Theater & Rori

Well first off, I have to thank the Strawberry Playhouse, and director Lucille Fala-Brennan for giving Rori the supporting role of Belle, in The Miracle Worker. It has been an interesting and educational journey and has taught me a lot about animals and the theater. It is NOT as easy as it seems!

When I work my dogs, I typically can be near by in well lit areas offering hand signals or support of some sort. However in theater, it is an entirely different story. First, it is LIVE, and second the audience area is dark, so I had to rely on rehearsals to provide Rori with the experiences and actions needed, and I had to heavily rely on the actors. Not all actors own pets nor have experience with them so I needed to be sure they felt as comfortable as possible with the dog and attempting to keep her in the scene. This was not always an easy task as Rori, initially wasn't sure what was expected. So with a few more prompts and hints for the actors all seemed to eventually fall into place. And at the conclusion of Rori's scene one time, she didn't want to leave the stage, but the gentleman playing Captain Keller kept his character and escorted her off as part of the show. As the shows progressed all actors including Rori seem to adjust to each other and find their way to providing poignant scenes. When some of the actors changed roles, it once again became an adjustment for EVERYONE. I understand that playing a role and trying to keep an animal in the scene can be challenging, but there are tricks to used, and prayers to said (haha). All in all it has been a great experience and if asked, I would do it again with any of my dogs. The only things I might do differently is ask the director for permission to address the cast and discuss working with whatever pet is going to participate. As each person has their own personality, so does each animal-everyone needs to have a basic understanding of one another for it to be a successful and believable journey. I would discuss the basics of handling and working with a dog. I also would ideally request a few more short rehearsals just so the dog can experience the people, stage, and scene, and so the actors can begin to develop a working relationship with the dog.

It has been a wonderful experience-we have two more shows. Tonight, and tomorrow is the close. Wish us "break a leg!"