Working in the Following Genres:
Stage Shows for Schools and Youth Theatre
One-Act Plays
Sketches, Skits or Very Short Plays
Collections of Scripts
Frank took up writing as a hobby in 1997, starting with short stories. Two were broadcast on radio stations in the north-west of England, and one published in the Manchester Evening News in 1998. A visit to see a play in Shaw, Lancashire, then rekindled a long-lost interest in theatre, and he subsequently joined a drama group in Oldham. This gave him some experience of set-building, lighting and stage management. In 2000 he joined playwriting groups in Oldham (The Coliseum) and Leigh (Scriptshop) and began to write comedy sketches. `I can still remember one of my earliest attempts, ` says Frank. `It was called Bit of a Gossip and it is still going strong today.` This particular sketch was almost certainly inspired by Les Dawson and Roy Barraclough in their roles as Cissie and Ada, Frank reveals. `I am still an avid admirer of Les and use the name Dawson in much of my work as a tribute to the great man.` |
When Frank later joined Droylsden Little Theatre as a backstage helper, he eventually plucked up the courage to offer some of his sketches for use in a forthcoming variety show. His offer was taken up and, over the years, many of his sketches were performed there. His first one-act play, Bully Dancers, was written with the society's youth group in mind, and this led ultimately to a week-long run of his full-length play, Sparklers, a production which picked up the GMDA Adventure in Theatre award in 2009.
Although he devotes most of his efforts to comedy, Frank has also been drawn to serious subjects such as the Holocaust, bullying and teenage leukaemia.
Since joining Lazy Bee Scripts in 2008, some of his work has been introduced into twenty countries or more.
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