Dramaturgy/Research Packet
Dog Sees God by Bert V. Royal
The Cartoons:
- First penned in 1947 by Charles M. Schulz under the title Lil’ Folks
- Rebranded as the Peanuts in 1950 (Schulz himself hated the new name)
- From 1952 until his death in 2000, Schulz published regularly in Sunday Papers, creating
17,897 comic strips in over 2,600 newspapers worldwide, printed in 21 different
languages.
- Adapted for the screen with numerous television specials & movies over the years
- The Peanuts Movie (2015)
- It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)
- A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973)
Charles M. Schulz:
- Born in 1922, Schulz spent the majority of his
childhood and life living in and around the Twin
Cities of Minnesota (Minneapolis & St. Paul)
- Even as a child, he had a love and talent for drawing
and cartooning, frequently sketching his own
childhood dog, Spike, the inspiration for Snoopy
- His lifelong nickname “Sparky” was given to him by an uncle, referencing a horse
named “Spark Plug” from one of his favorite cartoons growing up
- He was known for being an awkward and timid, yet brilliant child, making few friends in
high school, yet managing to skip ahead two “half-grades”
- In 1943,his mother died and he was drafted to serve in WWII
- He spent 2 years serving as a Staff Sergeant from 1943-1945
- Upon returning from war, he soon worked for many lettering and cartooning companies,
before beginning to produce his own work beginning in 1947
- He married his first wife, Joyce Halverson in 1951:
- They had multiple children together
- They moved from Colorado Springs, back to Minneapolis
- By 1972, their marriage was in trouble as Schulz admittedly was having an affair
with 25 year old, Tracey Claudius
- He married his second wife, Jean Forsyth Clyde, in 1973
- They lived together in Sonoma County, California, until his death in 2000
- He was heavily involved and passionate about ice hockey, even opened a rink in his name
- He was heavily involved in the Methodist Church for much of his adult life
- Described as a deeply spiritual person, and even at the height of his religious
involvement, never belied his faith or god were things that could be easily defined
- “complicated”
- He also taught sunday school for a period of time in the 1960s
Charles Schulz & The Peanuts:
- Much of Schulz’ work was somewhat autobiographical:
- Many of the characters were based on people in Schulz’s childhood in MN &
adult life
- Linus was based on another cartoonist, The Little Red-Haired
Girl was based on an unrequited love, Peppermint Patty was based on a
cousin, Snoopy was based on his childhood dog, & Charlie Brown was of
course based on himself
- Many of Schulz’s personal beliefs & experiences came through in
his comics & characters
- Linus and Charlie Brown often acted as vessels for Schulz to share his own voice
and philosophies
“I suppose there’s a melancholy feeling in a lot of cartoonists, because cartooning, like all
other humor, comes from bad things happening.” - Charles M. Schulz
Our Playwright - Bert V. Royal:
- An openly gay screenwriter, playwright, and former casting director, based in LA
- His sexuality frequently finds its way into his work
- Born in Colorado in 1971 before moving to Florida, where he grew up until moving to
New York at 21. Much of his work relates back to his own childhood
- Quit job as casting director to write Dog Sees God (2005)
- Most of his credits remain in film to this day, and has
virtually no professional theatre credits outside of our
script
- He wrote the original “spec” script for Easy A (2010)
- In 2009, Royal said of our script, that “seeing kids whose lives
are more fucked up than our own can be cathartic”
- Important to him that this story takes place in the early
2000s, a time when both homophobia and transphobia are constant cultural
conflicts in the US
The Peanuts → Dog Sees God:
While we see many drastic changes to our characters, many through lines remain:
Charlie Brown → CB:
- Charlie Brown has grown up, and while he is
now grouped in with the “cool kids”, he is still
ultimately just as thoughtful, sensitive, and
insightful as he was written as a child.
- He is still poked fun at, but is now much less the
bud of everyone’s jokes.
- “He’s not purely a loser” - Christopher Caldwell
- He continues to ask questions, critically thinking and attempting to find meaning in a
world full of chaos, while struggling to find confidence and love for himself. This isn’t
too different from the self-deprecative “everyman” we all knew and loved.
- Charlie Brown is very much based on Schulz himself, and we see him grow up into an
equally complex and human character as his author.
