NICK FRANGIONE

Tell us about your upcoming project(s).

As an actor, I’m finishing up two films this month.  One is a horror film with director Joe Graham, who I worked with on a feature called Strapped.  I’ve also got a supporting role in a feature film shooting in SF called Trattoria.  I’m playing an Underground Farmers Market  Chef.

As a director, I’m directing my first feature film during the months of February and March.  It’s a film called Roxie, the original story coming from studio members David Usner and Joel Roth.  They asked me to take the idea and turn it into a screenplay.

I’m also directing a new short film called It’s In My Milk & Honey, which will film, it looks, over the summer.

You’ve had a busy year since you have graduated; tell us about your other projects and what you’ve learned.

As I finished up class, I became very involved in both acting in films and directing my own films.  With the help of a mentor and incredible friend of mine, Eric Escobar, I made my first short film.  I wrote, directed, acted and edited the film.  With all of these jobs it took me a little over a year to complete the film, but over the course of that year I learned so much.

With that skill set in place, I went out and made two more short films, both of which are in post at the moment.  I feel like I’ve grown a great deal as a short film writer, and at the beginning of this last year I moved into writing features.  It’s been a tough process, with a lot of hard hits from reality.  I’ve been facing my faults, and barriers as a writer and finding ways to work through them.  There is so much more learning to come in my writing, but I feel really good about my perseverance and commitment to growing.

It’s all made me realize more and more that there is no “end,” or ultimate, “it,” as an artist.  There will always be more to learn, and new challenges to overcome.  It was, honestly, a tough realization for me, and it made me doubt myself at times, but I feel closer every day to knowing who I am as an artist.

I’ve also had the opportunity to go and watch two feature films that I’ve acted in play at festivals.  One of the most exciting fests was the Mill Valley Film Festival, where a I got to see a film I was in called, “Fanny, Annie & Danny.  The other film, “Strapped,” has just gotten released and can be found on Netflix, iTunes or at a video store.

The Training:

Sanford Meisner: was a genius, and his technique remains, and will hopefully continue to remain an incredible gift to generations of actors.

The #1 thing I learned in class was to DO, and know WHY you’re doing it.

The best advice I can give current students at the Meisner Technique Studio is: Dig into everything you learn.  Look below the surface, and think and meditate on it as much as you can.  The great thing about this technique is that it grows and evolves and teaches you new things everyday.  There’s even MORE below the surface.

The #1 thing I’ve learned since graduating: The beginnings of how to turn a dream into reality.

The biggest adjustment since I graduated: Finding that the friends and  life I had prior, and during class no longer worked for me.  The adjustment to leaving that life, and those friends behind.

The hardest adjustment since I graduated: The same adjustment above.

The #1 thing I miss about being in class: is Three and a half hours of feeling like you’re in exactly the right place at the right time.

The #1 thing I don’t miss about being in class is: The walk home from Fort Mason to the Trans-Bay terminal, and the bus ride to my crappy room on Treasure Island.

Jim said this over and over but I never realized how true it was until I got out and into the real world was” “Why are you doing this?”  I think about that, realize it’s important more and more every day.

The Business:

The Business of Your Dream class was a great foundation for heading out into this career.

The # 1 thing I took from it was: You gotta learn the rules before you can break them.

Getting an agent: is something I’ve approached in a much more professional manner, due to the business class.

One year from now I will have completed my first feature film, and will be starting to tour it in festivals, along with some of my shorts.

Five years from now I will be making a film about my mother called Sacred Harp.

The best thing about where you are in your dream is: It’s only just begun.

The worst thing about where I am in my dream is: There are people who doubt me, but I doubt they will ever go away.  There will always be doubters.

The #1 thing I wish directors knew about working with actors: They want to do well for you.  They want your support and help and direction.

You:

If I could work with any actor, it would be: Sam Rockwell.

If I could re-cast a Hollywood movie role with myself, it would be: Willy  Wonka – the original movie.

My greatest influence(s): Eric Escobar, Jim Jarrett and my incredible mother.

I first knew I wanted to be an actor: When I was five, and my mother took  me to watch the Plays at Bucknell University where she taught dance.

I’ll always be: An Artist.

My mother: Was the greatest person I’ve ever known.  I lost her when I was  a teenager, but she filled me with so much.  Things which I try to feel and  grow in to everyday.  She was a truly great teacher, committed to changing lives, and never once asked for anything for it.

My father: Lived an incredible life.  He grew up in a Roman Catholic family of 9 kids, fought in Vietnam, rode the hippy wave all the way to Woodstock and  back, and raised two kids the best he could.

My #1 problem is: Thinking too much about my #1 problem.

I wish: The Packers win the Super Bowl.

I wish Jim had told me: Nothing.  He was a great teacher and he told me what he needed to.  The rest he left for me to figure out.

I wish somebody had told me: That this world does not excuse the young.

Someday I’m going to: be making a living as a filmmaker and actor.

My favorite actor: Too many to answer.

My favorite film: Snow Angels

My favorite book: Don’t even have one anymore, kinda sad huh?

When I get overwhelmed: I listen to horrible pop music that has no meaning, or watch Full House or Boy Meets World.

The biggest waste: Food and money.  We waste food, money and love.

If I were not an actor: I’d be a Tornado chaser, or an NFL quarterback.

Courage ­­: Is waiting patiently for you.

I’ll never: Stop believing in art.

Is there anything else you’d like to say? Thank you for reading this and for the honor of being the actor of the month!

The Meisner Technique Studio would like to thank Nick, for taking time to share with us and with all of you. We wish him all the very best.