December 2025
Dear Friends of Flipping The Script Productions,
I hope you are all having a lovely and safe holiday season.
Last month, I shared with you some of my thoughts on show programs, a detail that is becoming increasingly overlooked. To me, a program is a part of the experience we strive to perfect as entertainers, and we risk losing a part of this experience when we underestimate the power within the details.
Below are the rest of my thoughts on the matter…
… What the Music Hall did have was a printed “souvenir program,” which was pricey enough that I did not get it for them, even though I wanted to. This made me wonder if physical programs are no longer viewed as a courtesy, but as a profit center.
And then I saw this…
Imagine being an understudy suddenly called upon to substitute for a regular performer, perhaps even a lead, and knowing that not only will your weeks upon weeks of being ready finally lead to an actual performance on Broadway, but perhaps even your debut. Imagine knowing that, although your bio and all of your accomplishments will not be in the Playbill itself, they will be on an insert that you and everyone can save and share.
And now, all you’ll get is a QR code and a link that will eventually expire.
I’m not sure how this came up as an issue between the Broadway League, which represents theater owners and producers, and Actors Equity, the union for actors and stage managers. As a cost-cutting move, it doesn’t seem likely to save a lot of money. As an environmental move, it doesn’t seem likely to save a lot of paper, and there are other ways by which the performing arts can be environmentally conscious.
To me, this seems more about the love affair we all have with our phones, and how we can’t bear to part with them for even the hour or two that live entertainment usually runs. And about the possibility that all performance programs will become temporary digital assets.
Is encouraging this a great idea? I don’t think so.
Those of us who work as producers, myself included, are fighting against the dominance of digital technology in an increasingly technical age. At least to some degree. We market and advertise on the internet, we list casting calls online, we hold Zoom meetings to make plans with our production teams, and we network with potential investors and sponsors. And, of course, we talk to all of you, our potential audience members, on social media.
But we still produce live entertainment.
We still strive to strike a balance between the needs of live performers and the convenience of audiences. And we need to do so, in order to attract as many members of each category as possible.
Theater may in some sense be an intangible art form, but it’s still produced in a tangible world. Programs, especially Playbills, provide a way of meeting the needs of folks on both sides of the proscenium arch for a tangible reminder of the incandescent, impermanent moments that the performing arts provide.
Perhaps they should represent the place at which we lift our eyes from our screens long enough to savor the art that lies beyond them, and the memories that are waiting to be made.
I appreciate you taking the time to explore my thoughts on the ever-changing space of theatre and live entertainment. As I’ve shared before, theatre is not just about the stories we share, but where and how we share them.
I hope this resonated with you, whatever your capacity is in the theatre, and I’d love to have a dialogue with anyone who has their own thoughts on the matter.
Warm regards,
Stephen Rourke
Founder, Flipping The Script Productions
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Someone Close to You
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Scenes are available on YouTube: https://www.flippingthescriptshows.com/scty-video
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Flipping The Script Productions
6719 Old Pimlico Road, Baltimore, Maryland, 21209
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
www.flippingthescriptshows.com
CONTACT MR. ROURKE’S PRESS REPRESENTATIVE
Jay Michaels Global Communications, LLC
jay.michaels.theatricals@gmail.com
jaymichaelsarts.com
