If we think performers don't appreciate that the stage is a dangerous place - you can bet that the general audience doesn't get that at all. So I do think rules to protect the public from themselves, not to mention the convenience, safety, and well-being of the performers are in order.

When we were on tour NO ONE was allowed on stage but the crew. The singers had a 15 min period to walk the stage and otherwise were banned from it (unless they were performing on it of course).<P>The general public was problematic, but it was the presenters who were the worst. They felt like they had a right to be backstage because they were paying for it. And they were constantly in the way.

LMCtech, besides the presenters, add board members, donors, and program note writers (there is one in particular who is particularly notorious in the Bay Area). I know of one incident in which a Board President almost disrupted a performance by interrogating dancers in the wings; he was angry that he couldn't find the AD, who was busy in the opposite wing cueing the dancers.<P>Too many people feel they have a right not only to be backstage but also to intrude upon the dancers' time. Hello, these dancers need to get ready prior to a performance and they are dead tired afterwards.<P>LMCtech, good for you for making the AD of SF Opera wait. There are probably more than a few companies who want to hire you!