June 2024
Flipping The Script - Issue 1
FLIPPING
is defined in business terms as purchasing an asset with a short holding period with the intent of selling it for a quick profit rather than holding on for long-term appreciation.
FLIPPING THE SCRIPT
is defined in business terms as doing something differently or in the opposite way from the way it is usually done.
FLIPPING THE SCRIPT PRODUCTIONS
takes plays that deal with powerful and uniquely different subject matter and presents them to excited and appreciative audiences to learn from and enjoy.
In other words, we take unique assets and flip them into profitable situations
I’m Stephen Rourke,
a producer and performer for more than a quarter of a century on stage and screen and I am the founder and President of Flipping the Script Productions.
Our goal at FTSP is to take plays that deal with powerful and uniquely different subject matter and present them to excited and appreciative audiences to learn from and enjoy. In other words, we take unique assets and flip them into profitable situations.
With credentials as an actor, theater preservationist, and attorney, I understand all sides of this business allowing my projects and properties to attract diverse audiences and provide palpable avenues of profit to investors, presenters, and fellow producers.
Why NOW?
Because it’s my natural progression.
I’ve witnessed the power of live theatre to transform those who make theatre - actors, writers, directors, designers, and others - as well as those who watch and enjoy theatre - the audience. Theatre has the power to teach and inspire us as individuals and to connect us with our communities in ways that provide both economic and cultural benefits.
Here’s where I “flip the script:”
Many in my situation will produce only what they feel will “sell.” What they don’t realize is that so many others are using this as their main focus as well. Thus, they are getting lost in the crowd of new works with all too identifiable plots and themes.
Did you ever see a play or movie and then talk about it to friends who immediately say “I saw one just like that?” Or maybe talk about a scene from a movie and can’t remember the name of the film?
At FTSP we look for recognizable themes of course, but presented in unique ways and production schemes. We find works that everyone can feel a part of but make sure they also give communities whose voices have not been given a real chance to be heard (even actively suppressed) and to show how their plight is no different from our own.
We turn the trend around; we will hold mirrors up to nature and offer works that are inclusive to all.
As a member of the Baltimore Playwrights Festival for decades, I have discovered an amazing outlet for new voices – voices that demand the widest and broadest possible audience yet each message is one that so many can truly identify with.
I continued my journey at an amazing organization founded by Tony Award Winning Broadway producer Ken Davenport, The TheaterMakers Studio. There I have joined with like-minded souls connected to the Broadway and Off-Broadway communities who share my desire to “flip” scripts that “flip the script.”
I pause here and hope your thoughts go to …
HOW CAN I FIND OUT MORE ABOUT FLIPPING THE SCRIPT PRODUCTIONS AND SOMEONE CLOSE TO YOU?
Please visit our website (www.flippingthescriptshows.com) and follow the instructions to sign up for subsequent monthly issues of this newsletter. You can also reach me at flipthescript@flippingthescriptshows.com if you have any questions about FTSP and our future plans. Also, if there are particular topics about our journey, or about show business generally, drop us a line and let us know; it may be featured in a future newsletter.
The most identifiable slang definition for FLIP is to be head-over-heels about something.
Help us make the audience FLIP over our works.
Stephen Rourke, Producer
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
www.flippingthescriptshows.com
CONTACT MR. ROURKE’S PRESS REPRESENTATIVE
Jay Michaels Global Communications, LLC
jay.michaels.theatricals@gmail.com
jaymichaelsarts.com
