and got pushed around by nearly everyone pushing there way forward. And the time I did stand in the crowd he looked uncomfortable even the photos I saw he looked uncomfortable. The only different on was when they had a talk after the show. I spoke to a few people that attended the show multiple times and they said it was the same thing when they had gone previously. For me, I just didn't think it was that crowded. But then I'm more used to David Tennant stage door crowds of hundreds.  |
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Post by sophizoey on Jul 10, 2018 7:19:35 GMT
Worst experience I've had a Wicked was actually on tour and it was physically bumping into my certain favourite Elphaba standby before the show because I had timed my box office ticket collection completely wrong and I don't even know if that classes as stage door because I was actively going to see her until after the show. (Luckily she at least pretends to remember me so all was forgiven and she even said I looked lovely)
Nothing but good experiences at Wicked London though, Alice and Sophie always look happy to stop and seeing them stop and chat to the kids who want to be like them because Wicked is the first show they've seen is always delightfully cute. (Biggest drama with Sophie Evans is when she tried to run away with my pen but actually brought it back to me in a moment of panic)
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2018 7:57:05 GMT
At Wicked for me, it’s always been a mixture of normal people who just want a selfie with the pink witch, hardcore fangirls who are delightfully annoying, autograph sellers, normal fangirls and people who haven’t actually seen the show and just want to chat to people.
My friends are always really unlucky and go when all the fangirls decide to invade.
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Post by kimbahorel on Jul 10, 2018 8:39:16 GMT
I went to the show and stood at SD quite a few times and pretty much all the time it was the same. I didn't want to stand in the crowd of people so I used to stand to the side in the hope everyone would go after they got a photo or signature. But most never did. I stood at the back and got pushed around by nearly everyone pushing there way forward. And the time I did stand in the crowd he looked uncomfortable even the photos I saw he looked uncomfortable. The only different on was when they had a talk after the show. I spoke to a few people that attended the show multiple times and they said it was the same thing when they had gone previously. For me, I just didn't think it was that crowded. But then I'm more used to David Tennant stage door crowds of hundreds. Yeah, I only ever been to three other shows with famous actors leading. The SD of Richard III with Martin Freeman there were quite a few but its wasn't crazy though. When James McAvoy was in Ruling Class there were quite a few but James was very commanding over the crowd I remember him saying for everyone to move over away from the door - very bold and ended with "Because they are gonna f***ing kill me otherwise" I guess he meant other people leaving. But I do remember that one I think I have posted about it when he was going to leave and the whole group of about 20 people just followed him up the road. I was just left standing there on my own. Other than that its been Les Mis mostly and the od show where I really am the only person outside the SD and its really awkward! |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2018 9:08:30 GMT
kimbahorel What is the stage door like for Les Mis? There’s loads of people in the new cast who I enjoy and I’d like to try and meet them.
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Post by shady23 on Jul 10, 2018 10:07:24 GMT
At Wicked for me, it’s always been a mixture of normal people who just want a selfie with the pink witch, hardcore fangirls who are delightfully annoying, autograph sellers, normal fangirls and people who haven’t actually seen the show and just want to chat to people. My friends are always really unlucky and go when all the fangirls decide to invade. I very much doubt it attracts many autograph sellers as there are no "stars" in the cast. |
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Post by profquatermass on Jul 10, 2018 10:27:38 GMT
At Wicked for me, it’s always been a mixture of normal people who just want a selfie with the pink witch, hardcore fangirls who are delightfully annoying, autograph sellers, normal fangirls and people who haven’t actually seen the show and just want to chat to people. My friends are always really unlucky and go when all the fangirls decide to invade. So you're a regular attender at the stage door but not a hardcore fangirl? What is the distinction ? (I guess you could be a fanboy - I've not checked your profile) To 99% of theatregoers, the very idea of seeing a show regularly already puts you in the crazy fan league #ducks |
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Post by kimbahorel on Jul 10, 2018 12:38:05 GMT
kimbahorel What is the stage door like for Les Mis? There’s loads of people in the new cast who I enjoy and I’d like to try and meet them. It's fine now the cast change has happened. You have to pretty much call them though as they just walk out and go off. They are all lovely. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2018 12:49:59 GMT
At Wicked for me, it’s always been a mixture of normal people who just want a selfie with the pink witch, hardcore fangirls who are delightfully annoying, autograph sellers, normal fangirls and people who haven’t actually seen the show and just want to chat to people. My friends are always really unlucky and go when all the fangirls decide to invade. So you're a regular attender at the stage door but not a hardcore fangirl? What is the distinction ? (I guess you could be a fanboy - I've not checked your profile) To 99% of theatregoers, the very idea of seeing a show regularly already puts you in the crazy fan league #ducks I wouldn’t describe myself as “hardcore” - that title is reserved for people that give expensive gifts to cast members and who are literally there every day. I don’t go to Wicked as often as it seems because I’m younger than most people on here. Besides I’m not a fangirl anyway because I’m male! (What have I even started lmao) |
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Post by kimbahorel on Jul 10, 2018 13:06:40 GMT
At Wicked for me, it’s always been a mixture of normal people who just want a selfie with the pink witch, hardcore fangirls who are delightfully annoying, autograph sellers, normal fangirls and people who haven’t actually seen the show and just want to chat to people. My friends are always really unlucky and go when all the fangirls decide to invade. So you're a regular attender at the stage door but not a hardcore fangirl? What is the distinction ? (I guess you could be a fanboy - I've not checked your profile) To 99% of theatregoers, the very idea of seeing a show regularly already puts you in the crazy fan league #ducks That is very true (as someone who goes to Les Mis ALOT!). |
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Post by kimbahorel on Jul 10, 2018 13:17:23 GMT
I there is probably a psychology of why we go to multiple shows and stage door. And the chances are those that do all have the same personality traits.
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Post by LaLuPone on Jul 10, 2018 13:50:47 GMT
To be honest, I’d call myself a fanboy of Wicked, even though I’ve “only” seen it 7 times since my theatre-going days started in 2015. The term fangirl/boy shouldn’t be a negative one but the few “crazies”/attention seekers make being a big fan look bad. Of course the term is subjective, there’s no definition in the dictionary of how many shows you have to attend/what you have to do to become a “fangirl/boy”. To be honest in my opinion anyone who sees Wicked or any other show more than once a year would be classed as one because it shows quite a devotion towards the show but like I said I don’t see why the word should ever have negative connotations
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