Frank Smith is a television and film writer who has been passionate about Speech and Debate since he first joined his middle school team 16 years ago. Though he now lives in Los Angeles, Frank is originally from Boston, where he competed on the Milton Academy Speech and Debate Team under the legendary Debbie Simon. While in high school, Frank was a four-time State Finalist, a two-time State Champion, a four-time National Qualifier, and a competitor in numerous outrounds at national-level tournaments. His proudest achievements were being named an NFL Academic All-American, awarded to students only with a high enough GPA and high enough number of NFL Points; finishing in the Top 13 at CFL Nationals in Dramatic Performance; earning a spot in the Top 13 at NFL Nationals in Poetry. His Final Round Runner-up placement in Dramatic Performance at the University of Pennsylvania Liberty Bell Classic at the start of his senior year proved oddly prescient, as he ultimately majored in Neuroscience and minored in French at the University of Pennsylvania. Since graduating college with honors, Frank has coached numerous finalists at both National Tournaments, as well as numerous national-level tournaments in Oral Interpretation, Duo Interpretation, Original Oratory, and his first love, Humorous Interpretation. He has a special talent for writing fun, topical introductions. His writing partner, actress Erica Dasher, and he first met when she filmed him as a competitor for Figures of Speech, a documentary about Speech and Debate on Netflix narrated by Star Trek‘s Chris Pine. Coincidentally, Frank is now featured on Netflix himself, in Episode 5 of Tidying Up with Marie Kondo.
Frank: “If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. Don’t fear your strongest competitors — learn from all; befriend some; become one.”