Created by performance artist Brett Keyser, Nightjar Apothecary productions are stripped-down physical-vocal soundings of the Comédie humaine, archaeological digs through the dross shops of history, surreptitious glances under the lid of science and technology. Outside the Apothecary, Keyser (an artist in residence at the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia) has performed with NACL in New York, New Orleans, and Toronto; as a core collaborator with Wishhounds and Theatre Labyrinth in Cleveland and abroad; and as a solo artist in the streets of San Francisco. He is a teaching artist with the Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership, and has a degree in Folklore and Folklife Studies from the University of Pennsylvania.

Structured as an experiment, the performance asks questions: To what extent are we willing to obey an authority figure, no matter what the cost? And what role does the physical distance between two people play in one’s willingness to inflict pain on the other?

In Bird on a Wire's performative experiment, movement and language of a “normal” social situation repeat and build to the point of absurdity as the stakes get raised higher and higher, approaching the point of no return.

Bird on a Wire is an ever-transforming ensemble of artists who work across geographical distance to create original, physically and visually dynamic performances that activate dialogue within communities. The current incarnation of the ensemble includes Kimi Maeda (Columbia, SC), Michelle Milne (Goshen, IN), and Brianne Waychoff (Baton Rouge, LA). They have worked individually and together performing, writing, designing, directing and teaching theatre and performance on both coasts, in the Midwest and in Southeast U.S.