DOG SEES GODCONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE BLOCKHEAD

BOUTIQUE THEATREPRESENTS

DOG SEES GOD Confessions of a teenage blockhead

BY

BERT V. ROYALWITH

CHRISTOPHER WELLDON CAZZ BAINBRIDGE DOUG LYONS CARLY MILROYROHAN MIRCHANDANEY CLAIRE PEARSON NICHOLAS RHODES THEMIE ZGONIS

SET DESIGN COSTUME DESIGN LIGHTING DESIGN SOUND DESIGN

NICK CASEY NICO WILSDON MATT OSBORN BYRON BACHEASSOCIATE PRODUCER PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER

TEGAN JONES MATTHEW SINIDIRECTED BY

BYRON BACHE & EMMA CALDWELL

DOG SEES GOD was first presented by Sorrel Tomlinson / File 14 Productionsat the 2004 New York International Fringe Festival, a production of The Present Company.

Originally produced Off-Broadway, in a limited engagement, by Sorrell Tomlinson.

Subsequently produced Off-Broadway by Dede Harris and Martian Entertainmentin association with Sharon Karmazin, Michelle Schneider, Mort Swinsky.

DOG SEES GOD has not been authorised or approved in any mannerby the Charles M. Schulz Estate or United Feature Syndicate,

which have no responsibility for its content.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTORSTeenagers are terrifying. Puberty does awful things to your brain — you spend four or five years teetering on the border of egomania, casually dabbling in sociopathy. To take Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang and transplant them into adolescence is the genius conceit of Bert V. Royal’s brilliant play, and one we’ve had an absurd amount of fun playing with.

For Snoopy’s pals, the world was always incredibly sad one, but without much reason. In his beloved FIFTY? -year-long syndicated comic strip, Charles Schulz captured the hearts — and channeled the ennui — of a nation. In Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead, Royal throws real emotional turmoil at the gang, and they all cope in their own strange ways. Hilarity and tears ensue.

— Byron Bache and Emma Caldwell

CAST (IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE)

CB CHRISTOPHER WELLDON

CB’s Sister CARLY MILROY

Van DOUG LYONS

Matt NICHOLAS RHODES

Beethoven ROHAN MIRCHANDANEY

Tricia CLAIRE PEARSON

Marcy THEMIE ZGONIS

Van’s Sister CAZZ BAINBRIDGE

Dog Sees God will be performed WITHOUT AN INTERMISSION.

Please turn off all electronic devices such as mobile phones, pagers and watches. The use of these devices is prohibited in the theatre. Patrons violating this policy will be removed from the theatre, and no refunds will be issued.

The usage of any recording device, either audio or video, and the taking of photographs, either with or without flash, is strictly prohibited.

ABOUT THE PLAYWhen CB’s dog dies from rabies, he begins to question the existence of an afterlife. His best friend is too burnt out to provide any coherent speculation; his sister has gone goth; his ex-girlfriend has recently been institutionalized; and his other friends are too inebriated to give him any sort of solace. But a chance meet-ing with an artistic kid, the target of this group’s bullying, offers CB a peace of mind and sets in motion a friendship that will push teen angst to the very limits.

Drug use, suicide, eating disorders, teen violence, rebellion and sexual identity collide and careen toward an ending that’s both haunting and hopeful.

CHRISTOPHER WELLDON — CBChristopher is an actor, writer and former radio announcer who has been performing since his late teens. After training at The Actors Conservatory in Brisbane, Christopher moved to Canber-ra to pursue a career in breakfast radio, winning an Australian Commercial Radio Award in 2006.

In 2009 he was hired as a writer for Rove, a TV show that ended three weeks later after the host announced his retirement. Christopher remains convinced these two events are related and no longer attempts to write comedy for other people.

Relocating to Melbourne in 2010, Christopher began perform-ing in musical theatre; with roles in productions of Little Shop of Horrors, Urinetown, The Boy from Oz, and the southern hemi-

sphere’s first amateur production of Avenue Q.

