Guest Blog: Snickers Speaks!

Do we have a treat for you guys this beautiful Friday morning. For our very first guest blog, one of the stars of On Borrowed Time has graciously agreed to share some thoughts with us. She is a veteran of the stage and I think we can all agree that she has the most beautiful coat of the entire cast of 'On Borrowed Time'. I'm talking, of course, of the "grande dame of theatrical animals," (according to her bio) canine star Snickers, who plays the role of 'Betty' in 'On Borrowed Time'. Thanks to her and to her handler, Brian Michael Hoffman, for sharing her thoughts.
--Anika

Betty (played by Snickers) Woof Grr Arf "Betty:" (arf arf woof dog boy Brian) Grrr-arf, grr-bow-wow! Snausage awoo Two River ON BORROWED HOWL woof-woof Bill's Pups awooo arf Emcee! Arf-arf bark grumble toy...bow-wow grrrrrr-arf ball. Woof woof arf bark bark awoo whimper belly sniff sniff tree awoooo woof arf arf bark grrrrrrrrrrrrr Brink. Bark grrrrr bow-wow pismire awoooooooo arf arf "Betty" hoooooowl "awwwwww." AWOOOOOO! Bark bark opening!!! Arf arf tiny human oak tree, bow wow wooooof treats! Dog boy Brian bark bark bark arf woof bow wow pawtograph howl awooo pupparazzi! Awoooo.....dog boy whimper walking dead woof? Bill Berloni grrrr woof arf bow-wow rescue arf Toto, too. WOOF WOOF Broadway Barks Bernadette!  Woof arf bark bark second chance bow wow howl limelight! Arf!? Sniff sniff woof bark grrrrr arf Two River long walk sniff sniff! Howl woof arf bark bow-wow interweb dot facebark com twitt-grrr. Bark arf arf woof, Red Bank!!!! From the Desk of "Betty:" (as translated by Snickers' handler, Brian Michael Hoffman) Another opening, another show! What a treat (and I don't mean the Snausage-y kind!) to be a part of Two River Theater Company's ON BORROWED TIME, and, as the grand dame of William Berloni Theatrical Animals, to be directed by another legend of the stage, Mr. Joel Grey. I always love the rehearsal process: meeting my new pack...I mean fellow actors and truly playing with the text like a new squeak toy until I really feel comfortable with my blocking and listening to my fellow actors who throw lines back and forth like my favorite red ball. Then we get to the technical rehearsals where I meet all sorts of new friends who have built the amazing new world that I get to run around in. They all dress in black, but are very friendly and always seem to want to take time out of their day to rub my belly! Fine by me! They're all very protective of me around the huge tree we have onstage: I think they think I want to "water" it like I do other trees here in Red Bank (helping you keep your city green, I say!), but I know better...it doesn't smell alive...and I don't think that's just because of Mr. Brink! Although my stage time is limited, I know I play a very important role in the play and I love listening to the beginning of the second half of the show (after my Intermission walk, of course!) when Aunt Demetria tells everyone that "Betty" has died. Everyone "awws!" My favorite part, though, has to be opening night and this one was no different! My scene went very well! Oakes, the small human child I work with is very serious onstage but when we get offstage, he always looks for my tickle spot and scratches me behind my ear! I like him so much, I even share my treats with him sometimes! After my scene on opening night, my work was done and Brian did the "heavy lifting" at the opening night party: he carried me around making sure all the "big dogs" had a chance to meet me! He told everyone about me being a rescue, my history with Bill Berloni and my adventures on the yellow brick road and, sadly, did an excellent job of keeping me away from all the opening night goodies. (And he did all of that after getting shot onstage! It happens every night but he always comes back to my private dressing room. I still haven't figured that out...maybe he's a zombie?) Anyway, everyone was so excited to meet me and get my "paw-tograph" at the reception. I was happy to greet the pupparazzi and all of my fans, including my friend Bernadette Peters! She's so beautiful and kind...and a wonderful friend to all rescue animals, like me! She and my owner and trainer Bill both know that rescues are the best: we've sometimes come from some pretty bad situations and, when we get our forever home, we are getting our second chance!!! Mine just happens to be behind the footlights! Who'd a thunk it? Now that we've gotten thru opening, I'm settling into our normal show schedule. It's a pleasure to be here at Two River and I love the show....but I'm also enjoying the extra time during the day to sniff all of your great smells while exploring this great town!  For more information on me and all of Bill Berloni's other theatrical animals, please visit www.theatricalanimals.com You can also "like" us on Facebook ( https://www.facebook.com/pages/William-Berloni-Theatrical-Animals-Inc/160644103997612 ) and follow us on Twitter ( @BillBerloni ) Thanks for having me, Red Bank!!!!