“Black Market Inspiration,” a Short Play

In January of 2020 (I know, right?) I was suddenly possessed by a weird little idea.

This happens to me fairly often, but the various ideas are rarely similar to one another. It’s always a moment of zingy clarity, like taking the first sip of an icy lemonade. It’s like a chilled refreshment arriving to solve a nagging thirst you weren’t even quite aware of yet.

In any case, this idea was a script. A snappy 10-minute two-hander of a play, in which the dialogue changes every performance–and no, it’s not improvised.

It was a typical late January day in Denver, Colorado: shallow drifts of tired snow draped the landscape, and nobody felt like doing just about anything, myself included. As a long-time Pinterest devotee, I was scrolling my feed, swiping away the crafts and clothes in favor of something a little less tangible: motivation. The wise and successful among us have published plenty of pithy proverbs over the years, and I was in dire need of inspiration. No quote quite encapsulated what I needed to feel in order to get going, however, and I kept searching, searching, searching for more.

That escalation of need, in which nothing you encounter is quite enough for you, and where there is a sort of substance that acts a substitute for genuine meaning… that reminded me of something else, which perhaps you might buy in a back alley somewhere. Stereotypically speaking.

Thus was born Black Market Inspiration, a play about the moment between inspiration and action, about when motivational quotes are just chronic avoidance in a pretty, prose-y package. There are two characters, a seller and a buyer, and lots of little plastic baggies full of white stuff–you know, little scrolls of white paper with quotes printed on them!

I wrote the whole thing in a day (admittedly… it is only 10 minutes long). And while the initial idea was the driving force, I’m equally delighted by what I would call the script mechanics of the piece: the script is made up of about 60% attributed quotes, and only a few of those are designed to remain static in every production of this play. The rest of the play can (and in my opinion, should) be memorized in terms of structure. This means the actor can then organically, in the moment, pull and read random quotes that are on the prop scrolls, and still be able to maintain the rising and falling action of the play. The script notes how to accomplish this, in context, via staging directions.

I chose to incorporate this element of unpredictability specifically because this is a PLAY, intended to be performed live. Sure, there’s a polished version that could be an excellent short film, and maybe I’ll experiment in that direction sometime, but the final product would lose all the charm of idiosyncratic experience, which is what live theater is all about. What an audience deserves is consistency, but what it wants is something one-of-a-kind, unrepeatable. This is why so many people love when something goes just a little bit wrong onstage, or why concert-goers collect set lists. There is magic (and marketability, now that you mention it) when you can combine consistent performance with a little bit of controlled mystery.

I have always loved when shows are able to tap into this unique energy; two examples from my musical-theatre-brain are The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Both of these pieces utilize planned chaos: Spelling Bee brings up audience members to “compete,” and Drood, with the original novel left unfinished by author Charles Dickens, allows the audience to vote between several possible endings. This is by no means a new strategy, but I find it’s an important and delightful way to distinguish the value of live performance separately from recorded media.

So, I mentioned I wrote this in 2020, and it’s currently 2025… you may be wondering what happened between then and now.

I submitted it to a few short play competitions, and then the pandemic hit, and I let my nicely formatted document slumber in my Dropbox for four years. Then, in the summer of ’24, my director friend Catherine posted on Instagram, looking for playwright collaborators to submit to a competition/festival at AMT Theater in NYC. I happened to see her post, nearly submitted my script too late, and completely forgot about it afterwards, expecting another rejection. I was totally surprised to be informed that it had been selected after all, for the New Works Development Festival at AMT. My little kindergarten-age script would finally ~~learn to read~~ receive a reading.

That reading took place in August 2024, and I actually had the wherewithal to record it. The chutzpah to edit and publish, however, only arrived last week. Enjoy!

With enormous thanks to AMT Theater and my terrific team:
DIRECTOR: Catherine Gold
PERSON 1: Zoë Reeve
PERSON 2: Max Carlson

Zephyr: The West Wind Blows

ZEPHYR: an elegant and zesty word, derived from the name of the Greek god of the western wind (Zephyros), known in English as a warm breeze that ushers in the summertime, and also in some Russian-speaking countries as a tasty marshmallow-meringue-like confection.

