Schedule

Behind the Scenes

The Author and Playwright

Kids Corner

Originally from Brookfield, Missouri, Kevin Kling's accomplished work exists in many forms, including theater, television, radio, recording, and literature.

Since 1993, Mr. Kling has been a member of the Minneapolis based Playwright's Center. Aside from Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, Mr. Kling's plays include 21A, Gravity vs. Levity, Lloyd's Prayer, Auguste Modern: The Life of a Marketing Analyst Born With the Face of a Clown as Told by the Right Side of His Brain, The Seven Dwarfs, Home and Away, The Ice Fishing Play, The Education of Walter Kauffmann, and Fear and Loving in Minneapolis. His work has been seen in theaters such as the Seattle Repertory Theatre, The Sundance Institute, Actors Theater of Louisville, The Goodman Theatre, and Second Stage Theatre (off-Broadway) as well as in national and international festivals. Mr. Kling has also written adaptations of The Venetian Twins, along with Michael Bogdonov, for the Guthrie Theatre, and Lyle, Lyle Crocodile for the Children's Theatre of Minneapolis.

On the radio, Mr. Kling can be heard as a commentator for National Public Radio's All Things Considered and as a storyteller on Good Evening with Noah Adams, also for NPR. Other credits for Mr. Kling include a Jerome Fellowship (1983), a Heideman Award for Best Short Play, 21A (1986), a Bush Fellowship (1988), a Jerome Book Arts Grant (1989), an NEA fellowship (1990), a McKnight Fellowship (1990), the Whiting Literary Award (1993), a Minnesota State Arts Grant (1996), and a McKnight Advancement Grant (1998-99).

When asked, "What would you like the theater to represent or reflect in the next millennium?" Mr. Kling stated, "The same thing as any millennium. The freedom to, represent humanity as it is, not as it is desired to be or 'should' be, but actually is."

About the Author -- Kevin Henkes

Kevin Henkes became an author/illustrator at age 19 when he left his home in Racine, Wisconsin and headed to New York. With his portfolio in hand, Kevin's goal was to find a publisher; a goal he accomplished when he met Susan Hirshman at Greenwillow Books and had his first picture book, All Alone, published in 1981. Mr. Henkes' career to date includes not only writing and illustrating picture books, but also writing several novels. He is drawn to the variety of trying to find new ways to fill the pages between two covers, experimenting with words, paint and ink.

This love of both art and books did not come to Mr. Henkes recently. He remembers drawing at a very early age, and enjoying it all the more because his parents and teachers told him he was good at it. Books also played an important role in his young life, those he owned were re-read, looked at over and over, and taken with him everywhere. His books were filled with dog-eared pages, fingerprints on his favorite illustrations, and his name and addresses inscribed in crayon on the covers. With his love of books came a sense of wonder about authors and illustrators. He wondered if they had families, what they looked like and how old they were. He never imagined that one day he would be lucky enough to be one himself.

Aside from Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, Mr. Henkes' books for children include Owen, Bailey Goes Camping, Chester's Way, Jessica, Grandpa & Bo, Julius, Baby of the World, Sheila Rae, the Brave, Words of Stone, A Weekend With Wendell, and Chrysanthemum.