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Superfans
Jun 9, 2016 16:21:09 GMT
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Post by shady23 on Jun 9, 2016 16:21:09 GMT
Billy Elliot had a LOT of problems. And there's a lot of bitterness between fans and management as they had to shun a few Ruthie Henshall fans and a few genuine show fans in an attempt to urgently fix quite a huge problem with males over the age of 35 coming to stage door. But that's not my place to say. So they had child actors coming out to meet these weirdos people at the stage door? When Oliver used to run they were always very good at ushering the children through and saying no photos
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2016 16:32:33 GMT
There have been two times I have seen Wicked twice in one week... Louise and Gina's final performance on the Saturday and then Willimijn and Savannah's first show on the Monday (if that counts as one week?) and also, whilst Gina and Louise were still there, I saw Wicked twice in one week because Marc McBride had a week on as Boq and I loved him in that role!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2016 16:50:15 GMT
Something else about Superfans of today... They always refer to actors by their first name a) like they know them personally and have their permission to address them in this way and b) like they expect all of us to know who on earth they are. I don't think I could bring myself to do this. And it's another reason I wouldn't want to be labelled "Superfan."
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Post by shady23 on Jun 9, 2016 16:51:29 GMT
I have seen Wicked far too many times (67) and would say I am a super fan, but not an obsessive.I think there's a big difference I don't have to run down to the theatre every time the fourth cover midwife is on I have witnessed lots of what I would see as bizarre behaviour over the years. I really don't like the 'stand outside the theatre all day' thing. Pre stage door ing, between shows and then after. Baking things (why?) The giving of seemingly endless expensive presents (encouraged by twitter as they want a gushing online thank you now. A one in person no longer enough apparently...) I go the stage door maybe a couple of times per cast to get a program signed and maybe a photo. Why you would want to go if not doing this, just going for a "chat", even though you were at the stage door yesterday. .. and the day before..... I will never understand it. They are not friends. This is a job! Perhaps performers want to get home and not have to have long conversations about that different note they did in the second number... My most bizarre experience was not at a theatre but involved a super fan. In the days when players used to be allowed to sign autographs before matches at Old Trafford I saw a Ryan Giggs superfans give him a tie for his birthday and a cheque for £50!!! God knows how many tens of thousands he was on a week at the time. Would have loved to know the thought process behind that one! (I bet he cashed it!)
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Post by Nelly on Jun 9, 2016 16:59:35 GMT
So they had child actors coming out to meet these weirdos people at the stage door? When Oliver used to run they were always very good at ushering the children through and saying no photos I worked on Billy, it was most disturbing and don't get me started on the Billy forums. We used to have after parties when a Billy, Michael or Debbie would leave. These took place in the theatre after it was clear of audience and the 'fans' (read old men) used to hang about into the early hours of the mornings to say goodbye etc. All very odd. Of course they weren't doing anything illegal so it was very hard to actually deal with but they came up with clever ways to do it, distraction methods etc. And as noted earlier in this thread, everyone was instructed not to let anyone know who was on in advance.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 9, 2016 18:59:31 GMT
Baking things (why?) The giving of seemingly endless expensive presents (encouraged by twitter as they want a gushing online thank you now. A one in person no longer enough apparently...) You mean taking buns round to the stage door? And what sort of expensive presents? I mean, examples? I'm horrified yet fascinated
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Post by Michael on Jun 9, 2016 19:04:56 GMT
I've seen quite a few shows 10+ times:
Wicked: 126 (would've been somewhat higher if it wasn't for the current cast) Rock of Ages: 47 Memphis: 27 (in 10 months - I'll definitely get to 50+ when (if?) it eventually tours the UK) Book of Mormon: 22 (would've been somewhat higher if it wasn't for the current Elder Cunningham) Avenue Q: 19 Legally Blonde: 18 Newsies: 14 Jersey Boys: 12
However, I don't consider myself as a super fan. I've never been to stage door - not even once - and have absolutely no intention of ever doing so. I don't know all/most of the ensemble's names (maybe just those from the 2 or 3 cutest girls). Heck, I'm not even on Twitter, so I don't follow anyone or get over-excited when some cast member likes a tweet. And I never scream, shout or whoop during a show. Actually, I'm pretty much normal (even though most people outside this board would consider seeing the same show more often than even once not normal).
