Sunday, April 7
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
THIS EVENT IS FULL AND REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED
The Allen and Helen Hermes Arts Series is pleased to welcome 2011 Tony Honoree William Berloni, an animal director who trains rescue animals to appear in Broadway productions!
Currently the animal director of the new musical Because of Winn Dixie, William has trained animals for over 25 Broadway productions and hundreds of Off-Broadway, regional theatre, tours, television and movies.
William will talk about his training techniques, and discuss how he became an animal director. We’ll have the chance to watch William work with some of his canine trainees, and ask him questions about his unique career.
In 2012, William authored a book about his journey in show business, entitled Broadway Tails: Heartfelt Stories of Rescued Dogs Who Became Showbiz Superstars.
A reception, book sale and signing will be held after the program.
Space is limited. Please register early.
About Our Presenter
William Berloni is an animal director and trainer who was a 2011 Tony Honoree for Excellence in Theatre. William found and adopted the dog that played Sandy for the original production of Annie, and since that time, all the animals he trains have been rescues.
William has trained canines for 26 Broadway shows including: The Ferryman, The Crucible, Bullets Over Broadway, Lady Day at the Emerson Bar and Grill, Annie (orginal and all revivals), A Christmas Story: The Musical, Legally Blonde, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Camelot, Alice in Wonderland, Oliver!, Anything Goes, The Wiz and The Wizard of Oz.
Currently, William is the animal director of the new musical Because of Winn Dixie, an adaptation of the best-selling book by Kate DiCamillo.
He has also trained animals for hundreds of Off-Broadway, regional theatre, tours, television and movies. He provided the dogs to play the character Nana in Peter Pan Live, the character Toto in The Wiz Live and the character Sandy in Annie Live.
He has directed canines appearing in multiple television shows, including: Power, Billions, Sesame Street, High Maintenance, The Village, Modern Love, Little Voice, Almost Family, Betty, Ramy, Mr. Robot, Russian Doll, Raising Kanan, Ghost, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Girls5eva, Sand Dollar, Cove, Noel Diary, Life and Beth, Inside Amy Schumer, Fleishman Is in Trouble, And Just Like That, Harlem and Three Women.
William and his family are the subjects of Discovery’s Wags to Riches series and William is the author of Broadway Tails. He is the director of Animal Behavior and Training at the Humane Society of New York.
Photo: William with Bowdie, the canine star of the musical Because of Winn Dixie
The Allen and Helen Hermes Arts Series was founded in 2003, and is funded by a generous gift the couple donated to the Mark Twain Library. The mission of the series is to enrich the quality of life in the community of Redding by producing and supporting events in the visual, literary, theater and musical arts.
Registration is full for this event.