Weber State University graduates Shannon Musgrave and Dustin Bolt are learning just how much stamina it takes to be a dog. At least a dog from children's literature. Both are appearing in the Salt Lake Acting Company's first children's show, "Go, Dog. Go!"
"It takes a lot of energy," said Bolt, 25 and a 2009 WSU graduate. "Most musicals have big dance numbers, but then there's a break before the next dance. With this, from the time we enter the stage, we are going, going, going, and sweating bullets."
That's because the dogs of P.D. Eastman's 1961 early reader book "Go, Dog. Go!" never stop. They run, they dance, they skip and hike, they try on hats, and they only stop for red lights.
Musgrave, 23 and a 2008 WSU graduate, does get to leave the stage for quick costume changes. She plays an ensemble dog, as well as Hattie, the hat-loving pooch surrounded by dogs with less fashion sense.
"She's a poodle, so I have to change my ears, and I have puffballs around my wrists and ankles, and I wear a tutu," Musgrave said. "It's a really fun show, and it's high energy and fast.
"Nonprofessional children's theater can be good quality, but when you have professional actors that have to follow the union rules, and everybody is on board with the same goals and starts on the same page, we are hopeful that we will get a real quality product we can offer to Utah audiences," she said. "The actors come in committed and ready to try everything until they can find what works."
'New and exciting'
Show director Jerry Rapier said he is a fan of the book and the play.
"The book is just brilliant," he said. "It's one of the early reader series, and is just an amazing teaching tool for pre-K kids to learn about color, play, opposites, individuality and how to be a part of a group, but still be yourself. I love the messages of the book, and it's exciting that it hasn't been staged much since it opened in 2003. It's exciting to think about people who read the book and shared it with their kids, and now grandparents who can share the book and play with grandchildren.
"The intergenerational family theater experience is not something that has been associated with SLAC or Plan-B (Rapier's theater company), so it's new and exciting ground for all of us."
Rapier said the show appeals to children as young as 3.
"A lot of theaters have age limits, so for a lot of children, this will be their first experience with theater, which is exciting, too," he said.
Kids more intuitive
SLAC hopes to cultivate a new generation of professional theater fans while providing production qualities that will keep youngsters' parents and grandparents entertained and engaged, he said.
"In my experience, children are far more intuitive and aware than adults," Rapier said. "We lose sight of our intuition as we get older. Children are very astute people, and just because they are little people doesn't mean they don't have the capacity to grasp just about anything. So we approach this show with the same level of commitment, work and intensity that we would any other play."
Bolt hopes to draw a large crowd of little audience members.
"There aren't many shows for children this age, and this is going to be a great time for everyone who comes," he said. "It's short and fast, and you still have the evening to yourself afterward. Children get to see a favorite story come to life, and they get to learn about how great theater can be."
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