Catster: How did you react
when Steven asked you to perform this piece?
Steve: I thought it was a wonderful opportunity to contribute
to something that means a lot to
so many. What he told me was,
“Let’s shape the way people look
at animal shelters — the concept that animal shelters are sad,
depressing places.” That to me
seemed amazing.
How have your pets helped
you create this piece?
Multiple stories are built
around pets I’ve owned and pets
that close friends have owned.
Animals are a huge part of our
lives. I know how significant the
shelter system is and how great
the animals come out of it are, so
I thought that was a really cool
thing to do — and to create an
emotional investment, to remind
people why we love our animals.
What was your experience
like putting it together?
It was great. We ultimate-
ly filmed it in a shelter that
hadn’t yet opened. Going there,
meeting the people, doing the
research, and walking around
with the animals and filming it
in a shelter was significant as a
writer and a performer because
you try to absorb the energy
and be inspired by the
experience. Recently,
at the premiere of the
fifth episode, [Steven]
had me come perform
it live. When I arrived,
there was an energy
shift. People brought
some of their animals. To
interact live is a different
experience, and it went
incredibly well and got a
standing ovation.
How did that make
you feel?
The standing ovation
was amazing because it was
the first time I performed
the piece live. To feel the
energy of the audience and
the community being so
genuinely inspired was great.
You always have these different experiences with audiences.
There’s a difference between “I
killed that show” and the connection that happens afterward when
you can actually see in the faces
— it resonates beyond entertainment to an emotional place
where you feel like you’re not just
speaking to them, you’re speaking
for them.
What did you hope to
accomplish?
The goal here was to not see
shelters as sad places and to try
to create a movement where
people go to shelters and see
them as an opportunity. If we can
make people realize that there’s an
opportunity for love, you can find
love anywhere. There’s incredible
people working in these shelters;
there are incredible animals in
these shelters, and all they need is
somebody who is willing to show
up and take a chance on them.
Samar Khoury is the assistant editor of
Catster magazine.
h
Actor/poet/playwright Steve Connell has loved animals throughout his life. When Steven Latham, producer and irector of the PBS series Shelter Me, asked Steve to write
something to inspire people to adopt pets, he couldn’t resist such
a great opportunity. Steve created and performed Let's Go Home,
a poem about his pets and his friends' pets that encourages others
to visit animal shelters, for a segment on episode three: Shelter Me:
Second Chances.
We caught up with Steve to talk about his experience.
BY SAMAR KHOURY