Frank J Oliva
Performance Space Designer — LOST NOT FOUND
FRANK primarily designs new work across the boundaries of theatre, film, music, and experiential events. His work has been seen across the United States. Recent projects include the world premieres of Hurricane Party (Cherry Lane Theater), SOUNDSTAGE (HERE Arts Center), A Deal and Dogs of Rwanda (Urban Stages), as well as new productions of Bernstein’s MASS (Cincinnati Symphony), The Merry Wives of Windsor (Two River Theatre) and Tosca (Molloy College). As Associate Designer, Frank has collaborated on projects for Broadway, Off-Broadway and International Productions, including Oklahoma!, Hangmen, The Wolves & Noura. He currently teaches at Playwrights Horizons Downtown. Frank received the 2017 Innovative Theatre Award for his design of #LIBERATED. His work has been featured in Visa Magazine Japan and Vulture Magazine. He is a member of United Scenic Artists Local 829, The United States Institute of Theatre Technology and Wingspace Theatrical Design Collective.
Frank is originally from Miami, FL and is of Cuban-American descent. He is a graduate of NYU/Tisch School of the Arts, and is currently based in New York City.
LOST NOT FOUND was directed by Alex Keegan for UP Theatre Company in May 2017.
Our conversation began with questions about how to reckon with a non-traditional theatre space and what it meant to be performing the play in Washington Heights, where it is set. We wanted the audience to step off the street and know they were still in the neighborhood, here, today. The apartment itself was an amalgam of these. We wanted it to feel like an apartment in a moment of transition – unclear if it was a transition for better or worse. Texturally, we took inspiration from the aged brick surfaces of the gymnasium – and ultimately that informed the in-process feel, as a contrast to the storied and aged gymnasium. We felt an obligation be brutally honest with the space and the design, not shying away from the objects that were in the room with us. The entire structure wanted to feel towering, imposing and monumental – an intervention of space that was unapologetic and nearly overwhelming. The initial moment of encountering the space wanted to feel surprising and almost intimidating – where the apartment became the first character, who virtually punched audiences in the gut.O
