Frank met up with Handspan Theatre at the Tasmanian Puppet Festival in Hobart in 1979 where he was head Puppeteer at the Tasmanian Puppet Theatre, performing in Momma's Little Horror Show.
While never a member of the Handspan company, Frank was nevertheless closely associated with the ensemble in the 1980s and worked with several company productions.
He performed in Handspan's co-production with The Mushroom Troupe, Bombora (1982) and with his particular interest in comedy directed Duck (1987) - cabaret vignettes developed with Melbourne comedy writers.
Frank married , Pamela Peelen, at the time Handspan's part-time Administrative assistant, in 1985 and relocated to Perth in Western Australia. There he established theatre workshop and production projects with inmates in the State penitentiary system which received wide acclaim and success.