‘Backstage Dreams. The Secret Door to Sets’ is the first monograph by Eric James Guillemain, presenting over 200 images and covering more than 15 years of his career. The book documents intimate, privileged moments in which actresses and actors are at their most vulnerable—reserved and reflective before each performance, caught unprepared as they consider and contemplate. Guillemain’s work creates a fascinating juxtaposition between these empty theatrical scenes and a rare, secret series of portraits that reveal the final instant before the passage from the wings to the stage, from the dressing room to the set. From Wim Wenders to Helen Mirren, Nick Cave, Anya Taylor-Joy, Isabelle Huppert, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Pattinson, Vanessa Paradis and others, the book offers a glimpse of moments that are usually invisible, which turn into a meditative and unexpected artistic experience. These shots hold the expectation and anticipation of what is yet to come, of creations still to be revealed.