*Do* talk back

They've been holding more and more talk-backs on Broadway. It's a post-performance way of rounding out the experience and perhaps spurring the word-of-mouth on plays that aren't playing to capacity.

But it's not as simple as just lining up chairs and parading out the cast. Note how Oleanna has brought in lawyers, activists -- relevant non-theatrical professionals, in other words. And how the LaBute play got people to text-message opinions so as to remain anonymous.

Bobo's often wanted to engage the couple in the adjoining seats in conversation -- that is, in small-group conversation. Sixty-person discussions don't usually flow well, and can lead to the five-minute-speech-that's-not-really-a-question which annoys all those who actually possess social skills.

Interplayers, to take just one example, is at least trying -- by inviting folks to meet the actors in the Gellhorn Gallery after the show. Those work well.

Phony, immediate reception lines, not so much.

Just a thought on how to generate discussion and word-of-mouth.
[photo: shanelyang.com]