RESUME & REPERTOIRE
Starting as an actor in amateur theatre in Guyana way back in the early 50's, working his way up to artistic director of the theatre........
-
........three years during the '60's in a drama college in England - stage/lighting design and directing...........
-
........then radio producer/announcer and liaison officer throughout the islands for the fledgling Caribbean Broadcasting Union and also as producer/performer of a two and then four person theatre group (DEM-TWO & ALL AH WE) during the 1970's....
........emigrated to Barbados in the 80's and for the next seventeen years worked throughout the island chain, from Guyana to Belize, as a solo entertainer, educator, journalist, storyteller, poetry performer, stand up comedian, theatre designer and director.........
-
.........finally, in 1996 he came with his wife Elizabeth to live in America, becoming a U.S citizen in 2003.
-
.......he continues to perform in the Caribbean and North America where he runs workshops, designs, directs, tells at festivals, cafes, schools, universities, libraries, after dinners, anniversaries, conferences, special events.
-
Along the way, Ken received nine awards for misc. "contribution to the arts in the Caribbean" including the Arrow of Achievement from the Guyana Government, the Cacique Award from the Trinidad & Tobago Drama Association, several for stage design and directing, and a special award from the Long Island Traditions organization.
Ken's repertoire spans folk, literary and
personal stories, performance poetry and song - all from the English speaking
Caribbean - from Guyana in the South to Belize via the entire island chain. His
personal stories are of living in and leaving the Caribbean and arriving and
adapting to North America, while his literary tales come from short stories of
Island writers and the poetry he "performs" are narrative and
dramatic by the very best regional poets. He is also a recognized stand-up
comedian in the Caribbean and the North American diaspora.
He reconstructs
Caribbean folktales and designs his personal stories to suit his style that has
been formed and honed by fifty years in radio and theatre, three years formal training at an English theatre
school together with his dance training background.
"...I have seen no other performer anywhere with Ken's unique wide ranging style and stories. He is one of a kind" Henry Muttoo, artistic director Cayman National Cultural Foundation, Cayman Islands
Listen
to an interview with Ken on NPR (National Public Radio) broadcast
21.Dec.07 http://www.loe.org/shows/shows.htm?programID=07-P13-00051
Ken has made four CD's - Personal Stories, Folk and Literary Tales, Stand-up, Caribbean Poetry.
Ken now lives with
his wife, Elizabeth Barnum, in Long Island, NY
(631) 744 3127 e-mail kcorsbie@optonline.net
website www.kencorsbie.com