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Post by Jon on Jun 9, 2016 19:08:59 GMT
Superfans do seem a sense of entitlement, when their favourite show closes, they want to go to the final show claiming it was them to kept the show ignoring the fact they likely were a small percentage of a show's overall audience
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Superfans
Jun 9, 2016 19:14:08 GMT
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Post by shady23 on Jun 9, 2016 19:14:08 GMT
Baking things (why?) The giving of seemingly endless expensive presents (encouraged by twitter as they want a gushing online thank you now. A one in person no longer enough apparently...) You mean taking buns round to the stage door? And what sort of expensive presents? I mean, examples? I'm horrified yet fascinated Very expensive jewelery and perfume seems to be the current favourite!
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Post by Dawnstar on Jun 9, 2016 19:18:19 GMT
I've seen a show 6 times in a week before (actually I also saw Showstopper 10 times in 8 days, but as someone pointed out, that changes), but only stage doored once. That makes my 5 times in 6 days look almost restrained! And that was only because it was at my local theatre, I certainly couldn't do that in London. I too only stagedoored once, on the final evening (bad choice as they were doing their own get-out).
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Superfans
Jun 9, 2016 19:52:58 GMT
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Post by talkstageytome on Jun 9, 2016 19:52:58 GMT
I saw a girl a few years back give an ensemble member a pair of VERY expensive shoes! How? Why?
And then she wouldn't stop going on on Twitter about how she didn't think he liked them. clearly hoping for the afformentioned gushing thank you tweet.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2016 19:54:05 GMT
I saw The Boy From Oz 10 times over about 9 months. With most of them being over two week long trips. I was 19, I loved Hugh Jackman...what can I say?
I believe I've seen Rent 10 times or more, but in various productions across the years.
Nothing else (aside from when ushering) has ever tipped over the 10 mark, but I did see Avenue Q and Wicked twice in one weekend (seperate weekends) due to different groups of friends booking tickets for me.
I think as with anything there's a small minority of 'superfans' that give fans a bad name. I've written a book chapter (shameless self promotion) on Punchdrunk fans, the research for which conveyed to me just how charming and lovely a group of fans can be and how great it can be having other fans to enhance a theatrical experience.
Conversely it's an old cliche but genuinely some of my closest friends I know from being a fan of one thing or another.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2016 19:55:04 GMT
You mean taking buns round to the stage door? And what sort of expensive presents? I mean, examples? I'm horrified yet fascinated Very expensive jewelery and perfume seems to be the current favourite! This reminds me of a well known performer who tweets every time she sees a piece of jewellery online that she likes, in the hope that one of her fans will buy it for her I didn't realise there would be so much opposition to the word "superfan", there's several people who've said "I've seen said show a large number of times, but I'm NOT a superfan", I don't think the word on its own implies you're an annoying 15 year old, it's just a small section.
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Post by Michael on Jun 9, 2016 20:02:13 GMT
I saw a girl a few years back give an ensemble member a pair of VERY expensive shoes! How? Why? . I find it even creepier that she knew his shoe size.
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Post by Michael on Jun 9, 2016 20:12:12 GMT
I didn't realise there would be so much opposition to the word "superfan", there's several people who've said "I've seen said show a large number of times, but I'm NOT a superfan", I don't think the word on its own implies you're an annoying 15 year old, it's just a small section. At least for me, superfan has a negative connotation and also implies at least some sort of being annoying. Nothing wrong with "just" seeing a show (very) often.
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Post by infofreako on Jun 9, 2016 20:27:29 GMT
I kind of agree Michael. If i hear someone say superfan i think of someone who is there all the time and behaves as if cast members are friends etc. I see someone like yourself with the big tally of trips to see Wicked as just someone who loves seeing the show.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2016 5:09:28 GMT
Some of these posts are an eye-opener for me... Jewellery, shoes, tweeting hints and thankyous...! Beggars belief! The whole fan thing is a lot creepier than I ever realized.
(Would be interested in reading your piece on Punchdrunk fans, emicardiff. I only discovered them recently with The Drowned Man. Telling some friends afterwards that I had been "privated" twice in the one and only performance I attended, I was met with gasps of disbelief, and told not to mention it to real fans as they would be terribly envious as some would almost kill for a private session! (Don't some actually pay for an after hours session?))
