Name: Kenneth Collins
Title/Occupation: Writer, Director, Designer
Organization/Company: Temporary Distortion
URL: www.temporarydistortion.com

1. Where did you grow up and how did you end up where you are now?

Born in Freehold, NJ. Spent a number of years in Harrisburg, PA. Moved to NYC in the summer of ’99.

2. Which performance, song, play, movie, painting or other work of art had the biggest influence on you and why?

Waiting for Godot. It was the third play I ever read (after Hamlet and Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead). I was attending a Vo-Tech high school and had never seen a play, but I became fascinated with the notion of making theater. Most of the stuff happening (or not happening) in my work traces back to the initial impact Godot had on me.

3. What skill, talent or attribute do you most wish you had and why?

Telekinesis.

4. What do you do to make a living? Describe a normal day.

I tour and make work with my company, Temporary Distortion. Unless we are on tour, most days are spent attending to administrative details, followed by creative work (writing, designing or rehearsing).

5. Have you ever had to make a choice between work and art? What did you choose, why, and what was the outcome?

I’ve quit jobs and been fired on numerous occasions so that I could concentrate on making my work. It never seemed like a choice.  Sometimes it has been tough, but always worth it.