Sally → CB’s Sister:
- As a child, Sally frequently showcases herself as incredibly kind-hearted, while
navigating struggles of her own.
- She holds a deeply-rooted hatred of school and the absurdities of our education system.
However, she excels with language, often playing with words and theatricality.
- Much of this holds true as she grows up, as she continues to gravitate towards the theatre
and language, while she also continues to re-invent her own identity numerous times over
the course of our play.
- Her generosity carries over into adolescence, as she is one of the only characters willing
to befriend Beethoven.
Linus → Van:
- As a kid, Linus was always incredibly intellectual and thoughtful, acting as the group’s
philosopher, discussing ethics and morality, and frequently quoting thinkers such as
Ralph Waldo Emmerson in the comics.
- In many ways, Linus acts as a lens into Schulz’s heart and mind.
- In our play, even though Van is no longer strolling around with his blanket, he is just as
wise, spouting beautiful and poignant language left and right, smoking a lot of weed, and
describing himself as a self-proclaimed “Bhuddafarian”.
- Linus was named after a friend of Schulz’, who was also a cartoonist.
- Linus’ blanket would eventually help to coin the term “security-blanket” in the
dictionary, and was inspired by Schulz’ own children.
Lucy → Van’s Sister:
- In childhood, Lucy’s character was often “mean”, playing tricks and picking on Charlie
Brown and others.
- She also offered up blunt and harsh advice to many of the characters, often found at her
lemonade stand that doubled as a psychiatrist’s office.
- She possessed what Schulz described as “misguided confidence”, something he thought
was incredibly “funny”.
- As she gets older, many of these traits stick with her. She is certainly still angry, and we
learn that she spends the entirety of the play in a mental hospital, after she sets fire to the
Little Red-Haired Girl’s hair at school. She was previously romantically involved with
CB before our play’s start.
Pig-Pen → Matt:
- As a kid we know little about his background. After a surge in popularity in a 1960s
comic strip, Pig-Pen became a regularly recurring character in The Peanuts.
- During childhood, he is often made fun of for playing in the mud, being dirty, and having
a comial cloud of dirt and dust follow him everywhere he went.
- As he grows up, we learn what a toll this name-calling and his home-life takes.
- He torments and bullies Beethoven constantly, is toxic and sexually-obsessed, is
outwardly homophobic, a massive partier, and is also supposedly CB’s “best friend”.
- We learn his family grew up below the poverty line, his father had left the family, and he
was eventually taken by Child Protective Services for neglect. He largely embodies the
phrase, “damaged people, damage people”.
Schroeder → Beethoven:
- As a kid in the cartoons, Schroeder is often seen playing the piano, and is a relatively
kind and neutral character in the strip.
- He is often used as a ploy for other characters to voice themselves, as he is typically quiet
and disinterested with many of the other characters.
- This carries over into adolescence as he is a young virtuoso, currently obsessed with
Chopin, and is constantly bullied and excluded for his potentially being gay/his sexuality.
- After the events of the party and hooking up with CB, Matt beats him up and breaks each
of his hands, which ultimately leads to his suicide towards the end of the play.
Peppermint Patty → Tricia:
- Originally based on a cousin Schulz had growing up on his mother’s side. The name
came to him when he was speaking with her, and saw a York peppermint patty in his
home.
- During childhood, Peppermint Patty was best friends with Marcie, and it was established
that the both of them went to separate elementary school from the other kids in the
cartoon.
- She is described as being a “tomboy”, expressing a lack of concern for traditional gender
roles, and is often responded to by Marcie with the phrase, “No sir”.
- She struggles with school, often comically misunderstands things, but is also a fiercely
loyal friend, having what Schulz described as a “devastating singleness of purpose”. It is
also thought that her mother was absent/her father often worked late and also wasn’t
around much.
- Now, as a highschooler, Tricia is still best friends with Marcie, and they both attend the
same school as everyone else.
- She is a massive partier, and it is pointed out that she may have her own issues
surrounding repressed homosexuality and identity.
Marcie → Marcy:
- During childhood, she always acted as Peppermint Patty’s best friend and a sidekick of
sorts.
- She was always incredibly intellectual, booksmart, and as Schulz put it, “she sees the
truth in things”.
- As a highschooler, she is still Tricia’s best friend and the pair are seemingly inseparable,
even “jinxing” one another during a fight.
