An Old War Horse Will Be Riding High in the Limelight Tonight

When the curtain rises on the elaborate pageantry of the royal court scene in the second act of “Aida” at the Orange County Performing Arts Center over the next two weeks, among the seasoned stage performers will be one with four legs.

Silver Mist, a luminous white horse, will step proudly through the arching portals, pulling a chariot just as he has done, along with other routines, for 8 years in Reno nightclubs, in movies (“Girls Just Want to Have Fun”) and at fairs, circuses and parades all over the country. In a town of show-biz wanna-be’s, this veteran gets steady work.

While Hollywood critters can polish their movie and TV routines to perfection via countless retakes, stage work is a different kettle of you-know-what. With just one chance to do it right, animals on stage must be as perfect as inhumanly possible and also poised and calm enough to deal with bright lights, loud music, applause and the jitters of their human colleagues on stage, especially on opening night.

How do animal actors learn to fit into and enjoy such strange and exacting environments? According to Bill Rivers, Silver Mist’s trainer and owner of Rivers’ Movieland Animals, they start early--and slowly. “First, we do what we can on the farm,” he said. “We walk the animals on plywood to get them used to the hollow stage sound, we turn on lights, play music and wave balloons.

“Then we start them in small events with small stages and audiences; when they’re used to that, we go on to bigger shows. In general, horses, elephants, chimps, camels and doves have good temperaments for that kind of live work.”

Trainer Tammy Maples, co-owner of Jungle Exotics Animal Rental Service, who prefers to work with animals from babyhood, describes her stage technique: “We take the animals on the empty stage, hold and pet them and build from there. We can usually train them for a new routine in 2 or 3 weeks since, unlike movie work, most of our stage work calls for the animals to just walk on, sit or stand.

“Because we’re with them from birth, we can tell what they’re looking at or thinking about, and we’re always backstage to keep their minds on their work with food or voice cues.”

Animal handler and owner Chris Fullson, who works mostly with hoofed domestic animals, many of which were recently used in the Crystal Cathedral’s Christmas pageant in Garden Grove, says she relies on the herd instinct of such creatures to keep them stage-smart.

“My new animals follow the lead of my older, more experienced ones,” she said, “and they’re usually very reliable. They know their cues so well that if the actors miss their cues, the animals will go ahead anyway.”

Gary Gero, who directs the Universal Studios Tour Animal Show, has an additional factor to consider--audience volunteers who share the stage with his cats and dogs during their routines. “My animals think they’re props,” he said, “and they work with them just fine.”

Another factor in the business is the regulatory agencies that keep a protective eye on animal actors, which cannot work without permits.

Research biologist Marge Gibson, who specializes in rehabilitating injured birds of prey, must conform to strict government regulations protecting such birds when she takes her great horned owl on the “Aida” stage.

“He has a special permit,” she says, “and I’ll be carrying him myself. Birds have to be well-trained to their carriers, especially on stage.”

Most trainers say they supervise their animals at all times, either on stage in costume or backstage. Even so, there are the occasional surprises. Fullson says her animals often spontaneously scamper into the audience. Gibson predicts that her owl will be doing its owl thing in the “Aida” processional. “He’ll be hooting up a storm,” she said, “because that’s his time of night to be expressive.”

As for unrehearsed stage deposits, trainers claim that such occurrences are surprisingly infrequent and that few special precautions are taken, since through their years of experience they have become timing experts.

As Maples’ partner, Joe Camp, said, “Live stage work is quite an adventure and less controlled than film work. Whatever happens, you have to go along with it. You have to be flexible, and so do your animals. Usually they like being there, but sometimes they get scared and either freeze or want to run away. Then you have to get out there and soothe them--or even carry them off the stage.”

And yes, animals have understudies--most trainers say they work with backups in case they’re needed. Like any actors, animals are sometimes ill, cranky or generally not up to par. Maples said, “It depends on who seems to want to go on for the night.”

Since animal acting jobs are limited these days, animals must be versatile in order to pay their elephantine feed bills. Most trainers go after film, photographic, parade and other work to keep their stars busy much of the year.

“The animals and I both like the variety,” Maples said. “In films they get to do more complicated stunts, while on stage they get comfortable with their one routine. In fact, some of them prefer stage work because they like the applause.”