Watching Shakespeare in the Park with a Dog

When the boyfriend suggested taking Mr. N to Shakespeare in the Park, I was a little apprehensive. It's a long time for him to be sitting still (+2 hours) and there are a lot of dogs in that park. But I thought we could try it and leave early if need be.

Mr. N and I walked over to the park so he would get some exercise beforehand while the boyfriend drove over with supplies. While the boyfriend set up, I let Mr. N run around in the off-leash area to work off some energy.

We settled in to watch the play armed with a bag of treats . Had I known what was involved, I might have left him at home. There was frequent whistle blowing from the prompter, the actors yelled a good deal to be heard over the sound of traffic and the cast frequently wandered through the area where the audience was sitting. 

Also there were various improv segments throughout the play including interpretive dance, act like you're in a silent film, and zombie soccer players. Mr. N does not approve of zombies. He let out a small bark when the zombies were lurching around and shoving each other. The boyfriend says if we get invaded by zombies, we'll be dead because Mr. N will bark at them.

We could hear dogs barking from somewhere else in the park at some point and the prompter told several of the cast members to bark back then encouraged the audience to join in. Thankfully, Mr. N did not chime in. 

They also threw food around several times during the show (including a hot dog!). That part I wasn't worried about with Mr. N but I know several dogs who would have joined the cast about then. 

There were two other dogs in the audience and one (the one sitting two rows behind us) left at intermission but there were dogs passing by frequently down the path about fifty feet from us as an added distraction. 

The first half, he was a little restless. He wanted to go sniff people and wander around and we had to remind him to settle. By the second half, he sprawled out on the blanket and ignored all and sundry. 

We were in the first row and after the performance, the prompter came over to tell us how well-behaved Mr. N was during the performance. He gave her a high five and danced and she thought he was adorable. 

I always value the compliments about his behavior and/or training more highly than the ones about his appearance. Because really aside from brushing him and taking him to the groomer, he was born that way but we work on his behavior all the time! 

I was pleasantly surprised at how good Mr. N was overall. It's always nice when your dogs surprise you (in a good way!).