Office Dog

Working at AHT is pretty low-key. We are far from corporate, suit-wearing, nine-to-fivers. Most of us are theatre nerds with a penchant for the dramatic. Our offices are not your typical cube-farm, but a maze of rooms, some of which are in the far-reaching corners of the theatre. We really are more like a big family that happens to work together. This being said, visiting actors tend to get sucked into this vibe, as living in the hotel can become quite bland and boring. It's not unusual to find an actor hanging out in the marketing department shooting the breeze.

Recently, we have acquired a furry new family member at AHT, if only for the short term. Our current show stars a vibrant young woman named Hollis Scarborough. Originally from Texas, and now a resident of New York City, Hollis currently calls the Westin Crown Center home while the show is running. Her roommate is a tiny pooch named Henry. Henry is a 2-year-old Papillon Poodle (also known as a PappyPoo). Needless to say, we have all fallen head over heels for him. On the first day of rehearsals, Hollis brought Henry into my office and asked if it would be okay to try having him hang out with us while she worked. None of us had any problem with it, as we are all dog-lovers. Henry was a little apprehensive at first, but quickly warmed up to this group of women fawning over him. In no time he became my shadow and followed me everywhere. I was told that when I leave to go to the restroom or grab some lunch that he whimpers and cries. That made me feel pretty good until I realized he does that for pretty much all of us!

Now that rehearsals have ended and the show is open, Henry's visits have become more sporadic - limited to the few times a week that Hollis gets the chance to venture out of the hotel and go shopping or to appointments. Each day there is some mention by staff members of "I hope Henry comes today!" When he does arrive, everyone knows it. His collar has a little jingle to it that you can hear all the way down the hall, and he speeds around greeting everyone, sniffing to see where you've been, jumping on laps and giving kisses. He always waits outside of Lilli's (our Executive Director) door for her to let him in and give him a treat (in exchange for some 'sit-lie down-jump' action, of course) and then he's off to visit as many people as he can.

It's amazing how one small ball of fur can make people smile and laugh. He really brightens our days and makes our office an even more fun place to be.

(Writer's Edit... within moments of posting this I heard that familiar jingle and went up to the front desk to see Henry giving our Administrative Assistant some love. There's a matinee today, so while Hollis entertains the audience, Henry will entertain us - it runs in the Scarborough family!)