DOG SEES GOD: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead

[CJ N2N]

Posted: 11/27/12 at 6:06pm

There was a small thread about this a little while back but I didn't see any reason to bump it so I started my own.

Dog Sees God is one of my favorite plays to read. Sadly I've never seen it, but I really love the script. Speaking as someone who's currently in high school, the dialogue and situations are pretty realistic (at least from the language and partying perspective).

Has any one here seen or been in any productions? I'd love to hear about them!


Updated On: 11/27/12 at 06:06 PM

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 11/27/12 at 6:15pm

I personally loved it. My company produced the UK premiere production here in Manchester to rave reviews and sell out audiences

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 11/27/12 at 6:21pm

I'm a big fan--I saw a great production in Montreal (one critic claimed it was the Canadian premier, but no clue if it was). I'd like to see more plays from Bert V Royal--he did the film Easy A which was an above average teen comedy, I thought, though not brilliant, and now seems to be pretty much devoted to several film and TV projects.

[BroadwayGuy12]

Posted: 11/27/12 at 6:40pm

I LOVE this play. I saw a production during my first semester at college, and I truly believe it shaped my entire college experience. It made me realize that I was at the absolutely right school for me, and encouraged me to get involved with student theatre (I also developed a pretty huge crush on the guy who played Beethoven...). I've read it many, many times since then, and am still touched by it. I hope I get to see a professional production one day!

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 11/27/12 at 7:47pm

We had a blast doing it and got to know Bert pretty well, in fact i still do (hes still on my Facebook, lovely guy). He even did some press interviews to help us promote the UK premiere and it's transfer. I got to direct the show and play Beethoven which was a challenge.

Also i would say Easy A is much better than above average, critics loved the film some comparing it to John Hughe's classic films. The film also earned Emma a Golden Globe nomination.

Bert did have a TV show in production for CW but was sadly not picked up (they picked up a load of rubbish instead)

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 11/27/12 at 11:42pm

I should probably re-watch Easy A. I was pleasantly surprised, and did really enjoy it, but maybe due to Dog sees God I expected to be blown away--which isn't fair since it was a commercial teen movie. I do remember the critics largely loved it though (and I liked it more than a number of John Hugh movies--Weird Science is hardly a classic ).

Do you know if he's still attached to do the remake of that Japanese horror film about two actresses? It's cool that he got involved with publicity for your production.

[Select a Member Name]

Posted: 11/28/12 at 3:36am

I saw a production at the Boxcar Theatre in San Francisco. It was so good, I saw it twice. I went in having already read the play. I liked it when I read the script, but I fell in love when I saw it come to life on stage. This play is an dead-on reflection of growing up.

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 11/28/12 at 7:41am

I also love this play- I was fortunate enough to be in it my first year in college, playing Beethoven, and it was a really fantastic experience. It's a wonderful script, and there's so much to work with for actors. I'd love to revisit the show again at some point.

[AC126748]

Posted: 11/28/12 at 10:19am

I saw the Off-Broadway premiere at the late, great Century Center and thought it was a really good production of a solidly okay play. At the time it went up, 90% of the cast were known to most almost exclusively from film and TV (America Ferrera, Eliza Dushku, Ian Somerholder, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Logan Marshall Green etc); some of them have gone on to work pretty consistently in theatre. At the time, I was impressed by how well they all handled themselves on stage. The play was an entertaining afternoon but not memorable.

If I recall correctly, there was turmoil backstage and most of the cast ended up walking off the production, which caused it to close earlier than planned. Can anyone with a better memory confirm this?

ETA: Did a search which showed that the show closed after Dushku, Ferrera, and Somerholder quit.

Link

Updated On: 11/28/12 at 10:19 AM

[Thparkaly]

Posted: 7/22/14 at 7:20pm

Updated On: 11/8/17 at 07:20 PM

[MaddieBB12]

Posted: 7/22/14 at 7:46pm

I ADORE this show. I cried just reading it on paper and while I hope to see it someday, I don't known how I'll sit through it.

[After Eight]

Posted: 7/22/14 at 7:54pm

I saw it off-Broadway, and thought it was perfectly ghastly: horribly written, and stupid beyond belief.

If, as you say, CJ, this is an accurate depiction of today's high school students, then we're in even worse shape than I thought!

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/22/14 at 8:07pm

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 7/23/14 at 12:44pm

There's a shocker. Everyone is raving about a play and After Eight hates it. Who would have guessed?

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 7/23/14 at 12:58pm

"If, as you say, CJ, this is an accurate depiction of today's high school students, then we're in even worse shape than I thought!"

Oh we are, we ARE. You wouldn't BELIEVE how terrible things are nowadays. Think of the worst possible everything. Now times it times infinity. That doesn't even scratch the surface of how awful things are nowadays.

[Thparkaly]

Posted: 7/23/14 at 2:33pm

Updated On: 11/8/17 at 02:33 PM

[After Eight]

Posted: 7/24/14 at 7:04am

^

That is sobering to learn, and very, very depressing.

In any case, I wish you much success with the play.

[Thparkaly]

Posted: 7/24/14 at 9:10am

Coincidental, but this was just posted on the official Dog Sees God Facebook page:


Sequel!!

[Roscoe]

Posted: 7/24/14 at 10:09am

Dreadful unfunny one-joke play, I refuse to believe it took more than an hour to toss off. It's ongoing popularity is really mystifying.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 7/24/14 at 2:53pm

I for sure seemed to spilt people's opinions when it opened in America, that's fine though, art is subjective after all. We got huge response to the show here and Charlie Brown was never a huge thing here.

Very excited for the sequel, I know he's been working on it with his co writer for awhile, hopefully we will get to premiere it here in the UK. I have nothing but love for Bert, such a nice guy. Spoke to him for years on Facebook, he calls me and my partner the cutest couple he's never met luckily that's changing soon as he's apparently coming to the UK and wants to go out for dinner, excited.

Good luck with your production and performance, have a blast

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 11/14/16 at 3:51pm

I'd read the script a while ago but saw my first production this weekend. It's interesting but doesn't... quite... work. The foul mouthed teens suggest a South Park vibe but what they say isn't particularly funny. The romance is sweet but only lasts about two scenes. The late swing into violence was too over-the-top to take seriously.

Some of the actors gave the final scenes a glib, Heathers-y tone. The lead actor however spent the final 10-15 minutes of the play sobbing. One of the things I've loved about Charlie Brown was his Job-like stoicism. Terrible things happened constantly but he kept soldiering along. The play wants to be tragicomic but doesn't flesh out the characters enough for the ending to land. I'm still thinking about the play but I'm not sure what it needs to help it gel. Interested in reading the promised sequel if it survives the workshop process.

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 11/14/16 at 4:02pm

Not a fan. Schulz would be rolling over in his grave.