Dog Sees God to debut

June 23, 2008 —

One SVSU student will help to provide summer entertainment on campus with his theater production of Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead.

Theater senior Chad Baker will direct Dog Sees God, written by Bert V. Royal, as his theater senior project.

"[Dog Sees God] is basically a play about the Peanuts comic strip characters in high school," Baker said. "Simply put, it's a parody of the 'perfect' lives that those characters had and puts them in the real life situation of growing up and figuring out who you are.

"It's also a very dark comedy that deals with all kinds of real life issues such as drug use, suicide, eating disorders, teen violence, rebellion, and sexual identity confusion."

Baker chose to direct this play after a fellow student recommended it to him and submitted his proposal in December after almost a year of reading and researching other plays.

"I knew as an openly gay student, I wanted to do something that dealt with homosexuality, especially the way that it affects people in their teens and twenties today," he said. "A lot of shows deal with characters this way, but this show deals with it as well as other issues in a very realistic way."

After finding a play, students must write a proposal including a run-through of the play, an estimated budget, costume, lighting, props, and set ideas, and a possible rehearsal schedule.

All three theater professors will then read and approve the proposal and assign dates for auditions, rehearsals, and performances. Faculty advisors will sit in on rehearsal dates to help grade the project.

Baker began auditions in May and rehearsals in the first week of June. He said full run-throughs will begin the last week of June.

"Directing a play has been a difficult, but rewarding experience," Baker said. "My primary theater experience has been acting, so having to think of a show from the viewpoint of not only the actors, but the lighting, sound, costumes, and set designers viewpoint has really helped me understand what goes into a production.

"I was nervous about directing," Baker said. "But people say that the transition from acting to directing is sometimes an easy one to make and I have found so far that that is true."

Dog Sees God opens July 15 and runs the 16, 17, and 19 at 7:30 p.m. in the SVSU Black Box Theater. Tickets are $7 for general admission and $5 for students and seniors.

Nicole Goddeyne is a creative writing senior and the Vanguard's copy editor. Reach her at nmgoddey@svsu.edu.