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Sit, stay, act! Theatre Calgary holds dog auditions for summer Shakespeare run

Carly Stagg | CBC News | Posted: May 26, 2018 5:07 PM | Last Updated: May 26, 2018

Canine actor must be obedient, calm and not easily distracted by squirrels

Image | Theatre Calgary Shakespeare by the Bow dog auditions March 26, 2018

Caption: Theatre Calgary has cast all of the human roles for its summer run of Two Gentleman of Verona, now they are looking for the perfect pooch to play Crab — a character who happens to be a dog in Shakespeare's famous comedy. (CBC)

Theatre Calgary hosted an unconventional set of auditions Friday at Prince's Island Park — all in search of the bard's best friend.
The company is this year putting on The Two Gentlemen of Verona as part of its Shakespeare on the Bow series. The play, known as Shakespeare's first comedy, famously features a character named Crab — who happens to be a dog.
"All of the human roles have been cast so now we're just looking for the dog to play the role of Crab," said Susan McNair Reid, Theatre Calgary's company manager.
The company put out a call for people to bring their dogs to the park to show off their talents.

Media Video | CBC News Calgary : Shakespeare by the Bow dog auditions

Caption: This year, Theatre Calgary is putting on The Two Gentlemen of Verona as part of its Shakespeare on the Bow series. The play, known as Shakespeare's first comedy, famously features a character named Crab — who happens to be a dog.

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To be fit for the role, the dog must be obedient, calm and not easily distracted by squirrels.
"The interesting part about this venue [Prince's Island Park] for a dog is that we cannot control the environment at all," McNair Reid said. "At the Max Bell Theatre, we control the lighting levels, we control everything. Whereas here … we have no control.
"The only control we have is to know that our Crab will do what he or she needs to do, when we need him to do it and not be worried about everything else."
Theatre Calgary is hoping to find two perfect dog actors to trade off on the role. McNair Reid said they don't have a type of dog in mind for the role, they are mostly considering temperament.
"In fact the two dogs might be vastly different from each other. We don't need a matching set or anything, he doesn't have a costume so we don't need to fit him into the same thing," she said.
The play runs betweem June 29 and Aug. 19 at Prince's Island Park.
Information and tickets can be found on Theatre Calgary's website.(external link)

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