We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Frank Krueger a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Frank, thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I think in any creative work we never really stop learning. We come up against some of the same challenges over and over again. Hopefully as we grow we can approach them in new ways that lead to a deeper understanding. The things I heard in my first acting classes now have a new deeper resonance all these years later. There is not a “right” answer in the arts. It is an evolution. I think it is more important to ask questions and to open up the lens. Instead of looking for that one brilliant choice and sticking to it, open up to new questions and let those questions lead the way. And I find that one of the most useful questions to ask especially in acting is WHY.

Frank, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am the co-owner and head instructor of The Annex Acting Studio as well as a working actor and producer. I have always loved two things in my life acting and teaching. We developed The Annex Acting Studio as a creative home for students and artists. A safe place for people to explore and find their voice. There are so many times that the “business” of acting leaves us just striving for results: “Book the Role”, “Be Amazing”, “Make Amazing Choices” without any sense of how to do any of those things or even why we want to do it in the first place. I feel that the chasing a result or an answer is a straight jacket for any artist. It kills freedom, inspiration and creativity, ironically the very things that will help you book the job, make amazing choices, and be the best actor you can be. So we want The Annex to be a place where people can open up and reach their potential creatively. We work to unlock those straight jackets and give students the tools to create open, honest, connected work. We also hope to be a place where people can find the support to create their own work whether it is a play, short film or original series.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I honestly feel the best thing that can support artists and creatives is community. Working together to create something is very powerful. So many times we hear about how “competitive” the business is but in fact the business is “collaborative”. Every film, television show, play is the collaboration of hundreds of artists. It is the collaboration that makes the magic happen. Fostering the spirit of working together and building creative communities from theater companies to production companies helps keep both the creatives and the business thriving. I believe that any ecosystem creative or otherwise is best served and thrives best by communities working toward a common goal instead of individuals working just for themselves.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Right now my personal mission creatively is to always try to be more open, free and connected. Both in my own acting and in my teaching to work to open up to new ideas, connect to the work and the people I am working with, and to be as free as possible from pushing for the “right” answer. Every new scene or class is an opportunity to find something new about acting, the world and myself. My goal is to continue to ask questions. It is by asking questions that we grow creatively. If we think we know all the answers we stop growing, we stop searching, we stop creating. My goal is to try to remind myself to let go of the need to be right and keep searching. It is in the search that we grow.

Contact Info:

• Website: theannexactingstudio.com
• Instagram: @theannexas @frankkrueger
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theannexAS
• Twitter: @theannexAS

Image Credits
John Kiefer, Jessica Heath