Most recently, Christopher provided the voice for a talking dog in the short film What a Gun; a role he will be reprising in Brown About Town, a TV series currently in development

CAZZ BAINBRIDGE — VAN’S SISTERCazz began pursuing acting while studying a Bachelor of Arts at La Trobe University. In 2009 she headed to New York to train in the Meisner Technique at the Ward Studio. She joined their graduate international acting company in 2011 and performed in two productions, I Wish You a Boat and Almost Home.

Since returning to Melbourne, Cazz has performed in Davi-na Wright’s The Jar Collector which also toured to Brisbane, Wright’s next original piece Peaches, SNAFU Theatre’s Russian spy comedy Ten Months in a Cold Town as well as receiving outstanding reviews for her portrayal of Lorna in Act a Lady at the La Mama Courthouse.

Most recently she played the wrathful Hera in Four Letter Word Theatre’s Live Acts on Stage at fortyfiveownstairs as well as joining the main cast for Julian Filer’s highly anticipated sitcom Mind the Gap. She is delighted to be working with the talented cast of crew involved in Boutique Theatre’s Dog Sees God.

CARLY MILROY — CB’S SISTERCarly was first introduced to the Peanuts comic characters in 1993, when she polished off a promotional jar of Nutella to reveal an image of Charlie Brown on the side of the glass. Following that milestone, Carly went on to develop a lasting fondness for the comic strips and is now absolutely delighted to be involved with Boutique Theatre’s presentation of this Peanuts parody.

In recent years Carly’s love of chocolate hazelnut spreads has been rivalled only by her relentless passion for performance — particularly comedy. In 2008 she received her Bachelor of Arts from Monash University, where she studied performing arts and stage direction.

Carly has since appeared in and directed a wide range of stage productions (including Parade, The Baker’s Wife, Angels in America), web series (The Time Traveller) and original pieces (The Legend of Ned Kelly), while continually indulging her obsession with improvised and sketch comedy. Carly still enjoys Nutella from time to time.

DOUG LYONS — VANDoug’s first introduction to acting was at St Martin’s Youth Theatre as a part of the Performers Ensemble after completing his B.A. of Science at Monash University.

In 2011 Doug trained in the Meisner Technique at the Ward Stu-dio. Recently Doug appeared in EIGHT for the Melbourne Fringe Festival and featured in the 2013 TAC Distractions campaign.

ROHAN MIRCHANDANEY — BEETHOVENRohan is a film, television and stage actor based in Melbourne. Starring in over 30 short films and debuting in his first inde-pendent feature recently, he has encountered success in many film festivals including the Indian Film Festival and the Cannes International Film Festival for the film Adjust as the lead. About to commence a new project with Wilfred director Tony Rogers,

Rohan has a strong social media following and his stage credits include, Dogg’s Hamlet, Cahoot’s Macbeth, The Dumb Waiter, A Servant to Two Masters, The Importance of Being Earnest and Cosi.

Rohan recently wrapped on ABC3’s The Worst Year of My Life, Again and in his spare time has been working on a new comedy

web-series project just released at www.doobienights.com. Rohan most notably went on an interesting de-tour in 2013 when he was selected as a contestant for Channel Nine’s reality television show Big Brother.

CLAIRE PEARSON — TRICIAClaire completed the BFA (Acting) course at QUT in 2008. Her credits include An Oak Tree (QTC), The Two Gentlemen of Vero-na, Richard III, Shakespeare Shorts (Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble), Vis a vis: Moving Stories (Queensland Ballet), The Night, My Brother and Me (La Boite Theatre Company) and won the Warner Roadshow Studios Queensland New Filmmakers Award for Best Female Actor in 2008 for short film Years. In 2011, Claire received funding from both the Ian Potter Founda-tion Cultural Trust and Arts Queensland Career Development Fund to study Shakespeare at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA), London. Here she performed in Love’s Labours Lost and immersed herself in the local theatre scene, working with High Tide Theatre Company and Only Connect.

