Monika Blazs
Milwaukee’s SistaStrings kicks off an innovative series at Threshold on Oct. 25.
Threshold on Madison’s near east side is more of a living organism than it is a performance venue. It’s the cultural equivalent of what’s called “edge effect” in ecology. That’s where changes occur in populations that co-mingle across the boundary of two habitats. Instead of plant species, Threshold’s co-minglers are performers and patrons, and the expanded boundary allows for greater diversity.
“We use (Threshold) in a way that encourages people to actually meet each other and to meet performers … to use a performance as a meeting time, not just a time to perform or listen to a performance,” says Threshold founder Efrat Livny. “So we always open our doors early. We always have food. We offer areas for people to sit around before the show. And we encourage our performers to sort of come in, look around, see who’s there and think of ways to both engage the audience and engage yourself. To take some risks.”
Livny calls it “creating social friction.”
Given the mission, it’s fitting that Threshold’s founder would be an artist who started her career in the biosciences. Livny came to Madison from her native Jerusalem in 1983 with her then-husband to pursue graduate studies. She went on to work on campus at the Biotechnology Center, where she created and ran the bio-tech information program. But after 11 years at the university, her artistic sensibilities led her off campus, into her art and a second career as a massage therapist and teacher. She started Threshold five years ago as a privately funded coworking and events space.
On a windy, fall afternoon, I sit with Livny in the front room of Threshold, a classic red brick building on Atwood Avenue that started as an auto shop nearly 100 years ago. Sun pours through the plate glass and illuminates her creations, an inspired menagerie of pieces made from animal bones, glassware and other found objects from her world travels.
The community space is in a renovated auto shop on Atwood Avenue.
Threshold kicks off Autumn Sessions on Oct. 25 with an evening of music and dialogue with Milwaukee’s SistaStrings, who sold out their May event at the space. Monique and Chauntee Ross are vocalists who are classically trained on violin and cello. They use the classics as a base camp from which to explore R&B, gospel and jazz traditions. Food and drink will be culturally paired for the music — in this case, soul food at the Ross sisters’ request — and will be for sale an hour before the show starts. All proceeds for the evening will go to the musicians’ choice of charity, Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort (WAVE).
The model carries through to the second and third programs in the series: Native American recording artist Bill Miller on Nov. 22, and Milwaukee songwriter/storyteller Peter Mulvey on Dec. 12.
“This is a ‘social good’ enterprise,” Livny says. “The idea is if we value this as a community, we should sustain this. Threshold brings people together in a way that leaves a lot of room for serendipity.”