10 Questions with…Frank Jagodnik

In this series we ask one of our actors, directors, staff, board members or volunteers 10 questions based on the famous “Proust Questionnaire” and give them a theatrical spin. (For more information and to see the full questionnaire click here)

Murder on the Nile – 2015 – (left to right) Frank Jagodnik and David Sweeney

Our latest 10 Questions “victim” is Coaster Theatre veteran Frank Jagodnik. Currently you can catch Frank on stage as Canon Ambrose Pennefather in our production of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Nile. This summer he will tackle another murder mystery as Mortimer Chalke in our summer play It Could Be Any One Of Us.

Murder on the Nile marks Frank’s 45th production at the Coaster Theatre (and his 3rd Agatha Christie play at the Coaster Theatre). He was last seen last fall as Malvolio in Twelfth Night. Other productions include Ten Little Indians, The Unexpected Guest, Sherlock’s Secret Life, Whodunit, Deathtrap and Bullshot Crummond. 

1. What is your present state of mind?
Relief and exhaustion that Murder on the Nile opening weekend is behind us.  And anxiety and excitement with the auditions for It Could Be Anyone of Us.  The cycle continues.

2. Who are your favorite playwrights?
Those that make me laugh, think, and have a sense of wit for their characters and their predicaments. A.R. Gurney, Oscar Wilde, Noel Coward, Ira Levin, and Christopher Durang all come to mind.

Twelfth Night – 2014 – (left to right) Frank Jagodnik, Deborah Carson, Barbara Ayres, Cameron Lira (seated) and Jenni Tronier

3. Your favorite musician?
OK, I have always loved film soundtracks so it has to be some of the great film composers.  Tops on the list are John Williams (Star Wars, Jaws and Raiders of the Lost Ark for goodness sake!), Ennio Morricone (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly), Bernard Hermann (Vertigo, North by Northwest) and Elmer Bernstein (The Magnificent Seven and The Great Escape).

4. Who are your favorite characters?
The quirky and stylish ones who brought something unique to the stage and screen.  Gandolf, Sherlock Holmes, Sheldon Cooper and Spock must be included.

5. Who are your heroes in real life?
The generation that saved us from tyranny during World War II.  They saved our way of life.

6. What natural gift would you most like to possess?
Patience, but I just can’t wait for it.

Gramercy Ghost – 2013 – (left to right) David Sweeney and Frank Jagodnik

7. What is your most marked characteristic?
Well, now it’s the shaved dome and I’m taller than all the women I know.

8. What do you most value in your friends?
A sense of humor, thoughtfulness and a love of animals.  Pet owners are special.

9. If you could have been anyone throughout history, who would you have been?
Nothing ancient because times were just too tough.  Maybe Tom Hanks.  Love his work, his attitude and his contributions.

10. What is your motto?
Keep calm and sing Soft Kitty.