Other productions include the sell-out season of her one woman show, Mona Brow Williams (Retired Actress and Cabaret Star) Presents: The Indisputable, Fantastical, Magical Wonder Tour of Roma Street Parkland on a Trackless Train! (2013 Anywhere Theatre Festival), Brisbane Powerhouse Ghost Tour (Dead Puppet Society), The Long and the Short of It (Brisbane Festival/Bottled Theatre) and Holy Guacamole (The Good Room/Adelaide Fringe Festival/Metro Arts). Claire has also acted in many short films and features including JUCY, All My Friends are Leaving Brisbane and Reef n’ Beef.

In 2012/2013 she was on the management committee for the Actors Benevolent Fund QLD Inc. Claire is a proud member of Equity.

THEMIE ZGONIS — MARCYThemie is a 22-year-old actress and dancer from New Hamp-shire. Her background is Greek and she grew up between Greece and the US. In both countries performing arts always played an important role in her life, which led her to studying literature, film, and dance at the University of Vermont.

She moved to Melbourne last March in hopes of jump-starting her career in acting and dance, but she has also found so much more in this wonderful city. Her main focus is acting, but she knows that dancing will always play an integral part of her life. She loves traveling, practicing yoga, hiking, gardening, and anything that gets her outside. She loves what she does and will continue to make performing arts her means of livelihood.

NICHOLAS RHODES — MATTNicholas Rhodes is a multi-faceted, award winning actor. He began his training as a young actor at Helen O’Grady School for Drama. He continued his training into adulthood being ac-cepted into Monash University’s Bachelor for Performing Arts/Law. Before completing his formal studies Nicholas was offered a scholarship to the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts where he honed his skills and developed a deep understanding of his craft.

Nicholas has worked professionally as an actor in both Austral-ia and the United States. He performed in the Off-Broadway play, Identity (dir. Lantie Tom), was featured in Law & Order: SVU and is currently appearing in a Forty Winks TVC.

Nicholas is thrilled to be a part of Boutique Theatre’s production of Dog Sees God.

BERT V ROYAL — PLAYWRIGHT

BYRON BACHE — DIRECTOR

EMMA CALDWELL — DIRECTOR

Bert’s first play, Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead, won Best Overall Production award at the 2004 New York International Fringe Festival and a GLAAD Media Award for Best Off-Off-Broadway production, before a critically acclaimed, sold-out Off-Broadway run for which it won a Broadway.com audience award and the 2006 HX Award for Best Play.

Bert wrote the 2010 smash-hit teen comedy film Easy A, starring Emma Stone. His work as a screenwriter includes the film Joey Dakota for The CW and the Nickelodeon series Gigantic. His latest project, upcoming comedy The Wright

Girls, starring Jessica Alba, is out in 2015.

Bert is also the author of various smutty limericks, mainly from his junior high years. He enjoys Christmas caroling, but only in the spring. His spirit animal is the spork.

Byron’s theatre career has spanned more than fifteen years. As a director, his work includes Crave (BCST), Oleanna (A&F), Songs for a New World (Variation Productions), West Side Story (A&F) and Chicago (SMSHS).

Byron has also worked extensively as a rehearsal pianist, and as musical director for artists including Belinda Wollaston and Sophie Carter. His work as a composer and lyricist has appeared on stage at Marian Street Theatre for Young People and the Sydney Cabaret Convention.

Off stage, Byron is a theatre critic for the Herald Sun.

Emma is a co-founder of Boutique Theatre and performed in the company’s debut season of Edges at Revolt Artspace in 2012. Emma trained as an actor at the Ward Acting Studio in the Meisner approach as well as at St Martins and the National Theatre. Performance highlights include performing in the Australian debut sell out season of I Wish You A Boat (Ward Theatre Compa-ny), performing the title role in Anthony Crowley’s one woman musical The Journey Girl at fortyfiveownstairs, Luisa Contini in Nine (Four Letter Word Theatre) and playing the bossy, yet loveable Lucy Van Pelt in You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown (Melbourne Musicals, dir. Bryce Ives).

