Will Franken

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Will Franken (born June 30, 1973) is a comedian based in New York City after finding great success in San Francisco.

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[edit] Style

Franken’s humor is rooted in the British sketch comedy tradition. 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 an inventive podcast entitled "Things We Did Before Reality", which showcases his skills in voice over and character acting, editing, and sound engineering.

[edit] Awards

In 2005, Franken was selected Best Comedian by the SF Weekly; 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.

[edit] Press

"What elevates Mr. Franken above your garden-variety comedian is an erudite wit and a highly developed sense of the absurd" - The New York Times

[edit] 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), the Upright Citizens Brigade theater in New York and Los Angeles, and the Comedy Central Stage (at the Hudson Theater) in Los Angeles. Will had his film debut in Stanley Cuba, directed by Per Anderson.

[edit] Controversy

In January of 2008, at the urging of a friend after selling out a show at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City, Franken announced to the audience that he was not receiving any money for the performance as a duffel bag was passed around for donations. While most of the audience graciously contributed, the management was not pleased and subsequently banned Franken from ever performing at the venue again. This caused a rift in the comedy community between those who see comedy as an art form deserving of monetary contributions and those who believe the entertainment industry should determine the value of comedians.

[edit] Background

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. He has one teenage son from a previous relationship.

[edit] External links