On this special All Things Considered live at the Minnesota State Fair, Kevin Kling performs a piece from "Diary of a Madman."
Transcript:
(00:00:00) As a matter of fact, the temperature is 81 in that is where John Ray be all things considered host is standing by John Calipari. Hello. We are here with Kevin Kling who is at this instant revising his script for Diary of a Madman and I'm hearing just a little bit of a delay. I don't know if we can fix that but it's okay. Kevin Kling is a local playwright Minnesotan of some note. He's on all things considered doing commentaries nowadays, and we'll check in with him for just In a second, we'll check in with him in just a second. I mentioned the fashion tip at the Minnesota State Fair that this year seems to include Cat in the Hat hats in a whole variety of different flavors like in Vikings colors, and I've seen some red and white ones. And now of course as fate would have it. I can't find any so if somebody could grab someone who has one of those Cat in the Hat hats we'll we'll check in with them during this break Bane Balki and Kevin are revising the We should probably go on.
(00:01:03) Okay? Yeah. Yeah, we're just going we're cutting away here. Sure. Yeah, we have a toy to hear I saw that. Hello Earth leads. Yeah, wait now we have
(00:01:18) that see they can you grab them. We have somebody who's running by it with to cat in the Hat's on right now. All right. We have an audience member who's going to grab them bring them over so Coming up in in September on September 20th. Kevin Kling will be doing Diary of a Madman which is a short story by goggle at the Jungle Theater in Minneapolis. Can you tell me a little bit about why you're going to be doing
(00:01:42) this why I'm doing Diary of a Madman. It's perfect timing this time of year when things are going on with the elections and coming up and the way the country is changing man. It's about Russia in the 1830s and what was going on with them and it seems to fit in with With us here
(00:02:00) these days. So before we talk with the Cat in the Hat People you wanted want to do a little bit of that.
(00:02:05) Sure. Are you all ready?
(00:02:10) If you need Reverb at any point, we
(00:02:11) have it right here. Yeah. All right. Here we go. An extraordinary thing happened today. I got up rather late and when Marvel brought my boots, I asked her the time hearing that 10 had struck quite a while before I dressed in a hurry I put on my old overcoat and as it was pouring rain, I took my umbrella the streets were quite deserted except for some peasant women their skirts thrown over their heads a few Merchants under umbrellas and a Coachman here in there. Now. I was passing by a storm when a carriage stopped. Front I recognized it at once it belonged to the director of our department himself, but I thought he cannot possibly need anything here. It must be his daughter. I pressed myself against the wall. The footman opened the carriage-door and she fluttered out like a little bird. Oh how she looked around first right? Then left how her eyes and eyebrows flashed past me. Oh God. Oh God. I'm lost forever. Her lap dog was too slow to get in the store while the door was open and had to stay in the street. Now. I know this little dog, her name is Maji then a minute or so later. I heard this thin voice. Hello, Maggie. Well, I'll be damned. Who's that talking I turned around and saw two ladies walking under their umbrella has one old the other young and pretty but they'd already passed when I heard again. Just next to me. He ought to be
(00:03:37) ashamed of yourself Maji,
(00:03:39) but what on Earth is going on. I saw Maggie an There had been following the two ladies sniffing at each other. Well, maybe I'm drunk I said to myself but that's not likely that doesn't happen to me. Very often know the deli you are wrong. I was Bow Wow, I was bow.
(00:03:57) Wow, very
(00:03:58) sick with my own eyes. I saw Maji formed those words. I must say I was quite surprised to hear her talking later. However, when I had sized up the situation, And I was no longer surprised. As a matter of fact, the world has seen many similars occurrences before I've heard that in England a fish broke the surface and uttered a couple of words in such an outlandish language that Scholars have been trying to work out their meaning for years so far in vain then to I read in the newspaper about two cows who went into a store and ask for a pound of tea, but I'll confess I was much more bewildered when Maji said I did write you fedele perhaps Fido didn't give you my letter. He seems to hear two dogs talk in there and
(00:05:02) I'm still confused about how this is a commentary on the other current political situation.
