ThisTroper's community theater has put on a few plays that this applies to.

In {{Annie}}, one of the cast members had a dog that...physically...was right for Sandy, and rather large to boot. The problem? The poor dog was afraid of the stage, and had to be kept on-leash throughout the play, and literally dragged or carried around the stage. It doesn't help if your inexperienced actors don't compensate their lines for it. So we have the memorable scene of: #QUOTE#'''Annie:''' Come here, Sandy, come on! #QUOTE#*Dog is being forcibly dragged across the, thankfully, slippery stage* #QUOTE#'''Annie:''' See? He comes when I call! #QUOTE#'''Officer:''' Well, OK, but make sure you get him a leash and a license next time! #QUOTE#'''Annie:''' Yes Sir! On a Leash and with a License! #QUOTE#'''Me:''' *Looking at the leashed, collared, and tagged dog* ''facepalm''

Having small children backstage is always a logistical nightmare, when we did DickWhittingtonandHisAmazingCat, we kept the children, who didn't show up until the second act, in a room very far down the hall from the actual theater until the intermission.

This troper's film teacher has stated this repeatedly. Nevertheless, in movies we've made, we've had: #QUOTE# A horse who wouldn't budge #QUOTE# A dog with a camera obsession #QUOTE# Two little kids who really wanted to be in a movie, but wouldn't say anything in front of a camera.

This is one of the reasons our theater club has a "must be 13 to be on stage" rule.

This troper was involved (on crew) in a production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The choir of kids was thankfully on bleachers on the sides of the stage the majority of the time, but beforehand and during intermission they were crowding everywhere we may need and all possibly hard of hearing. Fun times.

This same troper's church has live animals during the Christmas pageant. That's always new and exciting. There's always a donkey or cow that refuses to go down the aisle in the middle to the front. When that happens we normally give up on the cow, but since the donkey HAS to be there and bring Mary and Joseph down the aisle, there's normally a third person (which...is normally this troper) trying desperately to get this donkey to the front. I've been known to get the holy couple to the front and then just drag the donkey back down. We put down tarps and the like, so accidents aren't an issue. However, one not-Christmastime our pastor had a goat brought in (cannot for the life of me remember why, it may have been for a children's sermon) and it had accidents everywhere.

A subversion. I was cast in a production of ''Much Ado about Nothing'' that included an animal. One of her roles was as one of the watchmen in the scenes with Dogberry, which for some reason needed to include a dog. We were nervous until we realized that the dog was ''extremely'' well trained and responded to silent hand signals given by his master (who played Dogberry). The only time the dog made a mistake was when he mistook a hand gesture for the signal to jump up and put his paws on his shoulders. Thankfully this provided for a hilarious improv moment.

There always needs to be a bit with a dog!

This troper likewise remembers a production of ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in her town, set outdoors, with Don John arriving on a white horse. It subverted her expectations, because it was the most docile horse she had ever seen. No, not a cast member or advertiser of the production. Also pretty certain no tranqulisers were used.

This Troper's church Easter pageant? The donkey had poop on its hooves and got it all over the fellowship hall, a little boy pulled down his pants and started dancing when we were praying, then yelled JESUS KISS MY BUTT! It was just as bad as it sounds.

You kiddin' me? That sounds HILARIOUS.

ThisTroper would just like to mention the elementary school drama club in our town. I've seen the kids pull off complicated, well-choreographed dance numbers, lengthy plays with all lines remembered, and a production of ''AMidsummerNightsDream'', of all things, that according to all ended up hilarious (although {{Bowdlerized}}, obviously.) It was recently split into two groups, by age, and the younger kids' plays are still awesome. In particular, I remember a production of AChristmasCarol by said younger group. One of the charity workers from the beginning got sick less than an hour before curtain. One of the other kids - maybe in second grade - stepped up, learned the scenes' worth of lines, and not only did the scene but did it ''well'' without ever getting a chance to rehearse. (No, I am neither a teacher or a proud parent.)

Not sure if this belongs here or on the main page. Until recently, the cable company that I once worked for had a local community affairs show that was shot and produced in house. Segments featured any organization putting on an event, civic groups, interviews with interesting businesspeople, local artists, occasional visits from the humane society, school groups, etc. Working with animals was usually where the fun really got started. A few incidents stand out:

A local historic location had some heritage breed farm animals. The representative brought along a large gray chicken in a covered cage when he came to talk about another event that they were doing. When the cover was lifted off the cage, the chicken immediately started crowing. #QUOTE#'''Guest:''' "We'll be starting on the fifteenth --" ''BRAAAAWWK BUCK-BUCK-BUCK!'' "--the nineteenth.

This one was remarkably tame: A man who trains lions and tigers brought a Liger to the show. This cat was well trained and had appeared in movies, so it was accustomed to film and TV sets, camera crews, lights, etc. The crew had to move most of the set and equipment out of the studio to give the animal enough room to get in!

A local zoo sent over a representative with an armadillo. The animal was NOT happy - it crapped in its carrier on the way over, so the zoo guy turned a hose on it before showtime. When the cameras rolled, the armadillo almost bit the zoo guy, jumped off the table, and tried to run away.

The humane society brought over two cats that were up for adoption. The one the host got to hold must not have been feeling well, because it suddenly let loose a ''torrent'' of diarrhea. Hard to believe such a small animal could contain that much!

And then there was the time the host got humped by a duck...

This troper once went to a ''Broadway production'' of The Wizard Of Oz where Toto widdled on the stage during the first act. Luckily someone backstage was a quick thinker and sent a Munchkin out with an appropriately bright mop to clean it up during one of the dance numbers. Got a round of applause for it too.