- She continues to be incredibly booksmart, and while the opposite of Tricia in many ways,
has become her sidekick as an equally avid partier.
Our play also honors & pays homage to Charles Schulz:
- As the years went on Schulz found himself a follower of “Secular Humanism”, and
generalized spirituality more than the Methodist Church.
- After decades of involvement, he formally left the church in the early 1980s, after feeling
the church was doing more harm than good in the world.
- Many of these altruistic and idealistic sentiments are articulately stated throughout our
text.
“I do not go to church anymore… I guess you could say I’ve come around to secular
humanism, an obligation I believe all humans have to others and the world we live in.”
- Charles M. Schulz
In many ways, the Penpal appears to be Charles Schulz himself:
- In the cartoons as well as in our play, the Penpal acts as a sort of beacon for
Charlie Brown, someone looking over him who
he can talk to.
- Just like “a dog sees god in his master”, CB sees
god and meaning in his author.
- Furthermore, this play is not as simple as any definition
of secular humanism:
- Unlike the original Charlie Brown characters, Schultz himself was a far more
complicated man, someone who is morally ambiguous, yet full of good intentions.
This is essentially who we see Charlie Brown grow up to be as CB.
Charles Schulz in our Text:
“My point is, Chuck B., that life -- it does go on. Even without the things that have been there since the beginning. The things that we think define us, don’t mean shit in the grand scheme of things. Us defines us.” - Van, Pg. 7
“Also, bare no malice for the ones who leave you.” - Marcy, Pg. 86
“As for the questions that you are asking yourself and others: don't concern yourself with death.
Immerse yourself in life. Enjoy every moment that you're allowed to but keep asking questions.
My dear friend. Don't ever stop asking questions.” - Van, Pg. 86
Time Period & Setting: US, 2005
Some American Historical Events/Context:
- George W. Bush’s second term as president
- Ongoing involvement in the Iraq & Afghanistan Wars
- Hurricane Katrina
- “Youtube” is founded
- The “Xbox 360” is released
While Schulz grew up in MN, his characters reach a broad audience, and are set in sort of an all- encompassing “typical” American city:
- In 2005, 12.6% of Americans lived at or below the poverty line (37 million people)
- That year, the median household income was roughly $42,242
Homophobia and Bullying:
- In 2005, 28% of students reported being bullied at school, whereas in 2013, that number
dropped to 21% of students
- The US Federal Government did not begin collecting data on bullying in schools until
2005
- A lot has changed since 2005, and while much of the language we use, our education and
understanding, and representation within the queer community has drastically improved
nationwide, we clearly have a long way to
- British and openly gay sociologist Mark McCormick studied 3 British high schools in
2012 and found outward homophobia to be “surprisingly rare” in British schools, and that
when anti gay and anti trans language or behavior appears, perpetrators are “reprimanded
by other students” more often than not
- McCormick also stated he believes the US to be roughly a decade behind the UK
on this front socially
- A 2005 study in Korea, which studied over 1700 middle school students, found victims of
bullying to be more likely to display suicidal behavior and ideation by a ratio of “1:1.9”
- And yet, a 2018 study in the US found:
- 70.1% of LGBTQ+ students reported being verbally bullied as a result of their
sexual orientation
- 28.9% of LGBTQ+ students reported being physically bullied
- 34.8% of LGBTQ+ students missed at least 1 day of school in any given month as
a result of feeling unsafe at school
- 42.2% of LGBTQ+ students who dropped out of school reported doing so as a
result of bullying and harassment
- A 2013 study found that students experiencing peer victimization were 2.6 times as likely
to directly attempt suicide
- Subsequent studies have shown:
- Queer youth are over 25% more likely to be bullied as a result of their sexual
orientation/gender identity (2017)
- Queer youth are 3x as likely to contemplate suicide as their heterosexual
counterparts (2020)
- Suicide was the second leading cause of death for queer & trans young adults,
ages 15-24, and the third leading cause of death for queer & trans teenagers, ages
10-14 (2012)
- Studies “consistently conclude that LGBT youth report elevated rates of
emotional distress, symptoms related to mood and anxiety disorders, self-harm,
suicidal ideation, and suicidal behavior when compared to heterosexual youth”
(2005)
Glossary:
*** Content Warning (The F-Slur/Anti-gay language on next page)
Secular Humanism - The belief that human beings are capable of being ethical and moral without religion or belief in a deity
Hecate (Heck-it) - The Ancient Greek Goddess of magic, witchcraft, the night, the moon, ghosts, spirits, and necromancy (communicating with the dead)
Nirvana (Ner-va-nuh) (Buddhism) - A transcendent state, in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self, and the subject is released and liberated from the effects of karma and the cycle of death and rebirth.
