November 2025
LHAT Conference & A Story Worth Sharing
Dear Friends of Flipping The Script Productions,
What stays with you when you leave a show?
Two things: Memories. And Playbills.
Part of the attraction of the performing arts is that shows are live events. But the related downside is that what you’ve seen and (in a deeper sense) experienced can’t truly be captured and faithfully reproduced. After a show, you and your fellow audience members have had a one-of-a-kind experience.
Which is why Playbills and programs more generally have such real value long after the show is over, and indeed long after the production has faded into the realm of history. By value, I’m talking about economic and cultural value. On the economic front, you can get an idea of the value by going on eBay and checking out the listings for Playbills from old Broadway, off-Broadway, touring, and regional productions. Originally free with the price of a ticket, they’ve become the focus of an entire secondary market. (Full disclosure: I’ve bought many items on this market.)
And cultural value? That should be obvious.
Programs such as Playbill are one source of information about the history of a show - not only the performing arts, but the context in which they exist, and the culture that nurtures them. They contain information about the army of workers, on stage and off, front and back of the house, revealing how much of a village it takes to entertain an audience. Playbills preserve the personal and professional histories of the leading artists of their times. They frequently contain articles that discuss myriad aspects of the then-current cultural scene. Even their advertising provides insights into the tastes of audiences, and the types of companies hoping to reach their wallets and pocketbooks.
And they do so much to trigger and preserve the other thing that lasts when you leave a show: memories. Opening an old Playbill is a way of reliving an entire afternoon or evening at the theater. Not just the show itself, and the moments in it that were special, but who and what you were at the time, and perhaps who you were with, and where you went before and after the show.
But you know what? Playbills and programs are in danger of disappearing.
Perhaps not completely. But, as physical objects, almost certainly. And absolutely as giveaways.
I began to notice this several years ago, when I went to a dance recital in which both of my granddaughters were performing. Previously, I enjoyed collecting programs from their performances. This time, instead of being handed a physical program, I was given the opportunity to scan a QR code that gave me an electronic program that I could read on my phone. And later expired, sometime after the performance.
This has been the routine for every subsequent show in which they have performed.
Not long after that, my wife and I took them and their mother to Radio City Music Hall in New York to see the annual Christmas show. Exact same deal on the programs. 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…
I have some more thoughts to share on the impact of technology on our society, how we interact with the world around us, and especially its impact on art.
I look forward to sharing more with you next month. Thank you for reading and following along with FTSP’s journey.
Warm regards,
Stephen Rourke
Founder, Flipping The Script Productions
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Someone Close to You
We are still working to mobilize Someone Close to You by Melissa Borgerding.
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
