Northwestern College’s theatre department will present “The Perfect Dog” children’s play Friday evening and Saturday afternoon, Oct. 4 and 5. Both performances—at 7 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. Saturday—will take place in the DeWitt Theatre Art Center’s Allen Black Box Theatre.
Based on the book by John O’Hurley, “The Perfect Dog” tells the story of Sam, a 12-year-old perfectionist, and her search for a flawless dog to enter in the town’s dog contest. Unable to find a canine that measures up, she resorts to training the family dog, Max, who is less than eager to obey commands. In the end, Sam and Max learn there is no such thing as perfect, but there is such a thing as being perfect for each other.
Drew Schmidt, the play’s director and an associate professor of theatre at Northwestern, chose “The Perfect Dog” because it is a musical and because of its message.
“We read hundreds of children’s shows every couple of years,” he says. “A lot of them are loud, silly or weird. Every so often, you find one that is compelling. ‘The Perfect Dog’ is about not becoming trapped and paralyzed by perfectionism. It’s about being comfortable in your own skin and proud of who you are.”
Half of the cast play human characters and half play various breeds of dogs, ranging from a German shepherd to a Parisian poodle.
“One of the things I love about children’s shows is that kids are good at imagination,” Schmidt says. “We’ll use makeup and ears and maybe some tails, but much of it will be in the way the actors carry themselves. For instance, how do you walk in a certain way that is ‘excitable mutt’?”
Six members of the cast are first-year students—unsurprising since Schmidt says children’s plays are a great “on ramp” for younger students participating in their first college production. Of the 10 members of the cast, five play humans and five play dogs.
Anna Frangenberg is Sam Brown; Liam Nibbelink and Lilia Twaddle play her parents; Lexi Squier plays Sam’s friend, Charlie; and Maelee Rodenburg fills several other roles.
Zeke Stansbery is Sam’s dog, Max, while the other dogs—Diesel, Cyclone, Klause and Carla—are played by Cloee Reding, Juleah Brinks, Lauren Kalstrup and Elli Zerr.
In addition to the two public performances on Oct. 4 and 5, the cast is doing 13 school performances that will be attended by approximately 4,000 area children. This year, spots were reserved for kids from flood-impacted schools in Rock Valley and Spencer, in addition to reservations for Orange City students. The rest of the school performances filled up the day invitations to schools were sent out. One of the performances is reserved for homeschool students.
“We’ve been doing children’s shows since the early ’60s, so 80 years,” Schmidt says. “People who grew up around here can identify the children’s show they went to as a child. It’s a core memory. Our hope is that ‘The Perfect Dog’ is a memorable, wonderful experience that will stay with this year’s audiences.”
Admission for the public performances of “The Perfect Dog” is $10 for adults and $5 for students. Children 12 and under are admitted free. To purchase tickets, visit nwciowa.edu/tickets, call the box office at 712-707-7098, or email boxoffice@nwciowa.edu.
