Quiet on Set, Don't Chew the Scenery...and...Action!

Need a horse to neigh on cue? A canary to sing like a mobster? A llama to do, well, whatever you need a llama to do? Just call Mr. Berloni, agent to the stars of the animal kingdom.

Need a trained rat? Don't call Mr. Berloni.

"They're all booked," he said.

Mr. Berloni, who has 25 animals on his farm and represents 700 others, said that after he finds work for his clients, he puts them up in comfortable quarters near their jobs to ensure they are happy, well-fed and energetic before taking to the stage or working in front of a camera.

After dropping off his dogs with an assistant, Mr. Berloni took himself for a short walk north along Broadway until he came to the Marquis Theater, where a number of his other clients are working in Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Woman in White."

Backstage, just off a hallway covered with theater reviews, playbills and framed head shots, was a dressing room that seemed more like a pet shop. Beatrice, a white rat, and her two understudies, Norma and Heffalump, zipped around a large cage as showtime neared.

Just 9 months old, Beatrice is already a veteran actress, and her understudies, each of whom is several months younger, are there in case something worse than a cold or a broken leg befalls her.

"Rats generally live about three years," said Rob Cox, the head animal trainer for the show. "Should anything happen to Beatrice, these two are ready to take her place."

As he spoke, Mr. Cox took Beatrice out of her cage and began warming her up. He spread his arms out wide, and the well-trained rodent ran circles around his neck, and back and forth across his shoulders, just as she must do on stage. As actors and actresses scurried by, Mr. Cox continued rehearsing with Beatrice and the other rats.

"Holding them like this helps me get in tune with what they are thinking, and to see how they are feeling," he said. "Lately, Beatrice has been real hyper, which is great for the show."

Norman Large, who was playing the part of Count Fosco on Thursday evening - the character who is fond of small animals and sings as the rat runs across his body - said that he could not remember Beatrice's ever failing to deliver on stage.

"She's one of the most consistent actors I've ever worked with," he said. "I just put my arms out and pretend I'm doing the work, but I'm just acting, and it's Beatrice who is doing the real work."

Sharing the rat pack's dressing room were 5 white mice and 10 canaries who were also set to go on stage. Mr. Berloni, petting one of his mice as he spoke, said it can take three months to a year to properly train mice and rats, and then he explained why his canaries were giving visitors the silent treatment.

...Cut!...its a wrap!