Yes nightowl: It was not directed to you exactly - no intentions to cause harm to you :D . More of a rant of how joke-ish the art of autograph collecting is, that people cannot even write to celebrities anymore. They just lie to people who are just doing their jobs which are totally unrelated.

I understand that it is a way to get an autograph, but there are too many people here who lie in their letters and get successes over those that are not fans at all. They have to deliberately lie or right legitimately nothing or all about one star. It's really not that hard to address your letter to the person whose autograph you want and have no idea why all TMs/Mods on this board just tell people to write to the stage manager. That's incorrect - just write to the actor/actress. Request a playbill that way. They will gladly send one.

[quote="nightowl"]I was trying to offer some friendly advice. I am shocked that you see it as harmful and destructive.

YES there are people that abuse addresses. That happens everyday, all the time. And I hate that they do that as much as you do!!!!!

How is anything I say going to change that one iota. If they are an abusive collector then they ALREADY know exactly what to do and the address and information are already there for them to use how they wish.

It shocks me that you would think I would deliberately try to damage or sabotage any venue or address!

Your post was highly uncalled for.

If this is the kind of response I can expect from trying to help people out in the forums then I want no part of it. For the past 17 months I have helped a lot of people with detailed advice that was in no way harmful.

I had really appreciated your thread in the venue section and was enjoying the opportunity to start collecting playbills, and find plays I was unaware of, with celebrities I KNOW AND LOVE. How is your posting all those addresses for all to see any different. How does that stop anyone from abusing all that information you have provided!

I am in a state of complete shock at this moment at your angry attack. But not to worry. You will never hear from me again![/quote]


I think this is a case of two people over-reacting - what the Pimpernel said is true to some degree , but is quite extreme :roll:

And I think that you have taken his response too much to heart - I don't think he was particularly having a go at you , more at the fact that our hobby / pastime / obsession is becoming so much harder because of these people who abuse it , but you may have taken it too personally :(

I have quite enjoyed both your postings before , so let's move on {thumb2}

PS - this is a success post , so can we please keep it so 8)

I was trying to offer some friendly advice. I am shocked that you see it as harmful and destructive.

YES there are people that abuse addresses. That happens everyday, all the time. And I hate that they do that as much as you do!!!!!

How is anything I say going to change that one iota. If they are an abusive collector then they ALREADY know exactly what to do and the address and information are already there for them to use how they wish.

It shocks me that you would think I would deliberately try to damage or sabotage any venue or address!

Your post was highly uncalled for.

If this is the kind of response I can expect from trying to help people out in the forums then I want no part of it. For the past 17 months I have helped a lot of people with detailed advice that was in no way harmful.

I had really appreciated your thread in the venue section and was enjoying the opportunity to start collecting playbills, and find plays I was unaware of, with celebrities I KNOW AND LOVE. How is your posting all those addresses for all to see any different. How does that stop anyone from abusing all that information you have provided!

I am in a state of complete shock at this moment at your angry attack. But not to worry. You will never hear from me again!

[quote="nightowl"]You could request a cast signed playbill from the Stage Mananger, it's not too late. You 'should' be able to get one before they close.

On "rare" occasions the celeb will have photos with them VV---Will Ferrell did from one movie set. But, from what I have seen, that is VERY rare.

I have been told that all theaters do forward mail, but I can't be 100% certain that 100% of the theaters do. What you can do is keep track of the ones that do. Whenever you see a success from a theater make a note of it. Record what was received, playbills, signed photos, etc. That way you know for a fact "that" theater does forward. Then if your request doesn't come back from that theater, it will be because the celeb doesn't sign, or it was misplaced.

Another reason can be that the celeb signs sporadically. You may see successes from one venue and then not another, even when both venues forward.
[/quote]

First: Do not write to the stage manager out of desperation. Considering that most people on here wouldn't be able to name the other two co-stars in this production (similar to Blithe Spirit - how many people know that Christine Ebersole is more of the star than Angela Lansbury), don't write to the stage manager. You write to the stage manager when you want the company's autographs -- not because you want Susan Sarandon's. You write to Susan Sarandon. If you can't name atleast 4 people in a show without google-ing it, don't write to the stage manager and just use it as a "Autograph Count" boost; considering you don't know who the people are/care, then it's not an autograph for you. Furthermore, I know people on here are selling playbills on eBay - which is extremely dangerous and is threatening the entire hobby. So thanks for that.

I really would love to see what some people write in their letters to the stage managers for straight plays..........


Secondedly: All legitimate theatres pass on fanmail. It's up to the celebrity/star to sign or not sign or what not. If you've ever been backstage / seen the backstage of a legitimate Broadway house, you will perfectly understand that it is extremely cramped and they are lucky to have enough dressing rooms for the stars at most strictly-play houses. Not all stage managers answer fanmail - and for a good reason. People request them, get them, and sell them -- if you see a lot of a particular signed-playbill on eBay or other sites (even if the person insists that they got it handsigned, which is usually a lie), chances are you aren't going to get one back. BC/EFA (Broadway's main charity(s)) sells cast-signed playbills and windowcards from time to time as donations, so obviously, you can see that they'd rather have you pay for one then get one for free.

You could request a cast signed playbill from the Stage Mananger, it's not too late. You 'should' be able to get one before they close.

On "rare" occasions the celeb will have photos with them VV---Will Ferrell did from one movie set. But, from what I have seen, that is VERY rare.

It's always a good idea to send your own photos, to be on the safe side. Also, IRC's, or money, for return postage doesn't always work. As the celeb will have to make a special trip to the post office, or get their PA to, the odds are they can't.

That is not to say they never do. I have had successes doing that more than once in the past. But unless you have already seen a success where someone has done that you are taking a risk you won't get it back. So, as long as you realize that before you send it . . . then if it doesn't come back you'll know why. The only other reasons it won't come back are: they don't sign; the PO or theater didn't forward; it was lost in the mail; or misplaced at the venue.

I have been told that all theaters do forward mail, but I can't be 100% certain that 100% of the theaters do. What you can do is keep track of the ones that do. Whenever you see a success from a theater make a note of it. Record what was received, playbills, signed photos, etc. That way you know for a fact "that" theater does forward. Then if your request doesn't come back from that theater, it will be because the celeb doesn't sign, or it was misplaced.

Another reason can be that the celeb signs sporadically. You may see successes from one venue and then not another, even when both venues forward.

At this point, as she is still in NY, it would be a good idea to send it to her NY agency. I have seen successes coming out of her NY agency while the play is in production. So, as she is right there she must be going in to take care of her fan mail.

Hope you all get a success! {thumb2}

Nice success!

I sent to her in the beginnings of April, but unfortunately nothing back.

It seems like if you want to get her autograph, atleast from ..King, then you will need to send something for her to sign (I simply requested a playbill or headshot, and nothing so..!).

[quote="pistaef93"]Do you think it will work if I sent an IRc and SAE instead of sase?[/quote]
I would send to her ny agency since it's closing fairly soon.

Do you think it will work if I sent an IRc and SAE instead of sase?

For anyone that wants to know, Exit the King closes on June 14/09.

Wonderful success! :mrgreen:

I will write her today {thumb2}