Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead

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Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead is a play written by Bert V. Royal.

An "unauthorized parody," the play imagines characters from the popular comic strip Peanuts as teenagers.

Contents

[edit] Characters

Whether by artistic design or to avoid copyright infringement, names from the comic strip have been changed.

  • The main character here as in the strip is Charlie Brown, now called C.B.
  • His sister Sally is called simply 'CB's Sister.'
  • Pig-Pen is now called Matt, a pathological neat-freak (he applies a layer of Purell to his hands whenever he touches anyone) whose dirtiness has been internalized - he's sex-obsessed and homophobic.
  • Beethoven (who is based on 'Schroeder') became the school outcast prior to events in the play when it was revealed that he was sexually-abused by his father.
  • Tricia York (Peppermint Patty) and Marcy are a pair of partying "mean girls".
  • Linus (called 'Van') always the philosopher in childhood is now a pothead.
  • 'Van's Sister' (Lucy) is a pyromaniac and has been institutionalized for setting the Little Red-Haired Girl's hair on fire.

[edit] Synopsis

When CB's dog dies from rabies, he begins to contemplate what happens after we die. His best friend Van is too burnt out to provide any coherent speculation; his sister has gone goth; his ex-girlfriend (Van's Sister) has been recently institutionalized; and his other friends, Marcy and Tricia are too inebriated and self-involved to give him any sort of solace.

Re-establishing a relationship with his childhood friend, Beethoven - who may or may not be gay - CB upsets the balance in his clique of friends that ends in horrible violence. Drug use, suicide, eating disorders, teen violence, rebellion and sexual identity are among the issues covered in this drama.

[edit] Development History

Dog Sees God was first presented as a reading on May 3, 2004, at the Barrow Street Theatre. It was directed by Anthony Barrile and produced by Sorrel Tomlinson. The cast was as follows:

Dog Sees God had its world premiere at the 2004 New York International Fringe Festival. It was presented at the SoHo Playhouse. It was directed by Susan W. Lovell and produced by Sorrel Tomilinson/File 14 Productions. The cast was as follows:

  • Michael Gladis as CB
  • Karen DiConcetto as CB's Sister
  • Tate Ellington as Van
  • Jay Sullivan as Matt
  • Benjamin Schrader as Beethoven
  • Bridget Barkan as Tricia
  • Stelianie Tekmitchov as Marcy
  • Melissa Picarello as Van's Sister
  • Understudies: Clay Black, Andrew Fleischer

The production was extended for two weeks and Daniel Franzese assumed the role of Van

Dog Sees God had another reading on May 9, 2005, at the Westside Theater. It was directed by Trip Cullman and produced by DeDe Harris and Sorrel Tomlinson. The cast was as follows:

Dog Sees God received its Off-Broadway premiere by Martian Entertainment and Dede Harris at the Century Center for the Performing Arts, opening on December 15, 2005. Presented by Bert V. Royal, the play was directed by the Trip Cullman; the set design was by David Korins; the costume design was by Jenny Mannis; the lighting design was by Brian MacDevitt; the sound design was by Darron L. West; the general manager was Roy Gabay; the production stage manager was Lori Ann Zepp; the assistant stage manager was Tammy Scozzafava; and the production manager was Randall Etheredge.

The cast was as follows.

This production, however, was marred by controversy. Dushku (of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame) quit in February 2006 along with several other members of the cast among rumours of alleged abuse from the producer, which were later dismissed.[1]


Vertigo Theatre Productions in Manchester, UK became the 1st company in the United Kingdom to stage 'Dog Sees God ;Confessions Of A Teenage Blockhead'.The show opened to great reviews and ecstatic audience response on the 27th March 2008 at Taurus on Manchester's famous Canal Street.Due to popular demand the show looks set to receive a 2nd outing with the same cast in January 2009 at the Lowry Theatre.

The Manchester UK cast 2008 was as follows

Rick Carter as CB
Craig Hepworth as Beethoven
Abby Simmons as CBs Sister
Greg Kelly as Matt
Adele Stanhope as Tricia
Emma Salt as Marcy
Stu Armstrong as Van
Emma Willcox as Vans Sister

The show was directed by Craig Hepworth

[edit] Awards

In 2004 it was one of the breakout hits at the New York International Fringe Festival, winning the Excellence Award for Best Overall Production, as well as Theatermania's Play Award of 2004, the GLAAD Media Award for Best Off-Off-Broadway production, Broadway.com's 2006 Audience Award for Favorite Off-Broadway Production and the 2006 HX Award for Best Play.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Turning tables on the casting couch. Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved on 2007-12-04.

[edit] External links

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