As of May 12, 2025, it is also the name of the most adorable cat on earth.

(Is this post just an excuse to share some of the best cat pics I’ve ever taken…? Yes. If that’s all you’re interested in, shamelessly scroll down to the gallery below. Please also follow his social media account @ZephyrusGregarius for endless cuteness.)

HOW WE MET ZEPHYR: When Tom & I moved to Berlin, Germany late last summer, we had originally been contracted to occupy a specific apartment that is located close to his workplace. I won’t get into the whole exasperating story, but we ended up being prevented from moving into that apartment for more than EIGHT months beyond when our rental was supposed to begin, and eventually, we gave up on the place entirely.

We ended up finding somewhere else totally new, and it’s been a perfect fit for us in so many ways. It also comes with landlords we can personally interact with rather than a predatory and disorganized leasing agency, thank goodness. In fact, on the very evening of the day we got the keys, we received a friendly text from them:

“Your application mentioned you’re hoping to get a cat sometime–our mother happens to have two 5-week old kittens, and she is looking for a home for one: would you be interested?”

This message was accompanied by photos of a precious little storm cloud of a kitten, so cute that it hurt your heart to look at him. He looked like he was AI-generated. I had never understood the cuteness aggression phenomenon, until seeing this cat. The heavens seemed to be cracking open with a housewarming blessing from Freya herself. Even the bouquet of stargazer lilies (my favorite flower) on our then-dining-room-table were effervescing; they seemed to be saying goodbye for now, knowing we wouldn’t have lilies in our home again for quite some time.

As Tom remarked: “no sooner have we gained our temple, than we are provided with its god.”

His name came about because he IS like the western breeze, welcoming us to a new season of warmth. His birthday is March 9th (a Pisces baby) and he was safely ensconced in his–our–new home only four weeks after we moved in ourselves. He’s affectionate, curious, mischievous, and utterly charming. We had been waiting for the universe to gift us with a cat when the time was right, and our patience has definitely paid off; the literal day we found ourselves finally able to support a kitten’s lifestyle, he blew into our lives!

At less than six months old as of this writing, he’s still very much a kitten, and it’s been wonderful to watch him grow up, and to catch glimpses of the perfect cat he will become. BUT ENOUGH TEXT! PICS NOW!

Love at first sight!
Peak floofiness.
5 weeks old.
6 weeks old.
First night at home!
Cozy as fuck.
Tiny snugs.
Cat tree success.
THOSE EYES.
Adventure cat!
Chiaroscuro.
Matching outfit.
Helpful planner.
Summer solstice 2025!
My literal favorite photo!
*boop*
The drama.
Schloss Charlottenburg.
Picnic nap.
MEOW!
Snuggle buddy.
Literally a model.
Cheshire Cat.
Four and a half months!
Surprise!
Regal.
Cherry cute.
Lanky tween.
Balcony visit.
Something to say.
I am the night.
Shadow puppet.
Adoration.
Desk partner.
Favorite toy.
Keys to the apartment!
Stargazer lily perfection.
Fate and celebration.

Rehearsal Sketches from Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Scenes, Summer 2023

One thing I enjoy doing at rehearsals is sketching.

Whether it’s during my 15 minute break, or throughout a long day of observation, there’s usually a convenient opportunity to pull out my little sketchbook, at least for a few minutes. It’s a perfect activity for rehearsals: it’s nearly silent, it keeps me engaged with the onstage happenings, and it can be instantly plopped on the ground if my cue comes up. Plus, the actors who are actually occupying the stage at the moment are often staying in the same or similar positions for long durations of time–an ideal setup to practice gestural sketches.

The publication of this collection of sketches is much delayed! They’re from my most recent summer at the Santa Fe Opera, where I performed as a supernumerary (the “Mélisande doppelgänger”) in the Debussy opera Pelléas et Mélisande, and observed rehearsals for the Apprentice Scenes Program. These sketches are all from the scenes directed by the wonderful Crystal Manich that summer, who so kindly let me sit in and watch! I am always grateful to be invited into a rehearsal room; there are skills to be learned and practiced every time, and I try to make the most of it.

