Bios/Contact
Frances Perkins: Producer
Frances is a native of Southern California. She received her B.A. in Film Studies and Cultural Anthropology at the University of California-Santa Barbara. She received her M.F.A. in Film Production from New York University, where she also met her future husband and collaborator, Troy Perkins. She currently teaches as an Assistant Professor in Communication & Theatre Arts at UW Fond du Lac, and teaches online Humanities courses for UW Oshkosh. As a freelancer, she has produced commercials, on-air promos and animated videos in New York and she served as a founding partner of Mindpool Productions in Milwaukee, and as a freelance writer/producer for WISN-TV, the Hearst-Argyle ABC affiliate station in Milwaukee. Her short film Summertime’s Calling Me won a Warner Bros. Production Fund Award, a CINE Eagle, and a Bronze Award at Worldfest Houston for Children and Family Films; it has also aired on Northwestern Airlines, Korean Air and Singapore Airlines flights. Recently, Frances wrote and directed the short films Test Day (2009) and Take & Bake (2010 release).
Troy Perkins: Writer/Director
Troy currently teaches film and television production at his alma mater, the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Upon receiving his M.F.A. in Film Production from the prestigious Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, Troy worked for several years in New York City on independent features, music videos, television, and corporate video. He served as writer/director/editor at Mindpool Productions, creating commercials, corporate videos, and video and animation design for concert tours (including Tina Turner, Janet Jackson, Barenaked Ladies, and the Beastie Boys). While teaching, Troy continues to develop short and feature screenplays and productions. Troy’s film, Tractor For Sale (2006), was showcased at many national and regional festivals, and won numerous awards. His next film, Brothers (2008), is completing the festival circuit and has already won a Gold Remi from Worldfest Houston, a Faculty Juried Screening Finalist Award at the 2008 UFVA National Conference, the Central Wisconsin Film Fest Audience Award and has been an Official Selection at many national and regional festivals including the Charlotte Film Festival, Minneapolis/St Paul Int'l Film Festival and the 2009 Sedona Int’l Film Festival. Troy is currently in preproduction for two new short films, Birthday Girl and Billfold, and is working on the next draft of his Midwestern feature film screenplay, Solomon’s Train.