“Animals are as void of conscience as predatory lenders, as persistent as addicts, as ritualistic as priests,” Amy Raasch writes about her one-woman multimedia piece The Animal Monologues. The actor/performance artist looks at human behavior from the perspective of various wild and captive creatures — and vice versa — through a series of surreal vignettes that initially seem cute and daftly amusing before segueing into heavier, more emotionally resonant and surprising territory. Among other things, “Griffith Park's resident mountain lion confides what it's like to live famous and alone in Hollywood” and “a scientist installs a microchip in the throat of a bird and plays it like a piano,” Raasch explains about her work, which invokes themes of love, submission and dominance, race and faith alongside references to Colin Kaepernick and 9/11.

Miles Memorial Playhouse, 1130 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica; Sat., Feb. 23, 7:30 p.m.; $5 & $10. (310) 458-8634, milesplayhouse.org.

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