Emmy Award-winning production company Amplify Pictures has announced a production and financial partnership with the newly formed Folk Productions, a division of Folk Media Group. Together, Amplify and Folk Productions will identify original live productions that they can contribute to as co-producers.
Amplify, best known as the studio behind the Emmy-winning series “100 Foot Wave,” is led by CEO Joe Lewis. Folk is headed up by Eric Kuhn and Tre’ Scott. Amplify and Folk previously served together as co-producers of the Tony Award-winning Best Musical “A Strange Loop.”
Though Amplify and Folk will partner to raise money for projects in the future, this season, Amplify is a co-producer on “Gutenberg! The Musical!,” and Folk is a co-producer on Off-Broadway’s “Danny and the Deep Blue Sea.”
Folk was founded by Kuhn and Scott in spring 2023. According to a representative, the creative studio will “partner with brands and technology platforms to produce new properties in live entertainment.”
Kuhn’s background is in technology and media, having recently served as a senior vice president of CBS, working in social media for the company. In theater, Kuhn has co-produced shows in London and New York, including the Tony-nominated musical “Shucked,” the Tony-winning play “The Inheritance” and the Tony-winning 2019 revival of “Oklahoma!” Kuhn is the executive producer of New York Stage and Film, a nonprofit dedicated to the development of theater and film, and a member of the board of Lincoln Center Theater.
Scott has worked across technology, financial services, retail and the public sector. Previously, he was the managing director of high-tech and strategic partnerships at Microsoft. Scott is on the board of visitors of Duke University’s Trinity College of Arts and Sciences.
The partnership between Folk and Amplify signals a concerted expansion of Amplify’s theater production division.
“This is an exciting moment for theater makers who have something to say that’s impactful and wildly creative,” Amplify’s CEO Lewis said in a statement. “The live entertainment landscape is changing and Eric and Tre’ have a pulse on where that world and theater are going. We’re excited to partner with Folk Productions to bring the next generation of globally commercial theater IP to life and expand the appeal of that IP into television and other mediums.”
Kuhn and Scott added in a joint statement, “Folk Productions is thrilled to partner with Amplify Pictures to continue bringing new and original voices to the stage in exciting ways for audiences and artists.”
