Meet Former Acting/Administration Intern - Franny Kromminga
/Meet Franny Kromminga
I was an acting/administration intern for the 2016/17 season. I was visible in A Christmas Carol, Mom’s Gift, and (memorably) I Love A Piano, and behind-the-scenes for everything else. Though it wasn’t really that long ago, a lot has happened!
Immediately after my intern season ended, I taught Musical Theatre Techniques at Cranbrook Theatre School over the summer, while my partner (Tom Cilluffo) and I prepared to move out of state. While I had been an acting intern at MBT, I also dabbled as a Wardrobe Technician during Irving Berlin’s I Love A Piano, and so I came back to do more wardrobe duties for Johnny Manhattan that autumn.
Tom & I then moved to Portland, OR; he’s an incredibly talented opera singer, so since we’re both “gig” workers, we play a game I like to call “follow the contract.” Whoever has the longer contract becomes “home base” and the other one flits out for shorter contracts as necessary; this time, Tom had 2 years set up with Portland Opera, so I went too. Of course, I was only there for a few months before I came back to MBT to play Bridget in Nana’s Naughty Knickers in January 2018! Throughout the remaining Portland era, I worked successfully as an actor (Lakewood Theatre, Broadway Rose Theatre, Windy City Players, Jester Educational Theatre), singer (Pinups on Tour), and properties designer (Staged!, Enlightened Theatrics). I also did a few odd jobs here and there, to fill in the cracks: voice teacher, barista, dog sitter… and I began to take commissions for custom paintings.
I have been painting for a while; I have always loved art, and I studied drafting, design, and scenic painting in college (Adrian College, ‘16). However, it wasn’t until after graduation that I began to really learn portraiture and oil painting techniques, and subsequently start selling my work. This business really started to pick up in 2018 or so, and has continued to grow since.
We left Portland in 2019, for higher hills: Denver, CO. (There was a month between leases when I came back to MI to lead a local film: Pirates of the North Coast.) Tom performed with Opera Colorado for a year, and I amped up painting and auditions, taking classes at the amazing Denver Center for the Performing Arts. He and I exchanged rings (which we made ourselves!) on our fourth anniversary, in November 2019.
I was in the midst of audition season and had just lined up a few wonderful opportunities when the pandemic hit, and nearly everything fell through. Tom was able to wrap up his contract in Denver, and we returned to Michigan. We were lucky; Tom’s parents had some extra space up in Traverse City, so we spent the summer growing an enormous garden and recalibrating.
I did still book a few gigs post-March 2020 and pre-vaccine: a couple of virtual concerts (including one for MBT!) and filming an industrial in Grand Rapids. I taught virtual voice lessons and acting coachings. I even joined AEA, fulfilling a long-term personal goal of mine. However, my major pivot was to reinforce my painting business. This resulted in more commissions, more original works, and a new website: emblemephemera.com (I decided to separate my artist site from my theatre site, which is frannykromminga.com).
This summer, we’ve been in Santa Fe, NM where Tom is performing at the Santa Fe Opera. I have been painting and auditioning and applying and crossing my fingers that this “reopening” for the theatre industry will keep blooming! We even have plans in the works to move to NYC next, so I’m sure there will be more updates in the future. I am also eager to be returning to MBT this winter - stay tuned to find out which show I’ll be in! Getting to look forward to that production has been a real beacon throughout the last several months, and I couldn’t be more excited to finally put it together. See you soon, MBT!
