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Cut & Paste: A former drama kid pays tribute to his hunter-father with theater and taxidermy

Who among us hasn’t grappled with building a relationship with our parents?

Matthew Kerns, director of theSt. Lou Fringe festival of performing arts, struggled to bond with a father who was very different from him. Kerns was a gay theater kid; his dad was a stereotypically “manly” man who drove a truck and hunted deer.

In our latest Cut & Paste podcast, we talk with Kerns about how theater helped him better understand his dad and forge a better relationship with him. (You can view a family photo in the slideshow, above.)

St. Louis Public Radio’s Willis Ryder Arnold and Nancy Fowler talk with St. Lou Fringe director Matthew Kerns about a cementing the father-son bond with theater.

Look for new Cut & Paste (#cutpastestl) podcastsevery few weeks on our website. You can also find all previous podcasts focusing on a diverse collection of visual and performing artists, and subscribe to Cut & Paste through this link.

The podcast is sponsored by SPACE Architecture + Design.

Follow Willis and Nancy on Twitter: @WillisRArnoldand @NancyFowlerSTL

Please help St. Louis Public Radio find creative people to feature on Cut & Paste. Tell us which artists and cultural drivers deserve a closer look.

Copyright 2021 St. Louis Public Radio. To see more, visit St. Louis Public Radio.

Matthew Kerns is at the bottom right in this 2005 family photo with his father Bob Kerns and sister Mary Anne Donnell.
Provided | Matthew Kerns /
Matthew Kerns is at the bottom right in this 2005 family photo with his father Bob Kerns and sister Mary Anne Donnell.

Nancy is a veteran journalist whose career spans television, radio, print and online media. Her passions include the arts and social justice, and she particularly delights in the stories of people living and working in that intersection.
Willis Ryder Arnold is an arts and culture reporter for St. Louis Public Radio. He has contributed to NPR affiliates, community stations, and nationally distributed radio programs, as well as Aljazeera America, The New York Times blogs, La Journal de la Photographie, and LIT Magazine. He is a graduate of the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism and a recipient of the Society of Professional Journalist’s award for Radio In-Depth Reporting.