Will Franken
Encyclopedia
Will Franken is a comedian
and impressionist based in San Francisco.
Born and raised in Sedalia, Missouri
, Franken holds a Master’s degree in English (with a specialization in Restoration and 18th Century literature). He pursued an acting career and taught high school in New York City
after college. He lived in the San Francisco Bay Area
from 2002 until late 2007, when he relocated to New York City, but he moved back to San Francisco in 2009.
tradition, notably Monty Python
. Onstage, he portrays an eclectic mix of characters through a series of interconnected vignettes. His skits are often satirical, skewering a range of subcultures and political views, often absurdist.
Offstage, Franken publishes a podcast entitled Things We Did Before Reality.
; Best Alternative to Psychedelic Drugs by the San Francisco Bay Guardian
; and one of the Top 25 People to Watch nationwide by Tribe.net
. In late 2007, Franken was first runner up for the Andy Kaufman Award competition in Las Vegas.
Stage (at the Hudson Theater) in Los Angeles. Will had his film debut in Stanley Cuba, directed by Per Anderson.
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
and impressionist based in San Francisco.
Born and raised in Sedalia, Missouri
Sedalia, Missouri
Sedalia is a city located about south of the Missouri River in Pettis County, Missouri. U.S. Highway 50 and U.S. Highway 65 intersect in the city. As of 2006, the city had a total population of 20,669. It is the county seat of Pettis County. The Sedalia Micropolitan Statistical Area consists of...
, Franken holds a Master’s degree in English (with a specialization in Restoration and 18th Century literature). He pursued an acting career and taught high school in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
after college. He lived in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
from 2002 until late 2007, when he relocated to New York City, but he moved back to San Francisco in 2009.
Style
Franken’s humor is rooted in the British sketch comedySketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
tradition, notably Monty Python
Monty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
. Onstage, he portrays an eclectic mix of characters through a series of interconnected vignettes. His skits are often satirical, skewering a range of subcultures and political views, often absurdist.
Offstage, Franken publishes a podcast entitled Things We Did Before Reality.
Awards
In 2005, Franken was selected Best Comedian by the SF WeeklySF Weekly
SF Weekly is a free alternative weekly newspaper in San Francisco, California. The newspaper, distributed throughout the San Francisco Bay Area every Wednesday, is published by Village Voice Media, a 16-paper alt weekly newspaper chain that also includes the New York City Village Voice and the Los...
; Best Alternative to Psychedelic Drugs by the San Francisco Bay Guardian
San Francisco Bay Guardian
The San Francisco Bay Guardian is a free alternative newspaper published weekly in San Francisco, California. The paper is owned mostly by its publisher, Bruce B...
; and one of the Top 25 People to Watch nationwide by Tribe.net
Tribe.net
tribe.net is a website that hosts an online community of friends, similar to other social networking sites. The site name is always spelled in all lower case.-History:...
. In late 2007, Franken was first runner up for the Andy Kaufman Award competition in Las Vegas.
Performances
He has performed his solo shows Good Luck With It; For Existence, Press One; and Grandpa, It's Not Fitting at The Marsh in San Francisco, the Collective: Unconscious in New York (as part of the New York International Fringe Festival), Ars Nova Theater, the Upright Citizens Brigade theater in New York and Los Angeles, and the Comedy CentralComedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
Stage (at the Hudson Theater) in Los Angeles. Will had his film debut in Stanley Cuba, directed by Per Anderson.
External links
- Official site
- Podcast Things We Did Before Reality
- IMDb entry
- Clip on BBC's The World Stands Up
- Interview with Franken on public radio program The Sound of Young AmericaThe Sound of Young AmericaThe Sound of Young America is a public radio program and podcast based in Los Angeles, California and distributed by Public Radio International...
- Review of Good Luck With It in the SF Bay Guardian
- Interview from October 2006 in San Francisco comedy website