For samples of complete articles, interviews and more,
please visit the media kit page.
"In a time when it is easy to be polarized Kenny Carnes' paradoxical poetry unites a diverse audience. His provocative playwriting has an enormous capacity to heal and transform us."
-Brown University
(read letter PDF)
"A vibrant, unforgettable performance"
-The Worcester Telegram
“Mr. Carnes is a remarkable performer. He bounces from multiple characters and he shape-shifts through time and space with tremendous care. I was left astounded at how he was able to transition from mood to mood and character to character. It was stunning!”
-KAOR 91.1 FM RADIO, South Dakota
"Carnes makes the audience aware of the social responsibilities war
brings and gets his audience to realize other views."
-The Crimson White
"Carnes delivers a powerful message!"
-NY Theatre.com
"A heartfelt and true rendition of humanity Carnes combines a commanding style of poetry with prose to tackle such questions as: What does violence really mean to those who have experienced it firsthand? Through a vibrant, unforgettable performance, Mr. Carnes showed that the visual remnants of violence are not the only side effects of war."
-The Worcester Telegram
"Dumbfounding..."
-The Westerly Sun
“This was an absolutely moving experience. Kenny Carnes brought tears to our eyes helping us see what we would not be able to without his performance. Pieces of War mended our community.”
-Washington State University
"...EMINEM meets Eric Bogosian."
- Channing Gray, The Providence Journal-Bulletin
“Carnes' play [Last Words] confronts our own mortality and humanness. The final words of the inmates portrayed highlight the mission we all have to heal wounds. The artist motivates and inspires us to mend our own brokenness. Very eye opening and inspiring. I am so glad Kenny Carnes came to our campus stage. An important issue presented in a skillful, powerful theatrical performance.”
-Anna Maria College
"Healing..."
-The Providence Phoenix
"Theatergoers can certainly use the healing that such a play—and, hopefully, future ones by Carnes—can accomplish...the humility, forgiveness and compassion in his performance of LAST WORDS is remarkable.”
-The Providence Phoenix
"...a VERY GOOD PLAY!"
-Broadway World.com
“The play is such a heart wrenching transformative journey, and you perform as if it were the first time, every time. The story line, the spoken words, the acting, and the tone of the play were seamless. Inmate Peoples' soliloquy makes you believe that this is, and always was his story from beginning to end. Words like "play", "performance", or "show" seem inappropriate to describe what feels more like an oral history or a painful autobiography. This story doesn't try to tell you how to think, act, or feel; it's just concerned that you do. I hope you inspire more playwrights to create with such a purpose. Your work is both good brain and body food, and your audience is better for the wear. Thanks!”
-Stone Hill College
“OUTSTANDING! An emotional performance that was well received by our students, faculty and outreach community."
–Salve Regina University
“Carnes performs as if he’s truly inside this poor soul’s battered skin. He is outstanding in the role and creates a most provocative, credible and sympathetic character. He offers a very powerful performance, as he ensnares his audience in a web of words and emotion and leaves us dumbfounded.”
-Geri Sereno, Theatre Critic, The Sun
“Beautiful! A voice of compassion…Looking forward to future works…Carnes has much to offer us.”
-Connie Nash, Journalist
“Carnes’s mission impresses me. He goes beyond what the Broadway play does, and gives us a performance that works on the audience on many levels. His performance compels us to act. It drives us to think. I’m reminded of Bertold Brecht because Ken, too, uses art as a hammer and forces us to choose.”
-Carol Autorino Center for the Arts
“Kenny Carnes humanizes us where we do not expect to find our humanity."
-Kristin Houlé, Amnesty International
“Hell of a show! Very Good! I loved it. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.”
-The FNX Morning Show, 103.7FM Providence
“A powerful performance as a man looking for redemption, Carnes does a good job revealing the human side of the kind of person most of us encounter, if at all, as a blurry face on the nightly news. Carnes is a gifted physical actor whose raspy good ‘ol boy drawl perfectly suits his hard-scrabble character.”
-The Providence Journal-Bulletin
“A powerful performance! The theatrical, political, existential and human elements are awesome. Deeply moving.”
-University of Alabama
“A voice of hope out of a place of despair…a light in the house of darkness. Explosive! Poignant drama. Splendid.”
-TCASK
“...powerful performer awaking us.”
-Stone Hill College
“A top quality artist full of insight and TALENT!!! Our audience all really feed on Carnes' performance.”
-Bridgewater State College
“Beautiful performance! Wonderful. Artful...LAST WORDS is a real interpretation of prison life. Carnes’s performance opened my eyes to see both sides of the story.”
–Clarion University
"My friend, Karen Luderer, has corresponded with death row inmates for about 18 years, and she has seen 8 executions. I have been less involved but read/listened a great deal about the capital punishment issue. Karen and I both agreed that Ken “got it” as he portrayed the composite death row “resident” in his ply LAST WORDS. We cannot fathom anyone supporting the death penalty as a performer or audience member--despite at least the public disclaimer. Clarion University is a better place for having “Last Words.” His new work also sounds interesting."
-Robert Girvan
Professor of Sociology
Clarion University
(c) 2007 by Kenny Carnes & Company