Gone are the days when audiences could just sit back and applaud at the end of a performance. A recent conference sponsored by Carnegie Mellon University at the Hilton Hotel, "Technology in the Arts," offered new methods to engage audiences more fully in the creative process via cell phones, smart phones and interactive online Web sites.

But Attack Theatre is way ahead of the game, opting not to name its concert at the New Hazlett Theater this weekend, but instead to provoke potential audience members to participate in a new way with "[Insert Clever and Thought-Provoking Title Here]."

That's right folks -- the audience is naming the show, already peppering the company with e-mail titles. Not only that, but also each night the audience will control the outcome of one of the works.

"We've always engaged our audiences in a personal way," says co-founder Michele de la Reza, snuggling into one of Attack's old sets, the vintage red leather restaurant booths that are part of the comfortably cluttered studio in Garfield. "Feedback means something to us and the people who can really talk to our dancers and choreographers."

The group has been on the audience "Attack" for years, with its popular "Game Nights" during the First Fridays open houses on Penn Avenue. It provides a casual and open gestation for new work, and those in attendance have always offered their opinions, some of which have affected the outcome.

At one of the events, a random audience member said, "I design things that walk on the moon, and I can design this better." He proceeded to improve the revolving seesaw for "Games of Steel."

De la Reza further asserts that there has been an increase in the company's following as a result, noting that "people feel that they are a part of Attack Theatre's extended family." So audiences don't just attend performances or First Fridays or donate -- they help set up events such as the annual Dirty Ball and design lobby displays.

Now she and husband Peter Kope are taking it a step further to create a more significant dialogue that is, according to Kope, "clear and simple and transparent, yet complex, with emotional value and risk."

"This is a company that desperately loves to improvise," says Kope, who comes in with their son, Xander, sleeping in a black sling around his neck.

For "Untitled 2008," which the audience will also name each night, people will submit possible actions, emotions and settings on slips of paper that will motivate the improvisation.

The company will also identify leaders from "willing participants" in the audience to select team members in classic playground fashion and act as "active observers." The two teams will perform simultaneously from the randomly chosen papers in a best of five "dance-off."

"We agreed that there would be no hard feelings," says Kope. De la Reza reveals that her husband always gets picked last in practice sessions, to which he replies, "They don't appreciate the veteran quality."

It gets even more complicated when some of the competitions are solos or duets, adding in "incredible compositional strategy" and taking things to another level. Herman "Soy Sos" Pearl will have a bank of more than 100 different synthesized electronic sounds and will be composing during the competition.

But for those who prefer things more traditionally choreographed, the group will also premiere "Dead End," based on Edward Gorey's "Gashlycrumb Tinies," where the dancers will create an "Attack-ified" rhythm and flow of his macabre and twisted but always engaging alphabet (with the help of composer Doug Levine), something more in keeping with the Halloween season.

For example, Gorey wrote, "E is for Ernest who choked on a peach." That inspired a segment that could be called "Weekend at Bernie's" meets "Witches of Eastwick."

But the choreographed letters could go from over-the-top slapstick to more abstract interpretations, such as "Clara, who wasted away," where the dancers will create movements where they will deflate.

Audiences might also want to "attack" the food at an opening night pre-show reception or react to Fright Night horror flicks that will add to the ghoul-ish atmosphere.

But then, they might want to go one step further by dressing up in a favorite Gorey character at the post-show Halloween Party on Friday and Saturday. After all, the Attackers expect nothing less than a clever and thought-provoking audience.