To “gather”.
The word conjures coffee shops, church basements, living rooms, ball fields, concert halls…. especially at this time of year. As the air chills and we seek comfort in a hearth, home cooking, family and friends… We celebrate, laugh, sing, turn to each other and count our blessings.
So please join us at the Historic Sheldon Theater with humorist Kevin Kling, and the musical brilliance of Dan Chouinard and Simone Perrin as we raise the roof with stories and songs.
Dan Chouinard, For nearly four decades, has been pianist and accordionist of choice for performers in the Twin Cities area, an enabler of community singalongs and a writer of hit shows for public radio, concert hall and theater. His most recent theatrical collaboration, Rondo ’56: Remembering St. Paul’s Black Main Street, has played to sold-out houses since its premiere in 2021.
Dan attended St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota, and taught French and Italian at the University of Minnesota for four years. Beginning in 1994, his radio series The Singer’s Voice was broadcast live from the Dakota Jazz Club every week over six years.
He was a regular guest accompanist on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion, and is the founder of a classic country band, Lush Country, comprised of Prairie Home Companion alumni. He currently accompanies Garrison Keillor on concerts around the U.S.
Kevin Kling, a renowned playwright and storyteller, is known for his commentaries on NPR’s All Things Considered and TPT’s Almanac. He entertains audiences with off-kilter stories full of humor, heart, and thoughtful philosophizing. Following a life-changing accident in 2001, Kevin continues to write plays and stories in a rigorous fashion, traveling the globe to theaters, storytelling festivals and residencies. He frequently performs at the acclaimed National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee. A prominent disability advocate, Kevin is especially proud of his collaboration with Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts, a company of artists with varying abilities.
“Part funny guy, part poet and playwright, part wise man.” Krista Tippett, “On Being”, American Public Media.
Simone Perrin grew up on the banks of the upper Mississippi in beautiful Winona, MN. After studying at Oberlin College and Conservatory and then living and working in New York City, and then Minneapolis, where she met and started working with Kevin Kling, Simone moved rural Wisconsin, where she lives today with her family. She has appeared on the Prairie Home Companion and has performed with many regional theaters including The Guthrie, Theater Latte Da, Open Eye Figure Theatre, The Cincinnati Playhouse and The Seattle Repertory Theater, where she and Kevin developed two original plays, How? How? Why? Why? Why? and Breakin’ Hearts and Takin’ Names. In 2009, Simone released her first album Hummingbird, available to listen on most streaming platforms.