Emma made her directorial debut with a production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (TCMS) which won Production of the Year in the 2012 Union House Theatre Awards.

Emma will be seen later this year as the lead character in the film She’s Leaving and onstage in April at the Malthouse in The Vagina Monologues. Other film and television credits include The Pacific (Channel 7), Whatever Happened to that Guy (Comedy Channel) and Wild Woman (Out Of Time Productions).

Emma is delighted to be directing her first show with Boutique Theatre and would like to thank the cast and crew for their friendship & support throughout the process.

NICK CASEY — SET DESIGN

NICO WILSDON — COSTUME DESIGN

MATT OSBORN — LIGHTING DESIGN

After realising he was never going to grow up to be a character in Star Wars, Nick has been performing in and creating theatre since he was 16.

He has designed costumes for DAGS (BUSTCo), Smeared! (Deakin) and sets for The Hot Mikado (DCC) and The Bacchae (Deakin).

His performance credits include Fiddler on the Roof (DCC), The Sound of Mu-sic (DCC), The Bacchae (Deakin), A Property of the Clan (BUSTCo), Woyzcek (Deakin) and The Darker Side of Chocolate (CAF). Nick also has a diverse

background in photographic styling and graphic design.

Nico Wilsdon (BFA Hons.) is an award-winning designer who aims to reveal a character’s psychological makeup through the nuance of dress in theatre. His awareness of aesthetics, style history and current dress trends gives his collaborations a cutting edge and a greater sense of reality on stage.

Nico holds the title of Australian Fashion Graduate of the Year, and has received media coverage for both his fashion and millinery work from ABC television, The Weekend Australian, the Courier Mail, Grazia and various online journals.

Matt first took an interest in lighting and sound whilst studying at the Aus-tralian Academy of Dramatic Art and since then has settled into a career as a lighting designer and operator.

Mentored by Sydney lighting designers Matthew Marshall and Ross Graham, Matt has worked on a range of shows including Return to Earth (Stables Thea-tre) Pacha Sydney (The Ivy), Seminar and A Year With Frog and Toad (Ensem-ble Theatre), By Any Other Name (The Long Walk Theatre) and most recently the Blue Mountains Blues and Folk Festival and Short and Sweet Sydney.

MATTHEW SINI — PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGERMatthew Sini has been an arts practitioner and academic for the past six years. He is also a writer and cultural critic.

A recent arrival from Brisbane, he is delighted to be involved with the Mel-bourne independent theatre scene.

Production Stage Manager Matthew Sini

Properties Supervisor Nick Casey

Wardrobe Supervisor Nico Wilsdon

Production Carpenter Andrew Casey

Construction Adviser Norm Matthews

Publicity Eleanor Howlett (Sassy Red PR)

Production Photographer Sarah Walker

Rehearsal Photography The Cast

Front of House Tegan Jones

WE’D LIKE TO THANKTabby and Rob at Four Letter Word,

Jordan Katelanis, Pete Foley, Rachel Tyler Jones, Bevan Connelly, Geordie Worland, Jonny Moretti,

Kasia Sisson, Nyssa Tyers, Bobby Fox,Cam McDonald, Grant Busé, Rosa McCarty,

Hannah Daniel, Damien Calvert, Natalie Calia, Scott Hilli, Stephanie Powell, Jen McKinnon, Samantha Hammersley and Natasha Casey

Dog Sees God was rehearsed at Studio 144and The Abbotsford Convent.

Boutique Theatre would like to thank the copyright holders for permission to use

their music in Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead.

Beethoven’s piano pieces are performed by Jordan Ruddess, Steve Anderson, James Rhodes and

Byron Bache.

All music used in this production is licensed through APRA and PPCA.