Be Careful What You Wish For: Everyone's backstage now. And, it's a bit crowded. Not to mention, uncomfortable.

Theatres everywhere are opening the doors to their rehearsal and production process in hopes of expanding ticket sales. Here are just a few examples of the myriad videos available online in which cast, crew, directors, writers talk to the camera about what they intend to do and how they intend to do it.

Three Pianos video promo

The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism, Socialism (with a key to the scriptures)

Mark Taper Forum backstage tour

Bonnie & Clyde

There's just one problem. No one has any evidence that any of this meta-content actually increases ticket sales. Or, if there is real hard evidence of this, I haven't seen it.

One thing is certain, however. The directors and writers behind new work are getting a bit nervous. And with good reason. By opening the doors to the rehearsal room, management may just be throwing the baby out with the bathwater. For, isn't part of the allure of theatre, its ability to catch us by surprise? To shake us up? To throw us for a loop? How can theatrical magic have a fighting chance in hell if the bag of tricks is thoroughly discussed, debated, profiled and blogged about ad nauseum in every corner of cyberspace?

It seems to me, this latest trend is live theatre's unimaginative attempt to jump on the larger cultural bandwagon. [Ed note: see previous post: We're All in the Greenroom Now] 'Let's face it, we live in a world in which non-fiction book sales and "reality" TV ratings outpace their fictional counterparts by more than two-to-one. We are living in a time of unparalleled access and unending fascination with the mundane.

Theatre's survival will not come from jumping aboard and joining in the nonsense. God, no! Theatre will endure by holding on to what makes it unique -- its ability to present human conflict in the flesh, to play out our wildest fantasies and our worst nightmares about ourselves in a darkened room. Pulling potential audience members aside day after day to show them exactly how the magic gets made is not the key to success because it is attempting to compete in an arena to which its players are ill-suited. The cast, crew and production team of the Roundabout's latest venture are no match for the on-screen "talent" of The Jersey Shore. In spite of this inspired bit of cyber wit.