Catster Magazine - March/April 2016

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.

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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.