Arts & Entertainment

Spot On!

Animal trainer Joel Slaven prepares Dalmations for their star turn on stage
in a musical version of a Disney classic.

Suzanne Chessler
Special to the Jewish News

F

fifteen shelter dogs, trained to
appear in The 101 Dalmatians
Musical soon opening at the Fox
Theatre, actually are doing what comes
naturally.
Joel Slaven saw to that.
The owner of Joel Slaven's Professional
Animals in Florida kept the ultimate
Dalmatian performances in mind as he
chose, observed and prepared the dogs for
the theatrical tour, which stops Nov. 17-22
in Detroit.
The production, directed by Tony Award
winner Jerry Zaks, follows the search for
Dalmatians (to be made into fur coats!)
undertaken by the villainous Cruella de Vil,
played by Rachel York. The audience, watch-
ing sets in special perspective and some
actors on stilts, should experience the musi-
cal fantasy from the dogs' point of view.
"The real Dalmatians are in three differ-
ent parts of the show," says Slaven, 56, whose
interest in training animals started during
his growing-up years in Columbus, Ohio.
"One of the dogs does a little pre-show
from behind a silhouette screen to pres-
ent him getting ready to perform. At the
end of the first act, we reveal all of the
Dalmatians sitting on designated spots
or coming in from offstage and looking at
what they call Cruella de Vil's 'Hell Hall.'
"At the end of the show, all the dogs
come on stage and do specific behaviors
that transform the 'Hell Hall' into a bright,
shiny and colorful house'
Slaven, who works with all kinds of ani-
mals on his Florida ranch, spent six months
crossing the country to find the Dalmatians
through humane societies, animal control
facilities and rescue groups. He scouted
Dalmatians demonstrating confidence,
social skills and high energy without
becoming spooked while encountering loud
noises, music or flashing lights.
"To me, it's more about the individual
personalities of the dogs than the person-
ality of the breed:' says Slaven, who has
worked with zookeeper/animal educator
Jack Hanna on feature films (Ace Ventura
Pet Detective and That Darn Cat). "I've
seen great dogs and some not-so-great
dogs in every breed:'
During a month of playing with the
dogs, Slaven and his crew found what the

"To me, it's more about the individual personalities of the dogs than the personality

of the breed," says trainer Joel Slaven.

"My trademark was developing a system
to prepare animals to perform on stage
without trainers:' explains Slaven, who cur-
rently operates shows at two Busch Gardens
and SeaWorld of Orlando. "The animals just
come out and do it by themselves."
Slaven, who had his bar mitzvah at the
Conservative Congregation Tifereth Israel in
Columbus and continues to observe the High
Holidays, has a renewed interest in his home-
town. Besides being involved with the show
Animals on Safari at the Columbus Zoo, he
has bought 18 acres of land that he plans to
develop into a wildlife resort especially for
family and friends who enjoy camping.
Slaven's favorite activities outside of
work also involve animals and the envi-
ronment. He enjoys horseback riding and
raising exotic birds as well as looking after
250 plant varieties grown on his ranch,
where there is a small private zoo.
"Almost all the animals I use are adopt-
ed," says Slaven, who is single and whose
personal pets are two labs rejected from
Canine Companions for Independence, an
organization he supports in the training of
dogs to help people with disabilities.
"We hope those who see the musical and
say they want their own Dalmatians will
consider the obligations needed by respon-
sible owners — time and financial corn-
mitments. We also hope they will check their
local shelters first. There are great shelter
dogs and cats that need good homes:'

Fifteen dogs will appear in The 101 Dalmations Musical, coming to the Fox Theatre.

individual dogs seemed to like and cast
them accordingly.
"The dogs basically selected the jobs
for themselves:' says Slaven, who has pre-
pared animals for shows at Six Flags Over
Georgia, SeaWorld and the Arabian Nights
Dinner Theater.
"The dogs that liked to pick up toys, fetch
balls or play tug-of-war were assigned to
pull things by mouth. A dog that liked to
jump up, put his paws on people and stand
up on his hind legs was picked to push a
lawn mower across the stage. A dog that
liked to weave in and out of slalom poles
was chosen to weave in out of door panels"
The Dalmatians, after four months of
training, tour on a bus outfitted just for
them. Each has an assigned trainer who
takes care of feeding, grooming and play-
ing. People travel ahead of the animals to
set up kennels in the theaters or tempera-

ture-controlled tents.
Slaven, who believes in positive rein-
forcement, uses food rewards, tactile
reinforcement and verbal praise to develop
skills. He has related to animals since pre-
school, early on owning hamsters, white
mice, guinea pigs and parakeets.
"My biggest love has been animals:' says
Slaven, whose family had hoped he would
set his sights on optometry and join his
dad's practice.
"I'm only 5 feet 6 inches, and my dream
had been to be a jockey because I loved
sports but was too small to play football or
basketball.
"By the time I was 19, I was too heavy
to become a jockey so I started training
horses and dogs. I moved to Florida and
took a job at Cypress Gardens."
After moving on to other nature centers,
Slaven started his own company in 1997.

Broadway star Rachel York stars as

Cruella de Vil.

The 101 Dalmatians Musical runs
Nov.17-22 at the Fox Theatre in
Detroit. Show times are 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday-Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday,
2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m.
Sunday. $20-$72. (313) 471-6611.

November 12 • 2009

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