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PITTSBURG —
Somebody sometime wrote that work is the glue that holds people together.
It wasn’t Frank Krainz who wrote it, but he’s proving the truth of it by writing his way to sanity.
A 1986 Pittsburg High School graduate, Krainz appeared in numerous Pittsburg Community Theatre productions. But the gifted young man had a side the audiences didn’t know about. Since childhood he had suffered from a brain illness and had been hearing voices.
He used his talent for writing and drawing as a means to escape his daily struggle with the illness, but the events of 9/11 were too much for him to cope with and he suffered a nervous breakdown.
“The breakdown changed things,” Krainz said. “I was thrust into a world of hospitals and doctors and ‘diagnoses’ followed by pills, pills and more pills. And nothing worked. Well, nothing except my work. Always writing, always drawing.”
After six years of surviving on disability in the Kansas City area, Krainz found his life changed by a chance encounter. A friend, Seth Golay, a talented actor also formerly from Pittsburg, was going to attend a dinner and asked Krainz to accompany him.
Also there was independent filmmaker Steve Balderson.
“We met and just hit it off,” Krainz said in a previous interview.
During their conversation, Balderson mentioned that he wanted make a women-behind-bars film.
“Something inside me said I should take this opportunity , so I said that I would write it for him,” Krainz said. “I went home and wrote all day long, every day for two weeks. The act of writing became my key to mental health.”
The film turned out to be “Stuck!” which starred Karen Black and cult movie favorite Mink Stole, which won rave reviews at the Raindance Film Festival in London. It has been distributed nationwide on DVD.
In 2010 Balderson hired Krainz to write a second screenplay about damaged relationships set against the backdrop of 1960s suburban California.
“It’s called ‘The Casserole Club’, and its a tawdry tale of a women’s recipe club,” Krainz said.
That film was shot last fall in Wamego, where Balderson grew up, and in Indio, Calif. It stars Susan Traylor, Kevin Richardson of the Backstreet Boys in his movie debut and Daniela Sea of “The L Word.” Currently in post-production, the film is expected to be completed by summer.
Balderson has great praise for Krainz.
Somebody sometime wrote that work is the glue that holds people together.
It wasn’t Frank Krainz who wrote it, but he’s proving the truth of it by writing his way to sanity.
A 1986 Pittsburg High School graduate, Krainz appeared in numerous Pittsburg Community Theatre productions. But the gifted young man had a side the audiences didn’t know about. Since childhood he had suffered from a brain illness and had been hearing voices.
He used his talent for writing and drawing as a means to escape his daily struggle with the illness, but the events of 9/11 were too much for him to cope with and he suffered a nervous breakdown.
“The breakdown changed things,” Krainz said. “I was thrust into a world of hospitals and doctors and ‘diagnoses’ followed by pills, pills and more pills. And nothing worked. Well, nothing except my work. Always writing, always drawing.”
After six years of surviving on disability in the Kansas City area, Krainz found his life changed by a chance encounter. A friend, Seth Golay, a talented actor also formerly from Pittsburg, was going to attend a dinner and asked Krainz to accompany him.
Also there was independent filmmaker Steve Balderson.
“We met and just hit it off,” Krainz said in a previous interview.
During their conversation, Balderson mentioned that he wanted make a women-behind-bars film.
“Something inside me said I should take this opportunity , so I said that I would write it for him,” Krainz said. “I went home and wrote all day long, every day for two weeks. The act of writing became my key to mental health.”
The film turned out to be “Stuck!” which starred Karen Black and cult movie favorite Mink Stole, which won rave reviews at the Raindance Film Festival in London. It has been distributed nationwide on DVD.
In 2010 Balderson hired Krainz to write a second screenplay about damaged relationships set against the backdrop of 1960s suburban California.
“It’s called ‘The Casserole Club’, and its a tawdry tale of a women’s recipe club,” Krainz said.
That film was shot last fall in Wamego, where Balderson grew up, and in Indio, Calif. It stars Susan Traylor, Kevin Richardson of the Backstreet Boys in his movie debut and Daniela Sea of “The L Word.” Currently in post-production, the film is expected to be completed by summer.
Balderson has great praise for Krainz.
“His writing reminds me of Truman Capote and Tennessee Williams, only more to the point,” the moviemaker said. “He’s an absolute genius.”
Krainz has learned something vital from his screenwriting experiences. Told that he was “all the way broken” by his illness and would never make anything of himself, he now knows it is possible for a person with a brain illness to participate fully in life and be a success.
“My medication is my work and the connections with Steve, with the actors in our films,” he said. “Of course, the voices are still with me. I struggle with this disease every day. But I have my imagination. And I have Steve’s voice and energy in my ear — always pushing me, like the very best coach, toward the finish line. Calling out, ‘Imagination is health! You can do it!’”
He and Balderson are teaming up for a third film collaboration. To help finance the project, they have started a fundraiser at IndieGoGo, and plan to give away some “perks” in exchange for contributions. Anyone wishing information may visit http://www.indiegogo.com/Untitled-Balderson-Krainz-Project.
