If you ever thought your dog had a future on the stage, look no further. The Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival is having auditions for “Crab” – the dog who plays an important and loving role in William Shakespeare’s “The Two Gentlemen of Verona” which will be performed from July 13-Aug. 26 at Sand Harbor State Park.

The ideal candidates should be extremely mellow in nature, must be able to perform outdoors in any weather and resist the temptation to run, act upon or be interested in outside distractions such as bugs, animals, people, sound and lights. The dog must also be agile, able to negotiate a flight of stairs (up and down), be well behaved and respond to simple commands like “sit”, “stay” and “down” or similar behavioral commands.

The first round of auditions is set for March 21 from 4:30-7:30pm at the Donald W. Reynolds Nonprofit Community Center, 948 Incline Way, Incline Village. To qualify for an audition, interested parties must send a headshot of the dog, owner/handler information and any additional details that they’d like to share to info@tahoebard.com. Once the information is reviewed, all applicants will receive a call to confirm a time for the first interview. If the dog is selected to continue with the audition process, the final audition will be April 24 from 4:30-7:30pm.

As the 2012 LTSF production runs six nights a week throughout a six-week period, two dogs may be selected to play the part of Crab.

Rehearsals start July 9 and the dogs must be available every night as scheduled, from 7-10:30pm, Tuesdays through Sundays to perform in approximately four scenes. Owners must also be on site during the entire duration of the scheduled shows.

For more information about the dog auditions, email info@tahoebard.com or call (775) 298.0147.