Rastafarianism (rah-stuh-far-ee-an-ism) - A religion and religious movement founded in the
1930s by societally disenfranchised “Afro-Jamaicans”. Key are the beliefs of Jah, a monotheistic
god who lives predominantly inside all of us, and an “Afrocentric” reinterpretation of the bible, focused on the African diaspora.
- Typified by the colors of the Ethiopian flag, and “living naturally” (living off of and in
connection with the earth) as well as culturally dominant customs like smoking cannabis,
having one’s hair in dreadlocks, and consuming only “I-tal” foods.
Wicca (wih-kuh) - A contemporary pagan religion founded in England in the 1950s by Gerald
Gardner, an amateur anthropologist and archaeologist.
- Spiritual and ritual beliefs were set out originally by Gardener, with an emphasis on
Ancient Pagan traditions, being Duolistic, and observing the natural cycles of both the
moon & the sun.
White Magic - Using supernatural practices and abilities for “good”, or as a countermeasure to cure or alleviate evil (Black Magic)
Clavier (kluh-veer) - a keyboard instrument, especially one with strings such as a harpsichord
- “Well-Tempered Clavier” is a collection of two preludes and fugues, composed by Bach
Frederic Chopin (show-pan) A Polish composer, who lived from 1810 - 1849 in Warsaw and then Paris. He was a virtuoso pianist, writing primarily for solo piano, but wrote additional concertos and chamber pieces as well.
*** Faggot *** - Originally coined in the 13th century & originating from Old French and
Vulgar Latin, the term meant “a bundle of sticks”, “a bundle of wood”, or “a bundle of twigs
bound up”. In the 16th century, the term instead referred to “a punishment for heretics”, as heretics would be burned at the stake using bundles of wood. In the 1700s, the word began to be used by the British in English to refer to “men hired in the military simply to fill-out the ranks”.
Eventually, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the word became popularized as a derogatory American slang term meant to refer to “male homosexuals”. The term was coined in
American English “officially” in 1914.
Works Cited:
AAP.org, American Academy of Pediatrics, 2021, www.aap.org/en-us/Pages/Default.aspx.
“Bullying Statistics.” Bullying Statistics - National Bullying Prevention Center, Nov. 2020,
www.pacer.org/bullying/info/stats.asp.
“Charles M. Schulz.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 3 Feb. 2021, www.wikipedia.org/.
“Charles Schulz.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 8 Feb. 2021,
www.britannica.com/.
“Coordination of Sexual and Gender Minority Mental Health Research at NIMH.” National
Institute of Mental Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2021,
www.nimh.nih.gov/about/organization/od/odwd/coordination-of-sexual-and-gender-
minority-mental-health-research-at-nimh.shtml.
“Dictionary by Merriam-Webster: America's Most-Trusted Online Dictionary.” Merriam-
Webster, Merriam-Webster, 2021, www.merriam-webster.com/.
Glew, GM, et al. “Bullying in School.” American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of
Pediatrics, 1 Apr. 2008, aapgrandrounds.aappublications.org/content/19/4/46.
“National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).” National Center for Education Statistics
(NCES), a Part of the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Education, 2021,
nces.ed.gov/.
“Online Etymology Dictionary: Origin, History and Meaning of English Words.” Online
Etymology Dictionary | Origin, History and Meaning of English Words, Douglas Harper,
2021, www.etymonline.com/.
S, John. “‘Dog Sees God’ The Importance of LGBTQIA Representation.” Destination Dan,
Western Washington University, 22 Mar. 2018, wp.wwu.edu/johns897/2018/03/22/dog-
sees-god-the-importance-of-lgbtqia-representation/.
“Saving Young LGBTQ Lives.” The Trevor Project, The Trevor Project, 18 Feb. 2021,
www.thetrevorproject.org/.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 12 Mar. 2021, www.bls.gov/.