In these sketches, I had a few goals:
-practice quickly sketching objects from life
-practice taking multi-character blocking notation on the same page
-practice proportional representation of a stage area

While these sketches are quick, informal, and use quite a bit of shorthand, I believe I accomplished my goals–further, I believe I could easily recreate the staging of these scenes based on the sketches alone, two years later (precise stage business and use of props may be another story, however).

Each slideshow gallery contains the sketches from one scene, and is accompanied by information on the collaborators whose work or physical image contributed to sketch source material. The programs for all the Apprentice Scenes that year can be found here as well. Some of the physical drawings have been gifted away, but some remain in my records, and so the photos weren’t all taken at once, and may have some variation in lighting and quality. I also like to sketch on a non-white base paper when possible, but I’ve discovered this doesn’t always provide starkly visible contrast to pencil markings, unfortunately! All caveats aside, I’m glad to finally share them.

Enjoy!

Gianni Schicchi

Giacomo Puccini | Giovacchino Forzano
“Era uguale la voce…Addio, Firenze”

The stage from a tilted front perspective, with two sketches of the rehearsal atmosphere.

Detail drawings of furniture and rehearsal costumes.

Top of the scene: the family discusses Gianni Schicchi.

The scene progresses; Schicchi arrives and the plan unhatches.

The scene continues; the family and Schicchi anticipate success.

La bohème

Detail drawings of a moment of staging and some furniture.

The scene begins; Rodolfo’s life is changed when Mimi walks in.

We move through two arias and a duet; the scene ends with the lovers leaving, full of hope.

Giacomo Puccini | Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa
End of Act I

Boris Godunov

Modest Mussorgsky | Modest Mussorgsky
Quintet

The scene begins; the innkeeper starts opening up shop.

The scene continues; different folks start to mingle around the table.

The scene progresses; some of the visitors are harboring secrets.

Chaos and confusion as someone is not who he says he is!

Sweeney Todd

Detail drawing of Sweeney’s barber chair.

The layout of the set and start of “Epiphany.”

Mrs. Lovett’s brilliant idea turns into a playfully violent duet.

Solo Lovett track, starting with “Epiphany.”

Solo Lovett track continues, starting “A Little Priest.”

Stephen Sondheim | Stephen Sondheim
Epiphany and A Little Priest

Sweeney Todd | Spencer Reichman
Mrs. Lovett | Rebekah Daly

And if you made it this far… consider asking me to be a part of your theatrical team; you’ll get sketches out of it, for sure.

12.5/25: Halfway Through the 2025 Aims

It’s July 11th, and we’re just past the midway mark of 2025. I have updates about my progress toward the goals I wrote about back in January!

This year has been challenging so far, but also extremely rewarding. I have been overworked and underpaid, overtired and under-rested, but sometimes, that’s the slice of life we find on our plates. The first quarter of the year was largely tracked through long hours of production work in NYC, and the second quarter involved a move to our permanent apartment, finally recieving and unpacking our shipped storage, and adopting a new kitten–all in Berlin. My energy levels have ricocheted from that of an endless engine to a stagnant puddle. I’m just relieved to be entering the third quarter with a semblance of stability!

I’ve made great progress on my goals, but there have been setbacks, as well. It’s clear I have some items on which to reorient my focus. Without ado, let’s review:

