Dog training with a twist

Paul Saitowitz

As Guy Wegener traverses the purple mountains, fruited plains and

highways of this country, his traveling companion spends most of her

time sleeping in the backseat. She has a slobber-covered tongue, a

tail, a body covered in hair and an uncommon nice streak. She also

has to be walked and groomed on a daily basis.

Wegener is the understudy for the roll of Bill Sikes in the Orange

County Performing Art Center’s production of “Oliver!” More

importantly, the member of the ensemble cast is the dog trainer for

Blanca, a British Bull Terrier filling the role of Bullseye the dog

in the play.

“She is more pampered than any other cast member in this

production,” Wegener said. “She already had a mole removed from her

back and had her teeth cleaned for free ... I had to pay to have my

teeth cleaned.”

Life started out less ceremoniously for this thespian canine,

rescued from an owner who kept her cooped up in a garage for three

years. The master trainer for the production saw her on a Humane

Society website and figured that she would be perfect for the role.

Wegener, who grew up on a farm in rural Minnesota with several

dogs, has been acting in New York City for 20 years. When he spoke to

the general manager of the production about his familiarity with

animals, he seemed like a natural for the job.

“It came up that I was a dog lover, and after about a two-hour

phone interview they asked me if I wanted the position,” Wegener

said.

While the rest of the cast travels by plane from town to town,

Wegener and his four-legged friend were given a Mercury Mountaineer

and a gas card. Some of the interstate drives can last for days on

end, but Blanca has no problem.

“She really is amazingly good,” Wegener said. “I take her out to

get some air when I get gas, and then we keep on going.”

Once they get to the venue, it’s all business. Wegener teaches the

dog to hit her marks with a variety of snacks, and then it’s time for

makeup -- a black circle done in mascara around one of her eyes.

Wegener is on stage with Blanca for her first appearance, but then

she is on her own.

“She is really comfortable with everyone, and she’s used to the

cast, so it hasn’t been a problem for me to leave her alone,” he

said.

It wasn’t always that way. As an understudy, sometimes Wegener is

needed to play the role of Sikes -- the villain in the performance --

which consists of an onstage fight.

“She’s really protective of me, so the first time we went over the

fight in rehearsals she got a little defensive, but now she is used

to it,” he said.

Once this gig is over, Wegener plans to work on getting more

acting roles, but pulling double duty as the animal trainer is

something he will always cherish.

“I’d love to do it again, “ he said. “It’s been really rewarding

and really fun working with Blanca.”

“Oliver!” will run from Tuesday through Jan. 2 in Segerstom Hall.