Frank Wo/Men Collective is a group of fresh, multitalented emerging theatre and dance artists based in Austin and New York City. The collective evolves project to project, crossbreeding different assemblages of talent and enthusiasm with each collaborative new work. The artists of Frank Wo/Men Collective co-produce a multitude of forward-thinking pieces which are at times fervid, humorous, or idiosyncratic.
I am Artistic Director and 1 of 4 Co-Producers of this collective. Here is our work:
RICK SAID SO
Performed @ Motion Media Arts Center in Austin, TX November 2018
Rick Said So is an eerie absurdist 75 minutes of physical theatre. Through cycles of dexterous movement, surreal images, candidly intimate monologues, and original live music, Rick Said So follows themes of what compels us as humans, ultimately essaying the absurdity of existence.
In Rick Said So, “Rick” (who/whatever Rick is) becomes a metaphor for a multitude—internal impulses and external forces that drive decision-making toward an eventual and yet undefined endpoint. At times suspenseful and at times nutty, Rick Said So highlights the exemplary and the mundane through physicality and text, venturing into human cognition with pleasantly shocking doses of perspective.
CO-PRODUCERS: Kelsey Oliver, Alexa Capareda, Chris Conard, & Roberto Di Donato
CO-DIRECTORS/PERFORMERS: Kelsey Oliver & Roberto Di Donato
ARTIST-COLLABORATORS/PERFORMERS: Alexa Capareda, Erica Saucedo, Khali Sykes, & Travis Tate
MUSICIANS/PERFORMERS: Urban Eisley & Walter Nichols
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR/LIGHTING & SCENIC DESIGN: Chris Conard
SOUND ENGINEER: Nathan Patterson
FILM ARTIST: Joe Cornelison
COSTUME CURATOR: Aaron Flynn
STAGE MANAGER & PROJECTIONS OP: Ashton Bennett Murphy
Frank Wo/Men Collective is fiscally sponsored by Salvage Vanguard Theater and this project is supported in part by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department.
Tiskettasket
Performed in July 2017 in Austin, TX
Tiskettasket, a one-act, full-sensory production, invites the audience to choose aspects of their experience by giving them each a basket, and allowing them to select which compostable foods they would like to fill their baskets with. These foods are used in every vignette, engaging the audience in directives that encourage them to create the soundscape for one scene, hurl fistfuls of mush in the next, and experience crafty, 4D interactive companionship with the performers throughout the evening.
Co-Produced by Kelsey Oliver, Alexa Capareda, Chris Conard, Robert Di Donato
Co-Directed by Kelsey Oliver and Derek Kolluri
Long-Distance Artistic Collaborator: Robert Di Donato
Technical Direction, Graphic Design, Set Design, and Light Design by Chris Conard
PR and Food Gathering Direction by Alexa Capareda
Performers/Artistic Collaborators: Joe Davis, Derek Kolluri, Kelsey Oliver, Alexa Capareda, Mario Ramirez, Panda Landa
Special Guest: Aundre Wesley
Costume Curation and Design by Kelsey Vidic and E.L. Hohn
Sound Engineered by Nathan Patterson
Stage Managed by Josh Secor and Jacob Caire
Here is a slew of Tiskettasket teasers that I edited, filmed by Joe Cornelison, in collaboration with the Frankies:
Tiskettasket Teasers
Tiskettasket Teasers
Loose Gravel
Performed in January 2017 @ Topology in Austin, TX
Co-Produced by Kelsey Oliver, Alexa Capareda, Chris Conard, Robert Di Donato
Artistically Directed by Kelsey Oliver
Assistant Artistic Director - Robert Di Donato
PR and Marketing Director - Alexa Capareda
Technical Direction, Graphic Design, Set Design, and Light Design by Chris Conard
Performers/Artistic Collaborators: Robert Di Donato, Kelsey Oliver, Alexa Capareda, Dannon O'Brien, Mario Ramirez, Hunter Sturgis
Artistic Collaborators: Erica Saucedo, Cimone
Costume Curation by E.L. Hohn
Stage Manager/Sound Board Operater - Josh Secor
Community Outreach by Cimone
"Contemplative, skilled, inventive, and often hilarious, the two-hour performance, collaboratively developed by the seven- member collective, was a heartening beginning to 2017."
- Jonelle Seitz, Fjord Review
"...this no-holds-barred performance does contain moments of brilliance... and some impressive talent at the beginning of careers I'd be very interested to revisit a few years on down the road."
- Frank Benge, Broadway World
"That was a head cracker dada festival of fun. I think it's wo/manditory that all banditories see these candidstories. Go you idiot and don't not be low when you go."
- Kirk Lynn, playwright, novelist, and co- founder of the Rude Mechanicals
For Mi Casa Es Su Teatro 2017, the Frank Wo/Men gave a condensed, site-adapted, bite-size encore of some of Loose Gravel’s greatest hits.
Here is a slew of Loose Gravel teasers that I edited, in collaboration with the Frankies:
Loose Gravel Teasers
Loose Gravel Teasers