Create something every day (take creative action: make something that was not there before, even if it is small, or part of a larger project).
Over the course of the year, I’ve come to understand that creativity is inherent in every day, in every choice you live, but my intentionality about it can still use improving. Some days are harder to “accomplish” because of life’s other demands; the challenge then is to figure out how to do the tasks at hand in a creative way, even if it comes down to changing up how you brush your teeth.
Do either a sun or moon salutation every day, with a few minutes of meditation.
Sun/moon salutations have so far been the hardest habit to build; this is something I really want to give energy to in the second half of the year. I do keep coming back to it, however, and I would consider that a win.
Update or work on my professional website (frannykromminga.com) once a month.
Monthly website editing hasn’t been consistent, but I have updated and published a few times. This could easily be fulfilled by going through and completing archival work for old projects I just haven’t gotten around to compiling information on.
Fully finish Venus Retrospectives!
Venus Retrospectives has had virtually NO work done. Recently, though, I have taken the time to break down the concept of the work left into smaller chunks, and made specific goalposts to hit for the rest of the year. The trouble is, a lot of what I’m doing is learning and experimentation, so it is very hard to predict what time commitment and resources will actually be necessary, moving forward. There’s nothing for it but to do it, I suppose!
Complete B1 level German training (via the Goethe Institut).
Unfortunately, I am NOT spending money on another Goethe Institut course. It’s just too expensive for my current situation. That said, I did complete my A2 level course in March, and I’ve been developing my comprehension independently with German audiobooks and daily interactions in Berlin. I need to reincorporate real memorization study–put those hundreds of blank flashcards I just got out of storage to good use–but I am slowly improving! Just… not in a way I know how to measure against the letter rating system. Anyone want to sponsor a $2,000 course?
Travel somewhere new!
I haven’t traveled somewhere new yet, but we have plans to visit Barcelona in October, and possibly somewhere else for one of our anniversary dates in August or November!
Read 25 books.
I’m on schedule at about 12 books; I slowed myself down reading Anna Karenina back in early spring, but I’ve really picked up speed this summer. Bless the Libby library app! Bless libraries of all kinds!
Visit 25 museums (different collections on separate visits to the same museum are allowed).
The museums goal needs serious dedication. I need to be doing that weekly, on average, at this point. This was a goal that really suffered during the early months of this year when I was extra busy with work, and it doesn’t help that I like to go to museums only when I can take my time. That said, it will be a pleasure to catch up.
See 25 live performances (in-person).
This goal is well on its way. If you include seeing shows I’ve worked on, instead of just shows I am attending that I have no professional connection to, it will be done in a month. Even so, this goal will practically complete itself this year. One of the merits of working in show business is that you often get to easily partake of show business.
Get 25 rejections from applications/auditions/submissions… then double it to 50 in the second half of the year!
My rejections goal requires more submissions. In fact, I think I may have rejected more offers myself than I have been rejected from, this year. The trouble with submissions is that I should only apply to things I actually want to do… this means more research. As I do more job applications in Berlin, though, this will increase automatically. I’ve actually started a tracking system specifically for applications, since I do need to get more work.
Make 25 posts on The Franifesto.
Sadly, this is only post number THREE on The Franifesto this year! This is another aim that will need near-weekly devotion in order to fulfill. As I write, I’m considering “Franifesto Fridays” as a basis for my sharing–I’m a sucker for alliteration, after all. 🙂

Looking ahead, I think there are three goals that will be the hardest for me to complete:

#2: I’ve technically already failed at the salutations, but in the end, this is more about achieving a daily habit than it is about rigid perfectionism. I know my wellbeing will benefit from them, but I have had a struggle with exhaustion that makes it easy to convince myself that lying in bed is preferable. Frankly, I’ve become aware of an energetic imbalance in my life: why is it that I find it all too easy to overextend myself for work, and find it hard to put that same effort into myself? The answer is probably capitalist conditioning, but whatever. I’ll be fixing that.

#8: Visiting 25 museums will also be a challenge, because it’s a goal that requires a lot of uninterrupted time (maybe it’s just me, but I can’t seem to visit any museum for less than 4 hours). Even though some goals may take more total time (Venus Retrospectives, I’m looking at you), those goals can be squeezed and squished into convenient bits and pieces, and accomplished at home. Luckily, Berlin is one of the best cities in the world for museum-goers, having over 150 to peruse. In some ways, this goal is asking me to invest in my own enjoyment, which is something I am not always particularly good at. I’ll definitely try to improve, though.

