Buck Creek Players to Stage DOG SEES GOD: CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE BLOCKHEAD

"Take a Shot" with Buck Creek Players as we continue our 42nd season of quality theatre with Bert V. Royal's DOG SEES GOD: CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE BLOCKHEAD. Opening on Friday, March 18th, and continuing for two weekends through Saturday, March 26th, curtain times are at 8PM on Friday and Saturday, with a 2:30PM matinee on Sunday, March 20th, and an 8PM performance on Thursday, March 24th.

All performances will be held at the Buck Creek Playhouse, 11150 Southeastern Avenue. Admission is $18 for adults and $16 for students and senior citizens (ages 62 and over). Reservations are recommended, and may be reserved securely online with no added fees at www.buckcreekplayers.com, or by calling our automated reservation line at (317) 862-2270. Group discounts are also available for parties of ten or more when purchased online.

This daring and, at times, shocking play takes characters from the popular Peanuts comic strip and turns them into high school teenagers dealing with drug abuse, suicide, eating disorders, teen violence, rebellion, sex, and sexual identity. Linus (here known as "Van," played by KaRron McGowan) has become a stoner. Lucy ("Van's Sister," played by Sasha Bannister), once informal psychiatrist, is now an institutionalized pyromaniac. Pigpen ("Matt," played by Matt Walls) has become a germaphobic, homophobic, misogynistic nightmare of an alpha male. Marcie ("Marcy," played by Katie Thompson) and Peppermint Patty ("Tricia," played by Stacia Ann Hulen) spend their time drinking White Russians in the cafeteria and making fun of a bulimic classmate.

Our guide through this world is, of course, the man himself, here called "C.B." (played by Christopher Brown). When his dog dies from rabies, he begins to question the existence of an afterlife. His sister Sally (played by Brigitte McCleary) has gone goth, and his friends cannot offer him any sort of solace. A chance meeting with Beethoven...an artistic kid, the target of his group's bullying (played by James Benjamin)...offers C.B. peace of mind and sets in motion a friendship that pushes teen angst to the very limits. In this "unauthorized parody," C.B. takes a shot at understanding the meaning of life.

DOG SEES GOD: CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE BLOCKHEAD was one of the breakout hits of the 2004 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.

The characters may be vaguely familiar, but this play is not for the faint of heart and is intended for mature audiences only due to strong language and adult subject matter.

Bradley S. Kieper makes his Buck Creek Players directorial debut after being seen on stage in our productions of CARRIE: THE MUSICAL and THINGS MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME. Joining Kieper on the production team are Melissa DeVito (Producer), Rebecca Droeger (Assistant Director), Lea Viney (Set Designer/Technical Director), Cathy Cutshall (Costume Designer), Patrick M. Murphy (Lighting Designer), and Michelle Papandria (Properties/Stage Manager).

For more information or directions to the playhouse, visit the theater's website at www.buckcreekplayers.com.

About the Writer: Bert V. Royal quit his profession as a casting director to write the play DOG SEES GOD: CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE BLOCKHEAD, which was awarded the 2004 New York International Fringe Festival Overall Excellence Award, as well as the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Off-Off Broadway Production. He also penned the screenplay for "Easy A," which starred Emma Stone in 2010. He lives in West Hollywood with his partner, Clay, and their two dogs.

About Buck Creek Players: Buck Creek Players began in 1973 when the Franklin Township Civic League formed a committee to present performing arts under the name of "Four C's Theatre." On November 13, 1974, the name was changed to Buck Creek Players, Inc., and was formalized under the Indiana Not for Profit Corporation Act of 1971 (501(c)3).

Initially, Buck Creek Players performed in elementary and high schools, and in October of 1978, moved to its first home, a historic church located at 7820 Acton Road. The church was built in 1872 with an addition in 1952. The main space of the building was the sanctuary which was 31 feet wide by 48 feet deep, with the stage using one-half of the space and the seating using the other half. The space enabled BCP to offer performing arts in an intimate setting for a maximum of 90 people. In 2002, the church was sold to United Faith Baptist Church.

In 2001, Buck Creek Players moved into its current home, the Buck Creek Playhouse, at 11150 Southeastern Avenue. The space was originally built as an indoor tennis facility that was later converted into a church. Much of the space was rebuilt to accommodate the productions it would now house. While increasing capacity, the space is still intimate, seating a maximum of 130 people.

How many of our productions have you seen in our past forty-one years? Click here for our past production history.