Being new to this forum, I'm not aware of how many of you may or may not be from Australia, like myself. I'd never heard of shadowing before, and I don't know whether that's a result of my ignorance, or whether it is harder to come by here? I wonder how succesfull I would be in asking about shadowing a show here?
I find that MANY people have never heard of it, but generally once they do, they find it an interesting/good idea. Though of course they then might be nervous to have you follow them, or have a bit of trouble figuring out how to do it logistically (given cramped booth space, etc). But in my opinion, it doesn't hurt to ask.
Heck, let alone theatre, many jobs don't think about shadowing/mentoring, but those who get a chance to, particularly in high school mentorships when you're trying to figure out if you even like the job, it has been shown to be very worthwhile. My dad offers mentorships for counseling (like psychology), and some kids really enjoy the day with him, others realize it's NOT want they want to do.