(00:05:06) Oh, this is the hook then comes the real. Yeah, once we get the hook in your mouth we reel you in so here's the dogs talk and then after here's the dogs talking he follows one to somebody's house and and steals its diary and reads the dogs diary and that's when he realized Lee finds stuff out
(00:05:27) Go-Go's a crazy guy.
(00:05:30) Yeah, no go go might not have been. Well, he might have been either he is or this guy is I can kind of relate to this guy. You know how sometimes when you hear something and you're not quite sure and you kind of look at it for a while just to see if it'll do it again. I think that's what this guy does.
(00:05:47) This is part of Diary of a Madman appropriately enough which is at the Jungle Theater in Minneapolis starting on September 20th and running through November 16th, Wednesday through Sundays. I think I have that right so that will be opening up your also that's in a production with Michael summer who is doing a different show. What and tell me again what he's doing he's
(00:06:08) doing krapp's last tape by Beckett and it's an incredible piece that's going to be an that's going to be a good one.
(00:06:16) And loyal listeners might remember that you and Michael were on the stage last year at the I'm sorry. I just hit somebody in the face with my elbow doing Waiting for Godot and it played pretty well here at the fair and I guess it played pretty well at the
(00:06:29) jungle rocked. That was really it was really fun. Yeah,
(00:06:34) we've been listening to your commentaries on all things considered for a number of months now and I would really like to know how much your stories are fictional or embellished. Shall we say and how much is from actual? Variance
(00:06:46) that's all actual experience hundred percent or it's at least based on fact that I'm going to stop there.
(00:06:54) Well, like did you run and Grandma's
(00:06:56) Marathon? Oh, yeah, I just did this year. Yeah that that story was about the other time when I bombed and this time I did a little better so I'm getting better.
(00:07:05) I seem to remember in that story. There was the Vaseline man. Can you relate a little bit of that?
(00:07:10) Well, the guy was handing out bass so lean and he kind of had high water pants. You kind of got to put Vaseline and some strategic places that rub together when you run and about mile 15 a guy at a glob on his hand and his Vaseline. You kind of wanted you to know I didn't see anybody take any we kind of arced around him. But now this year they fired the Vaseline man, and now they got the US Army doing it was that say
(00:07:39) they advertise for a job
(00:07:40) like that. I don't know. I think it's a volunteer thing.
(00:07:44) So this is your first it was the first day of the Minnesota State Fair and we're here talking with Kevin Kling was an all things considered now Storyteller is also a playwright in the Twin Cities and performing at The Jungle Theater and so on and we have just about 2 minutes left here. I want to know when you come to the fair. What do you look for? What are the what are the key things that you look for every year
(00:08:05) people wearing shirts that look alike The Old Mill. I never miss a ride on the Old Mill. That's my favorite thing and then something with cheese.
(00:08:19) What do you dip your cheese curds anything or do you just take him straight? That's a pretty
(00:08:24) personal question John. Jeez. I really know. You know, I do I'll take them straight. I like them straight
(00:08:33) some people they do mustard and they do catch up or you know
(00:08:36) do No, right.
(00:08:40) Will you try catch up this year?
(00:08:41) I'd Bob for him if I could that's uh straight I like.
(00:08:45) All right. Thanks a lot. Let's have a big hand for Kevin Kling All Things Considered commentator and playwright in the Twin Cities. And once more Diary of a Madman and krapp's last tape will be Priya will be opening at the Jungle Theater in Minneapolis, September 20th running through November 16th. It'll be running Wednesdays Thursdays Fridays Saturdays and Sundays. Thanks a lot Kevin and now let's talk. Toss it best back to Perry finale at the Minnesota Public Radio Studios. All right, baby live at the Minnesota State Fair. Alright, thanks a lot. John programming in Minnesota Public Radio support.