breakfast, hang out a while and then make our way into school sometime just before lunch. Just so you know, none of us were truants, and cutting class didn’t have an adverse affect on any of our lives. One buddy, Joe nichols, is now a decorated war hero, and my buddy alan hebert went on to get his doctorate at harvard, whilst i tell dick jokes for a living. although those breakfasts are some of my happiest memories, my favorite memory came on class night of my senior year, when alan and i were honored as the only two members of our graduating class with perfect attendance. And what shows are you a warm-up comic? Which of those have the most potential for your future? k: i’m currently the warm-up comic for the nightly Show with larry wilmore on comedy central. Over the past few years, i was the warm-up comic for both the daily Show and the colbert report. One thing that i am very proud of is that i am the only person who’s been hired as a warm-up comic for all three of those shows. i have been a fan of the daily Show since it debuted in the 90’s, and i have never missed an episode. i’ve also been a fan of Jon Stewart since i first started to see him doing stand-up. i’m so in awe of the work that the daily Show has done and the impact that Jon Stewart has had. the fact that i’ve been able to play even a small part of all three of these shows is something that i will always be proud of. i may never have an hour-long special on hbO. this could all go away, and i may end up living at my parents’ house again. but Jon Stewart, Stephen colbert and larry wilmore all think i’m funny, and that’s good enough for me.
What kind of fashion sensibilities do you have? k: i guess i’ve grown as close to comfortable with my looks as i can. i don’t think i’m particularly fetching. i’m pretty sure that if i were into dudes i wouldn’t be my type. when it comes to personal style i do my best with the hand that i was dealt. i don’t dress to attract attention and i don’t concern myself with keeping up with the current trends. when dressing for the stage i want to remember that my words, my facial expressions and body language are what matters. So i dress pretty plainly to keep clothes from stealing focus. when offstage, i also keep it pretty simple. i hate funny tee shirts, won’t wear them. i also don’t wear a lot of corporate logos. i keep it simple. i don’t like to spend a lot of time thinking about what i am going to wear.
Tell us what you are working on now? k: right now i’m working on my new hour of stand-up. i’m also writing some sketches to film for my website. the high point of my week lately has been recording my podcast on Monday nights. it is called the Movie Preview review Podcast. accompanied by my wife and two buddies, i review movies based on only watching their previews. we have great guests on each week. Mostly my guests are stand-up comics and tV writers. i’ve had writers from Snl, bill Maher, the daily Show, the nightly Show. we are finding our niche and our audience is building. i’m having fun hanging out with so many talented people, and i have really high hopes for the show. beyond that, i don’t really have an all-encompassing project stealing all of my focus. So i’m pretty much a free agent at this moment. i’ll probably do another play this fall, but right now i am recharging the batteries… doing a lot of reading and waiting for something to really grab my interest.
do you find yourself very disciplined when it comes to creating and working on a project? k: i have what my wife calls a “laser-like focus.” when i am immersed in a project, it does get the lion’s share of my attention. i’ve never missed a deadline and i was the first person in the play to be off book. but that doesn’t necessarily mean that i have discipline. i can be very lazy and unfocused. it seems i do well under pressure, and that i’m at my best when i have only a day or two left before i have to turn something in. i think i could accomplish a lot more if i had more discipline and more focus.
from your past experiences in Show Business, what would you tell an emerging actor nOT to do? k: not to be a buzz kill, but i’d say don’t start. life is hard and there is nowhere near enough work to go around. we’ve got enough actors. the entertainment industry is at its saturation point
of losers with a dream. the odds of making it big or of even making a steady living are astronomically against you. there is so much sacrifice, so much rejection. don’t bother. Go to college, learn a trade, have a family and a nice house. if you have an itch to act, then find a community theater and indulge. but don’t torture yourself with this life. tenacity is a big factor in my success, and so is sacrifice. i am where i am in my mid thirties because i sacrificed in my twenties. i didn’t take vacations, didn’t have kids, didn’t buy a house and get mired in debt. i have heard no many more times than i have heard yes. i feel like oftentimes people get into the arts because they think it’s an easy path to celebrity, riches and happiness. the one thing that shows like American Idol have shown us is that there are way more delusional people who think they have a marketable talent then there are genuine talents. Statistically speaking, you aren’t going to make it. now i know that there are people who will read this and get annoyed at me for saying it. they will say, “well that’s not me. i have talent for days and it is just a matter of time until i win my Oscar.” to those people i will say what i always say: “i’ll have a Grande Mocha Frappuccino, hold the whipped cream.”
