Laura Lucas

“You blockhead!” and “Good grief!” are infamous taglines in the popular comic strip Peanuts. (For those who do not know, Peanuts is the comic that Charlie Brown and his gang are from.)

Dog Sees God is a new play with the characters based off the Peanuts comic. All of the names have been changed, with the exception of C.B., Charlie Brown’s initials.

The play takes place after C.B.’s dog, Snoopy, dies of rabies.

“He is a high school boy who is trying to figure out his life and where he fits in after his dog dies,” said Shane Gunn, a freshman history and theater major. “I did a lot of research on Charlie Brown.”

The play is a dark comedy and deals with a lot of deep issues.

“What I love about this script is that everyone, especially students, can relate to it,” said director Hannah Bowman, a senior visual and performing arts major.

The characters are familiar ones, but the lives they lead and their experiences are also familiar. This script is something that I feel the students want to see ? This show is different than anything that has ever been done here. This play is something so different, fun and exciting,” said Hannah Bowman, the director who is a senior visual and performing arts major.

This is Bowman’s first time directing a full-length play. She had done some directing with the Capers 2008 show but is excited for this production.

“I’m loving this experience! It has been so much fun,” Bowman said. “Everyone involved is having a great time. I couldn’t ask for things to be better.”

Besides Charlie Brown, the other characters have changed as well. Matt, formerly Pig-Pen, is now a neat freak and is obsessed with sex. Van, formerly Linus, is a pot-head, who is now one with his blanket. Beethoven, formerly Schroeder, still plays the piano but is now the reclusive outcast who is tormented by the rest of the characters.

“I can understand the character. I’ve never had that [experience Beethoven has] happen to me before. He’s intraverted, and I’m not,” said Jeff Amdahl, a sophomore music major. Amdahl gets to show off his piano playing skills throughout the show. “Yeah, it’s really me playing,” he said.

The show is recommended for mature audiences only because of explicit language, violence, sexuality and dialogue. The show has two male characters kiss.

“I want the audience to enjoy themselves overall. Underneath the comedy, there are great, heartfelt messages about acceptance and tolerance of others,” said Bowman.

Amdahl also said he hopes people do not get offended by the show. He said the messages of do not discriminate and be who you are are the things he wants the audience to walk away with.

Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead is being performed April 27 to 29 at 7:30 p.m. in the Fishback Studio. Tickets are free for everyone.

#1.882533:357850698.jpg:dog_sb02.jpg:Freshman Shane Gunn and sophomore Pierce Humkey discuss the matters of life after death during the Dog Sees God play rehearsal April 21 at the Performing Arts Center.: