Below is the beginning of my recent article for the new national theater magazine, ENCORE.

MASTER TRAINER BILL BERLONI ON THE JOYS AND THE CHALLENGES OF WORKING WITH NON-HUMAN STARS

By FRANKL RIZZO

Ah, those sweet theatre moments when a beloved Broadway star simply walks out onto the stage and the audience bursts into applause.

It happens to four-legged stars, too, says Bill Berloni, Tony Award-honored animal trainer and behaviorist for the stage, film and television.

But unlike their human counterparts, when the applause doesn’t happen for these stars, the show doesn’t necessarily go on.

Berloni remembers an incident during the first year of the Broadway run of Annie in 1977. That night the audience was as dismal and cool as the October darkness outside. There was none of the typical entrance applause for the pooch that played Sandy. So, as the dog headed across the stage to the arms of Andrea McArdle—he simply stopped. 

“The audience immediately recognized that something wasn’t quite right……..CONTINUED