Pup performance Local pooches get time in spotlight in Rainbow Stage production of Legally Blonde By: Ben Waldman Posted: 5:26 PM CDT Monday, Aug. 10, 2026

On stage and screen there are no small roles, but there are small actors.

And then there is Lil’ Beast, a spunky, wild-haired performer who weighs in at 1.5 kilograms (3.5 lbs).

“You think of a small dog, and then he’s even smaller,” says his owner Britainy Jasper.

In April, when the beast was only six months old, he was encouraged by dozens of dog park acquaintances to tap into his creative side and audition for his first professional acting gig.

Lil’ Beast wasn’t the right species and didn’t have the brio to play Elle Woods in the Rainbow Stage production of Legally Blonde, but he did meet the criteria — tiny, adorable, totally totable — to play the Harvard-bound lawyer’s sidekick Bruiser.

In preparation for its second production at Kildonan Park for the 2026 season, Rainbow Stage needed to cast non-human performers to play Elle’s chihuahua and her stylist Paulette’s bulldog Rufus. After a months-long campaign to find Winnipeg’s next star fuzzballs, 20 pooches strutted, shuffled and bounded into the audition room in search of their big break.

The competition was fierce, but Nova Chua wasn’t intimidated.

“She basically knows she’s a diva,” says Carina Chua, whose purebred, four-year-old Frenchie wore a pink sweater to her audition to play Rufus. According to her resumé, Nova ranks in the top percentile for sit, stay and come, with interests that include dressing up, being the centre of attention and playing with her squeaky monkey.

Wally Reyes arrived to his audition with competition pedigree under his collar: the four-year-old French bulldog is a grand champion with first-place obedience recognition for his category from the Manitoba Kennel Club and has competed on the Canadian circuit with his handler, 15-year-old Gabbie Reyes.

“He loves to work. Typically, a French bulldog is kind of a meathead — you wouldn’t necessarily see them doing tricks, but for whatever reason, Wally loves to learn new things; he just wants to please people,” says Gabbie’s mom Kelly-Anne Reyes.

Five-year-old chihuahua Sunny Dean drew on her years of experience as a therapy dog to put the casting team at ease during her audition. Owner Darlene Dean knew her littlest friend would endear herself with her hind-leg dancing and gentle demeanour.

Despite the initial casting call being for two pooches, the company couldn’t resist doubling down on doggies — a move made to allow for contingencies and to give each four-legged star time to enjoy days off; even dogs need understudies.

“Honestly, we were so impressed that we ended up casting two alternating Bruisers and two alternating Rufuses so that each dog has plenty of downtime throughout the run,” says Rainbow Stage artistic director Carson Nattrass.

Sunny, Lil’ Beast, Wally and Nova have been learning their cues over the last three weeks, working alongside the cast and creative crew to get acclimated to the bright lights and booming voices.

Though there isn’t a standard agreement or rate through the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres for non-human performers, the canine performers do get a $1,500 honorarium for their month of labour.

“Since these aren’t trained film or stage dogs, we’ve created an arrangement that reflects the time commitment of both the dogs and their owners,” says Nattrass.

The company has also hired Gabbie Reyes and Jasper as production dog-handlers, while limiting rehearsal and performance times to “ensure the dogs’ welfare and comfort are always the priority,” he adds.

According to their owners, each dog is having a ball as they prepare for opening night Thursday, when Wally and Sunny take the stage as representatives of the Pink cast; while Nova and Lil’ Beast will represent the Sparkle squad.

If the dogs are ready for the spotlight, the owners are awaiting the fanfare like stage parents.

“It’s like they’re your children, right?” says Dean. “When they go up on stage we’re so proud of them. Sunny’s a star and I don’t want to see her fail — I’m so proud of her and she’s such a good girl.”

“We did a few off-site rehearsals where Lil’ Beast got to meet the cast and walk through what he’s doing, but when we got to Rainbow Stage I was kind of in awe of the whole thing. I literally had tears rolling down my face,” says Jasper.

Lil’ Beast was perhaps a bit too comfortable during his first runthrough at Kildonan Park.

“(Actress Megan Fry) was holding him and while she was singing, Lil’ Beast gave her a French kiss,” recalls Jasper with a laugh. “I was mortified.”

bwaldman@freepress.mb.ca

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A different beast

“Speaking of animals, I generally prefer not to work with them,” wrote sitcom director James Burrows (Cheers, Taxi) in his 2025 memoir. “No disrespect and not to generalize, but they don’t take direction very well.”

When Ross Geller’s capuchin ended up in the rafters during one shoot of Friends, Burrows made a humble request: “When I come back to direct another episode, please, no monkey.”

No matter whether things go according to plan, animals give new meaning to the term “live performance,” often creating unforgettable moments through their interactions with the cast and their natural inclinations.

“No disrespect and not to generalize, but they don’t take direction very well.”

In June, during a staging of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet in Turkey, a cat wandered onstage right after the young Montague took a swig of poison, scratching and pawing at the ballet performer who laid still onstage. In a video now seen millions of times, the performers handle the unplanned cameo with grace and decisiveness: Juliet drags Romeo’s lifeless body away from the kitten before continuing the tragic finale.

In 2022, at Rainbow Stage, the late director Rob Herriot elected for Dorothy (Alyssa Crockett) to bring a puppet version of Toto to the land of Oz, opting to hire Julia Davis for double-duty as Crockett’s understudy and to handle the pulleys on the cairn terrier; both Davis (Vivienne) and Crockett (Brooke/Kate) are set to appear in Legally Blonde.

Winnipeg actor Debbie Maslowsky knows that even when pet performances go slightly awry, it makes for a memorable night at the theatre.

“The audience was so excited and applauded, and the dog got a little turned around. He sort of bounced off the scrim over the orchestra pit, came down the stairs and came right back up onstage.”

While starring as Ms. Hannigan in Rainbow’s 2012 production of Annie, Maslowsky was standing on stage right with Jake, the shaggy pooch cast as the lead dog Sandy, on the first preview night.

“I was supposed to let him go, and all he had to do was run to his owner, who was in the wings on stage left,” recalls Maslowsky, who will star as Golde in Fiddler on the Roof at Rainbow Stage in September.

“The audience was so excited and applauded, and the dog got a little turned around. He sort of bounced off the scrim over the orchestra pit, came down the stairs and came right back up onstage. He was perfectly fine for the rest of the night.

“It happens to the best of us.”

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