“Voices From The Animal Kingdom," in conjunction with QWERTYFEST MKE, is an interactive performance piece that soon will take over the Interchange Theater, 628 N. 10th St.
Guests can stop in at any time between 3 and 8 p.m. to meet and greet 17 comedians, writers and biologists who are in character as an animal they've thoroughly researched. Guests are encouraged to write down one question – about literally anything – and will receive wacky, fun and insightful responses clacked live on typewriters by the "animals."
"No AI, no ChatGPT. Just unplugged, unhinged analog fun," says artist-poet Anja Notanja Sieger, who created "Voices From the Animal Kingdom."
This performance is a new evolution of Sieger's previous “Advice Tent” performance pop-ups. The show has a familiar question-and-answer format, but has morphed from an edgy exploration of self-improvement to what Sieger calls "a showcase of biology and cross-species empathy."
Here are the artists and the animals they'll portray:
- Becca Segal as Red-Lipped Batfish
- Sue Blaustein as Earwig
- Van Rung as Orchid Mantis
- Harper Martel as Liopleurodon
- Emma Kraco as Antlion
- Michael Laurito as Lobster
- Monica Thomas as Sarcastic Fringehead
- Sedy Bee as Sea Lemon
- Julia Williams as Spotted Gar
- Michael Timm as Duck-Billed Platypus
- Casey Van Groll as Vietnamese Pot-Bellied Pig
- Amanda Reavey as Sloth
- Lindsay Lochman as Trilobite
- Chuck Stebelton as European Starling
- Kro (Chicago) as Isopod
- Andrea Becker (Decorah, IA) as Mystery Snail
- Plus, Illicit Eagle & Friends will provide Live Animal Music
A playful cat was the inspiration for the show.
“Once, I was feeling terribly alone when a cat tapped my shoulder to play. I always thought shoulder tapping was a human-specific form of communication, but the cat rapped my shoulder with three rhythmic knocks just like she was at my door,” says Sieger. “It got me wondering what constitutes ‘humanity’ or ‘animal’ if a sophisticated sentiment is conveyed across species?”
"Voices of the Animal Kingdom" is Saturday, Oct. 4, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Visitors can stop in at any time. Tickets to this all-ages show are $10 and available here or may be purchased at the door.
The show is part of Milwaukee's three-day typewriter festival, "QWERTYFEST MKE." For more information about QWERTYFEST, go here.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
