We are thrilled to present this very special holiday episode of Sanctuary: A Radio Play, an annual Thanksgiving tradition at Our Hen House! This special performance marks the world premiere of John Yunker’s Sanctuary at New York City’s Symphony Space during the Culture & Animals Foundation’s Compassion Arts Festival.

A dark comedy, Sanctuary tells the story of Richard (John Frusciante) and Lisa (Mariann Sullivan), a happily married couple whose blissful retirement to small-town Oregon is thrown into disarray when Lisa suddenly decides to go vegan and insists on celebrating Thanksgiving without a turkey AND alongside her new friend and animal activist, Meg (Jasmin Singer). Husband Richard invites his unsuspecting buddy Charley (Michael Harren), who also happens to be the local exterminator, in the hopes of forcing Lisa to stick with the traditional meal. The resulting tensions soon push relationships over the edge. Sanctuary tells the story behind the struggles and joys of navigating vegan ethics around loved ones who don’t quite understand. (Sound effects are by Emmy winner Eric Milano.)

Thanks for tuning in!  If you enjoy the Our Hen House podcast, please leave us a positive review! To view the show notes with resources, visit the website at https://www.ourhenhouse.org/ep723.5/

Annual HOLIDAY SPECIAL: “SANCTUARY: A RADIO PLAY” RECORDED LIVE IN NEW YORK CITY

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Rescued animals at some sanctuaries are now facing a new hurdle before they can be truly safe: climate change. We are joined this week by Kathy Stevens of Catskill Animal Sanctuary to discuss this new challenge. 

Kathy Stevens is the co-founder and executive director of Catskill Animal Sanctuary. Since then, Catskill has saved more than 5,000 non-human individuals through direct rescue — and exponentially more through programming that encourages humans to adopt veganism. Kathy is also the author of Where the Blind Horse Sings and a contributor to books, podcasts and articles on animal sentience, animal rights, and veganism.

Thanks for tuning in!  If you enjoy the Our Hen House podcast, please leave us a positive review! To view the show notes with resources, visit the website at https://www.ourhenhouse.org/ep746/

Rescuing Animals from Climate Change w/ Kathy Stevens

Humans’ relationships with the other creatures on this planet range from deep love to dreadful cruelty and everything in between. What are the roots of this confused and contradictory reality? This week, we are joined by Dr Pia Salk to discuss the mysteries of human psychology as it relates to animals. 

Pia Salk is a clinical psychologist and expert on the human-animal bond. In her clinical work and her writing, Dr. Salk addresses topics ranging from the loss of a companion animal to the unique stresses of animal welfare work and the climate of animal welfare as it relates to social justice on a larger scale. Dr. Salk’s media appearances cover topics such as how adopting an animal not only saves lives, but is also good parenting that promotes prosocial behavior in today’s youth. She lives and practices in Sleepy Hollow, NY. 

Thanks for tuning in!  If you enjoy the Our Hen House podcast, please leave us a positive review! To view the show notes with resources, visit the website at https://www.ourhenhouse.org/ep745/

The Human-Animal Bond w/ Dr Pia Salk

What does a night out at the theater (or theatre, in this case) have to do with activism? A whole lot if it’s up to Anastasia Bunce & Grace Howarth, who join us this week to discuss Patch Plays, the vegan troupe that is producing theater that pays attention to the lives, and deaths, of animals. 

Grace Joy Howarth is a playwright, author, and composer from London. She is one of Patch Plays’ Associate Writers and has been vegan since birth. Theatrical writing credits include ‘Blood on Your Hands’ (Southwark Playhouse, The Cockpit Theatre, BBC Writers Room Longlist, Masterclass Pitch Your Play Longlist), ‘Birdie’s Adventures in the Animal Kingdom’ (The Greenhouse Theatre, Harrow Arts Centre, Polka Theatre R&D;) and ‘She is Taken Lightly’ (Hope Mill Theatre). Her work has been produced in scratch nights across the UK, and she self-produced a radio play, ‘Until We Can’t See the Sky,’ on Resonance FM and Chapel FM. Grace has been shortlisted for the New York New Plays for Young Audiences showcase and longlisted for the British Youth Music Theatre Award. She has over a dozen short stories published in publications such as the H.G. Wells Short Story Award Collection, The National Archives Writing War, Writing Peace anthology, and Miniskirt Magazine. She holds a First Class degree in Songwriting and works as a freelance sustainability writer and editor.

Anastasia Bunce is a theatre and film director based in London who specializes in directing new writing with a political heart. She is the Artistic Director of Patch Plays, a company devoted to staging work that explores animal ethics and the environment. Stylistically, she is interested in utilizing expressionistic devices that enable the poetry of a piece to become its focal point, as this for her, is where stories start to shape into art. Anastasia trained in MA Theatre Directing at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in 2020. Recently she directed the critically acclaimed Offest finalist one-woman show 'Meat Cute' by Bibi Lucille (Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Gilded Balloon 2023), 'Darkie Armo Girl' by Karine Bedrossian (Finborough Theatre 2022), 'Birdie's Adventures in the Animal Kingdom' by Grace Joy Howarth (Harrow Arts Centre 2022/Greenhouse Theatre 2023), 'Blood On Your Hands' by Grace Joy Howarth (Southwark Playhouse 2024, Cockpit Theatre 2022). Short films include 'Meat Cute' by Bibi Lucille, 'Push' by Julia Melinek, 'Swipe Left' by Bella Glanville and 'Yoghurt is Not Sexy' by Jessica Friend.

Thanks for tuning in!  If you enjoy the Our Hen House podcast, please leave us a positive review! To view the show notes with resources, visit the website at https://www.ourhenhouse.org/ep744/

How Theater Can Change the World for Animals w/ Grace Howarth & Anastasia Bunce

Everyone who lives with an animal would think it rather obvious that they dream, but believe it or not, this is not an accepted fact in the scientific community. This week, we speak with David Peña-Guzmán about his book When Animals Dream: The Hidden World of Animal Consciousness.

David M. Peña-Guzmán is associate professor of humanities at SF State and co-host of the podcast Overthink. He specializes in animal studies, the history and philosophy of science, theories of consciousness, and 20th century French philosophy. He is the author ofWhen Animals Dream: The Hidden World of Animal Consciousness, and co-author of Chimpanzee Rights: The Philosophers’ Brief. 

Thanks for tuning in!  If you enjoy the Our Hen House podcast, please leave us a positive review! To view the show notes with resources, visit the website at https://www.ourhenhouse.org/ep743/

When Animals Dream w/ David Peña-Guzmán

Horseracing’s popularity has declined over the years, so how is this industry still alive? This week we are joined by Patrick Battuello of Horseracing Wrongs, who sheds light on the brutality and corruption that is the horseracing industry. 

Patrick Battuello has been writing on animal-rights issues since 2009 when he launched the Animal Rights blog for the Albany Times Union, one of the first of its kind in the nation. His work from this period appeared in a high-school text book, "The Case for Animal Rights." Patrick launched Horseracing Wrongs in 2013 and incorporated as a non-profit in 2017. Patrick has had racing op-eds published in The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, MSNBC, Katie Couric Media, among many others. He has appeared on CNN and ESPN multiple times, and in 2019 was featured on a groundbreaking segment of HBO's "Real Sports." Patrick has also testified before the New York State Senate.

Thanks for tuning in!  If you enjoy the Our Hen House podcast, please leave us a positive review! To view the show notes with resources, visit the website at https://www.ourhenhouse.org/ep742/

Annual HOLIDAY SPECIAL: “SANCTUARY: A RADIO PLAY” RECORDED LIVE IN NEW YORK CITY

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