I'm not Mr. Pospisil; I didn't even stay at a Holiday Inn Express.  I've never stayed at a Holiday Inn Express, for that matter.  What's so express about it anyway?

We absolutely never allow any videotaping and of course people can get really ticked off.  However, for the sake of conversation, what is the reasoning behind prohibiting videotaping? Whatever the rules, they predate the internet and Youtube. Obviously, you wouldn't want someone taping or filming a play and somehow selling it but no one is making money off of a clip of a high school play on Youtube.  It actually might be serving as promotion of the script.  On the other hand, is the reasoning that the right's holders don't have artistic control of the final product? But then they certainly don't have control over the quality of the amateur stage version that is being taped. Regardless, with the cult of technology now it seems to me you're  swimming against a pretty gigantic tide to try and prevent family and friends from trying to document little Suzie's big moment in the spotlight.  For all I know, people could have taped and youtubed portions of our shows and we'd have no idea.  They can do it with a cell for crying out loud.  Are we expected to be scouring Youtube for clips of our shows?  Should we have someone monitoring the audience at all times? Then if you do catch someone taping, what do you do? Interupt the show by confronting them immediately?  Do you just tell them to stop or do you insist that Grandma turn over the tape or erase it on the spot to make sure it doesn't get to the internet? 

Ok, but the propriety or logic of taping is a side issue.  It's a flat-out contract violation.  When you sign on to produce a show, you agree in writing not to tape a show or allow any taping.  Whether you agree or not philosophically, you're the one who signed the contract; nobody forced you.  If you do it or allow it, you're in violation of what you agreed in writing to do.  So I'm not debating that point.

Obviously, the tapes are illegal. There are also MANY MANY clips of Broadway productions on youtube...LOL - I think if you persevered, you could watch the entire productions of "Wicked" and "Avenue Q" on youtube. LOL
If youtube catches the clips, they take them down...but, face it, there are tens of thousands (hundreds?) of clips on youtube. It takes a long time to find these things!

That said, some licensing corporations will give permission (for a fee). I know Rogers and Hammerstein Library does, and Tams Witmark does for a few plays - not all. I think it all comes down to the kind of rights that were purchased originally.

Utube is pretty new I would guess the rights houses are still tring to find a way to deal with it. Yes taping is wrong blah blah blah, however it may be in  the intrest of both house and playwrite to allow some of that, it is a great way for people to see a scene or 2 from a show rather than pass the show over because they do not want to buy a copy. It also gets a show like Ave Q a wider audience, not all of us get to NYC to see all the shows we like.