#10: Lastly, rejections are going to be really hard to collect! I’ve only racked up half a dozen so far, which puts me way behind my ultimate goal of 50 this year. It will be difficult because this goal is the only one that involves the participation of other people; being rejected means that other people, organizations, publications, companies, etc. have to respond to me, and that’s just not something I can control. in fact, this is an aim I’ve done before! I sought 100 rejections, back when most of my submissions were for acting jobs, around 2022. Most of those ended up being assumed rejections, because no one ever actually responded… instead, the dates of the shows I applied for simply passed me by. Still, I know I have a better chance of achieving this if I simply send out more applications, which I need to do anyway.

Reflecting on progress (and lack thereof) is reinvigorating. I may yet fail at every single one of these aims, but that isn’t the point, is it? There is immeasurable value in trying, assessing, learning, and experiencing. It’s in my nature to plan, strive, and analyze. Would you believe me if I said this was the most fun part of my entire year? (Gotta say though, getting a new kitten is right up there, too!)

Until next week,
-Franny

The Franifesto: A Phoenix

Long ago, I had a personal blog of the same name, albeit with “.wordpress.com” attached to the url instead of the sleek, sexy “.com.” Luckily, my funding has improved somewhat in the decade since I last wrote under this title.

I don’t have any remaining materials from that blog. In the time since, I have created several new websites of varying kinds; some were for marketing purposes, some for selling my art, some for flopped projects, and some for secret ruminations now long deleted.

All I remember from that original blog, The Franifesto number 0–like the tarot’s Fool–is that I felt totally free to publish my thoughts, poems, doodles, essays, quips. It was a space all my own, uncurated by algorithms, unrestrained by the trappings of form and function required to “post” anywhere else. It was mine alone to build, destroy, and rebuild as I saw fit. At 4:15 this morning (during yet another night of poor sleep), I realized that I dearly miss it.

Or, missed it. A tandem realization: the revival, like the deletion, was entirely in my hands.

A quick internet search told me that no one else had yet claimed this specific moniker; the only hit to my search was my own ancient Tumblr relic of the same name, lately conquered by unbelievably cheap advertisements for RayBans. The name wasn’t taken on Twitter, so I snapped it up there first. The dopamine whoosh from claiming one corner of the internet led to another, and now I’m the established purveyor of several @TheFranifesto profiles, culminating in this, the blog–this, the first post, tapping out on my little phone screen at 4:57 AM, even before I’ve started to design the actual site.

You see, lately I’ve felt a sort of expressive frustration. I’m sure it’s borne of a heady brew of factors… a viral hiatus on my performing work, extreme eco-anxiety, disquieting behaviors encouraged by social media, a year-plus of isolation… to name only a few. I’ve had so much to say and nowhere that served me to say it. I’m a wordy person… Instagram stories just weren’t doing it for me anymore. Time & character limits are just that: limits.

I had been thinking of doing a theatre blog attached to my actor site. I had been thinking of doing an art process blog attached to my artist site. But in late-stage capitalism, I’ve come to reflect that my career selections cannot make up all of who I am, and I cannot therefore be satisfied only expressing myself within a professional context. It felt like all of my life was a professional illusion… and as a professional illusionist, a pretender and creator, that’s actually swell. But, who am I when I am not making magic? Does she get to be seen, too? It got to the point where I couldn’t even bring myself to share photos of my home life because it all felt like fraud–a mithril veil I’d woven between myself and everyone else, light and shiny and practically unbreakable. I craved vulnerability and authenticity, but saw only chrome-plated avenues toward a sterile vision of my life, mountanous moments polished down to picturesque pebbles.

So… what to do?

Create a platform, of course. The idea struck and stuck and, fuck it, I’m doing it. Just an hour after conception, the idea is born.

I don’t know what will come of this. I can’t plan ahead much, because my whole desire is authentic expression, which requires a certain spontaneity. I do fully expect, however: poetry, essays, lists, diagrams, doodles, experiences, musings, puns, jokes, pitches, stories.

Overwhelmingly, stories.

In gratitude and hope,

Franny