Tell us about your homecoming taping. it sounds like a big step up for you. k: any time i can perform at home is a treat. i recorded my first album at a comedy club in nyc, and for my second album i wanted to record it back home. because the material on my second album is more personal and more introspective, i opted against a large venue like the colonial theater in favor of the intimacy of a smaller room. i wanted it to feel like a comedy club. i found a venue in Pittsfield called J allen’s clubhouse. it’s an amazing restaurant on north Street with a room in the back that is built like a black box theater. J allen’s was the perfect venue; i couldn’t have designed it better if i had tried. i did three shows in a single night, the plan being that i do the first show to warm up, the second show for the taping and the third show for safety. the shows were great, and the night in and of itself was one of the highlights of my entire life. the plan had been to record the night as a tV special. the whole thing was self-produced and self-financed, with hopes that we could sell it to a comedy central or somebody. as great as the night was, and as amazing as the tV taping would have been, only the live audience ever got to see it. almost all of the footage was overexposed. basically everything lighter in color then my gray jacket was whited out. at the end of the day, i was only able to salvage the audio and to release my special as an audio-only album. i took a few screen grabs where i am whited out and over-exposed, and made them my album cover. i called it The Unintentionally White Album. it’s a nice night in the Berkshires. The end of a glorious day for you. how would you sum it all up?
Kevin, Central Park
photo by Rhoopa Bhopale
k: is anyone still reading? God, i’m so sick of me at this point. here’s a challenge, if you make it this far into the interview tweet me the code word winnebaGO. when i was little, i remember seeing bumper stickers that read “don’t blame Me, i’m From Massachusetts,” and that has been my worldview ever since. i’m from the berkshires, and everywhere else sucks by comparison. new york city is a close second but they don’t have teo’s. i am so lucky to have been raised in lee. i was lucky that so much culture was at my disposal. So much theater, so much music. i was lucky to be raised and still championed by such wonderful people. i love berkshire county. it will always be home. it was an amazing stroke of luck that i grew up in berkshire county, and as a result was able to take advantage of the educational program at Shakespeare and co., and to be a part of the Fall Festival. i joined the drama club in the fall of my freshman year at lee high. i wasn’t interested in acting, but i figured it would help me be comfortable on stage when i began my career as a stand-up comedian. My first play was that fall, and it was a part of Shakespeare and co.’s Fall Festival. if i stood out that year it was in a completely negative manner. i was undisciplined, brash, unfocused, unprofessional, overwhelmed and underprepared. i really was awful. i was young and immature, and sadly not nearly worthy of the opportunity given to me. but with the expert tutelage of everyone at Shakespeare and co., i was able to comprehend and enjoy william Shakespeare. beyond that, i learned invaluable skills that have helped my writing, my stand-up, my acting and virtually every other facet of my career. My experience at Shakespeare and co. and with the Fall Festival was almost exclusively with Jon croy. i think he directed me in seven or eight shows during my high school years. he was patient and professional and exactly the right man to snap me into shape. Jon turned me around in those four years, and led me on my way to be far more then merely comfortable on stage when my time came to be a stand-up. i am forever indebted to Shakespeare and co. what they do year-in and yearout with their education programs is nothing short of miraculous. while other summer-stock groups pack it up at the end of the summer, Shakespeare and co. has been coming into our schools for over twenty five years. the effect that they’ve had on the community is immeasurable. the effect that they had on me was immense. i’m lucky to be one of the thousands of students to take part in the Fall Festival. i am not saying that i wouldn’t have made it as a stand up had i not had the access that i had. but i can say that, having been lucky enough to be a part of Shakespeare & co., my career and life have been immeasurably more satisfying. J
The ArTful Mind AuGuST 2015 • 7