Today we’d like to introduce you to FRANK’s.
Hi FRANK’s , so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
FRANK’s is a theatre collective dedicated to making work people actually want to see. We produced our first two shows in a backyard in Historic Filipinotown. We have now sold out two extended runs at Theatre of NOTE in Hollywood and Pacific Resident Theatre in Venice.
Our board consists of Frank Demma, Moses Mascuch, Edward Hoke, and Lucy Parks Urbano. Although we are young artists, we strive for multi-generational collaborations. We have worked with established writers and produced pieces by first time playwrights.
Basically we made shit and people kept coming.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
We have struggled with and conquered the following: severe untreated mental illness, delusions of grandeur, substance abuse, sexual misconduct, authoritarianism, misogyny, bad writing, bad breath, bad vision, low moral, poverty, and whiteness.
On the real, we have been extremely blessed by the contributions of actors, artists, technicians, and friends who are willing to volunteer their time to our project.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
We produce nights of short plays by LA based writers. Board member Frank Demma believes short plays deserve the same exalted cultural position that short fiction has, and is dedicated to developing that form. Fellow board member Edward Hoke does not agree with this statement, prompting an argument between the two in which Edward declared, “It’s my understanding we are on the side of THEATRE.” Board member Lucy Parks Urbano did not participate in this discussion because she was typing this, and wondered if she had alive in the 1950s would she have been a Beatnik or a secretary or perhaps both. Board member Moses Mascuch was eating a snack that seemed vaguely cultural and came from a plastic package.
What we can all agree on is that most companies over charge and under deliver, and we make affordable theatre “for this fucking city” and also for our friends. We have a deep commitment to developing new voices within the LA theatre community.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
We are grateful for the guidance of Padua Playwrights and Wes Walker, for their continued mentorship, support, and collaboration. We are not at a place to advise anyone of much, but we do recommend you follow our Instagram @cometofranks and work as hard as humanly possible at whatever it is you’re doing.
Pricing:
- Our tickets are cheap. Don’t be scared. Come to FRANK’s.
Contact Info:
- Website: Email us at [email protected]
- Instagram: @cometofranks
Image Credits
Photos by Stuart Muerth and Makela Yepez.
