August 2024
Flipping The Script - Issue 3
HELLO, FRIENDS OF FTSP!
Recently, I sat down and had a conversation with our team about my personal thoughts on the play, Someone Close To You. We spoke about the roots of the show and what inspired me to work on this project with Melissa.
Below is some of the conversation…
Tell us about the play; how were the initial runs?
Someone Close To You is a family dramedy by Melissa Borgerding. It is, in fact, her very first play, and I came across it in my capacity as a reader for the Baltimore Playwrights Festival. The Festival is open to all comers so, as a reader, you see a wide range of works, not only in their subject matter but also in how they reflect the experience and talent of their authors.
When I read Melissa's play, I was, quite frankly, blown away by the quality of her playwriting.
The realism of her characters, the credibility of her dialogue, and her ability to tell a story that hangs together and delivers an ending that invites the audience to speculate on what might happen next. I'd been giving some thought to producing for a while and was looking for a good first play to start with. I read Melissa's play and thought "I'm not going to find anything better than this."
Through my involvement with Ken Davenport's training program for fledgling producers, I found a Los Angeles-based director, James Goins, who shared my enthusiasm for Melissa's script and suggested a pair of readings at Theatre West in L.A. We performed them in front of two invitation-only audiences, and both loved what they saw.
After each reading, I asked audience members if they had any suggestions regarding changes before going forward. What they said was better than what I thought I would hear: that Someone Close To You should get a full production as soon as possible. And so, that's what we're working toward right now.
These scenes were filmed in LA by James Goins, the director of the Theatre West readings (different actors).
Click to watch scenes from Someone Close To You.
What made you want to continue working on it?
One of my biggest criticisms of contemporary culture is that, artistically, it contains too much comfort food and not enough nutrition.
There may be a certain logic to doing that. Most people, given a choice, would probably rather laugh than cry. I get that. Sometimes, that's a good description of me. But it doesn't seem to be a winning formula anymore, not like it's been for the past several decades. Entertainment has gotten lighter and lighter, but it hasn't necessarily gotten more profitable.
Frankly, sometimes people need to cry, and, if a work of art can inspire them to do that, it can do something valuable. It can change how we look at life, the world, even ourselves. And, if you can get them to laugh and cry in the space of a few hours, you've done something truly amazing. Melissa's play absolutely had the capacity to do that. And I think that, after a steady diet of fluff, a lot of potential audiences have developed an appetite for something stronger. We live in challenging times. I think people are ready for something that makes them think.
How does the playwright feel about all of this?
I have enjoyed working with and getting to know Melissa as much as I have appreciated her play. She's the perfect collaborator. She listens. She makes adjustments. She understands that a play needs to appear before an audience before it's possible to know that you actually have a play. She's told me about another script that she's working on, and I can't wait to see it.
Perhaps best of all, she understands that this may be a long road, and she's willing to travel on it. And, by the way, all of the above can be said about our director, James. His experience and knowledge have added so much to the quality of Melissa's script.
I hope that this interview sheds some light on why this project is so meaningful to me, and the thought that has gone into making Someone Close to You a story that can be accessed by the masses.
Flipping The Script Productions is the epitome of a passion project - and your support is so humbly appreciated.
Thanks for reading!
-Stephen
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
www.flippingthescriptshows.com
CONTACT MR. ROURKE’S PRESS REPRESENTATIVE
Jay Michaels Global Communications, LLC
jay.michaels.theatricals@gmail.com
jaymichaelsarts.com