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2016 8:47:16 GMT
Not sure I like the idea of "real fans" (because by extension the implication is you have to qualify somehow to be considered a fan of something, and that way snobbery and gatekeeping lie), but as a Drowned Man superfan myself, going by the thread definition of someone who's seen a show 10 or more times, I can say that yes, we'd be envious of your one-to-one experience, but the vast majority of us would also be delighted that you had one. You can have a great show without being singled out by any of the performers, but there's no denying that a one-to-one can tip the evening over from merely "special" to "unforgettable"; we know how much it means to someone to have that, and although we all wish them for ourselves, we rarely wish it at the expense of someone else's experience. Re: after-hours private sessions. I know that higher levels of keyholder, which is the Punchdrunk version of friendship or membership, do sometimes get invited to events just for them, and they can be taken away from that for a one-to-one experience especially for them, but it's a lot less like prostitution of the actors than you make it sound.
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Post by DuchessConstance on Jun 10, 2016 10:32:29 GMT
One of my friends who works at the Royal Court has been complaining about Doctor Who fans hanging around being annoying, and Matt Smith's not even there yet.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2016 11:22:58 GMT
One of my friends who works at the Royal Court has been complaining about Doctor Who fans hanging around being annoying, and Matt Smith's not even there yet. That's fairy nuff. He is, like, one of the best Doctors ever. Tennant to Smith is the best Doctor regeneration. And I am unanimous in that.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2016 11:25:20 GMT
Does being threatened with a restraining order by Marc Elliott class as being a 'superfan' or 'stalker' I wonder?
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Post by horton on Jun 10, 2016 15:43:15 GMT
In my experience, "real fans" and "superfans" create shudders amongst cast and crew. I've only ever heard "oh god, he's in again" and never, "oh how lovely, he's in again".
I have personal experience of this!
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Post by Jon on Jun 10, 2016 16:02:38 GMT
Does being threatened with a restraining order by Marc Elliott class as being a 'superfan' or 'stalker' I wonder? Personal experience? I would rear towards stalker...
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Superfans
Jun 10, 2016 16:45:41 GMT
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Post by shady23 on Jun 10, 2016 16:45:41 GMT
I remember when someone bought Kerry Ellis two tickets to see Barbara Streisand in concert. They won't have been cheap!
Although for someone in that position, wouldn't there always be the worry you would turn up and the superfans would be in the next seat and they'd be expecting you to make polite conversation with them for the next few hours.
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Post by d'James on Jun 10, 2016 16:58:02 GMT
I remember when someone bought Kerry Ellis two tickets to see Barbara Streisand in concert. They won't have been cheap! Although for someone in that position, wouldn't there always be the worry you would turn up and the superfans would be in the next seat and they'd be expecting you to make polite conversation with them for the next few hours. That's why I rarely buy tickets off eBay or want to buy spare tickets from here. I'm sure everyone's lovely in real life from here but if I'd had a bad day, they might think I was rude/boring.
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Post by Jon on Jun 10, 2016 17:01:48 GMT
I remember when someone bought Kerry Ellis two tickets to see Barbara Streisand in concert. They won't have been cheap! Although for someone in that position, wouldn't there always be the worry you would turn up and the superfans would be in the next seat and they'd be expecting you to make polite conversation with them for the next few hours. I bet she flogged them on eBay or gave them to a friend.
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Post by d'James on Jun 10, 2016 17:09:00 GMT
Actually I think I remember someone offering Cynthia Erivo a ticket to join them at the O2 to something.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 10, 2016 17:11:25 GMT
I remember when someone bought Kerry Ellis two tickets to see Barbara Streisand in concert. They won't have been cheap! Although for someone in that position, wouldn't there always be the worry you would turn up and the superfans would be in the next seat and they'd be expecting you to make polite conversation with them for the next few hours. Absolutely astonishing. I call that super-duperfan. I wonder how the objects of the super-duper's affections would feel if the attention suddenly ceased though? So there's Kerry shouting back to Madame Morrible "just going to the stagedoor love, see what's turned up tonight! Bit of luck it's another crate of Moët eh? You get the nibbles hahaha" Then she gets there and the street is empty. *tumbleweed*
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Post by Jon on Jun 10, 2016 17:18:28 GMT
I remember in an interview with Graham Norton, Daniel Radcliffe mentioned that Rupert Grint ended up at someone's house because he didn't say no. Here's the whole bit with James McAvoy as well about how unintentionally rude some of their fans can be:
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2016 17:54:38 GMT
Does being threatened with a restraining order by Marc Elliott class as being a 'superfan' or 'stalker' I wonder? Personal experience? I would rear towards stalker... Oh. Perhaps I should return the underpants I swiped from his dressing room then? My bad.
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