"WILDlife!" began as a special performance, with the world-renown Chicago Symphony Orchestra! This program was about animals and hosted by Dr. Fisher, Director of Lincoln Park Zoo. For this concert, children from the Chicago Public Schools were invited to write poems to introduce "Carnival of the Animals". These insightful poems about animals are still part of the show "WILDlife!". How fortunate, for how else would the fictitious animal ZanZipZ have been born?

Then the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI commissioned Laurie Willets to create two different programs to accompany two special exhibits on animals. The second exhibit was of James Balog's outstanding animal photographs, which became a source of inspiration. Thus "WILDIffe!" began to take shape.

To complete this menagerie, the "Cool" Character, Rain Knee Forest, was added along with a classic piece by T. Daniel, "White Bird". Thus, "WILDIffe!" became a fascinating look at animals from a variety of sources: musical, photographic, corporal and the creative imagination of two internationally-acclaimed artists:  T. Daniel & Laurie Willets.