TheatreWorks Silicon Valley recently considered canine candidates for the role of mystery author Agatha Christie’s beloved pooch Peter in its West Coast Premiere of Heidi Armbruster's “Mrs. Christie,” opening early in October at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts.

According to a press release from the theater company, director Giovanna Sardelli is seeking “a well-behaved, well-trained dog” to portray Peter (in real life a wirehaired terrier) in two scenes in the production, which chronicles a modern-day Christie fan’s attempt to figure out the truth behind Christie’s unexplained 11-day disappearance in 1926.

“Although charisma and energy are great traits for our future doggo cast member, we also need a cast member who knows how to bottle their energy and stay on script during the show – even when the audience inevitably lets out a collection of ‘awws’ at their presence,” TheatreWorks Associate Producer of Casting and Literary Management Jeffrey Lo told this publication in an email interview. This is Lo’s first time working with a canine performer. According to him, the last two TheatreWorks productions involving a dog were “Of Mice and Men” in 2012 and 2011’s “A Christmas Memory.”

“We’ve had a pretty good response from our community of dogs who would like to be in a play for the first time!” Lo said of the casting process. “I’ve had a great time scanning through the fun photos and watching the adorable videos of the Bay Area’s dog community!”

Audiences can see the new canine star on stage soon when "Mrs. Christie" opens next week, on Oct. 4, at the Mountain View Center for Performing Arts. The play runs through Oct. 29.

More information on “Mrs. Christie” is available at theatreworks.org.