Dog

When Alice needs a place to crash after dropping out of college, her sister Penny welcomes her with open arms. There's just one catch: Penny's dog, Elmo -- who may not be a dog at all. "Dog" is an experimental play about cycles of abuse, and the passive violence that keeps abusers in power.
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Dog

Recommended by

  • Matt Minnicino:
    24 Nov. 2021
    This play is like a bullet that's hit you in the skull and is slowly burrowing its way towards your brain, hitting different receptors as it wiggles through. The tension is thick and the realization of both the subtle and unsubtle weaponry of familial abuse is superb. The central metaphor and its transformative (literally) effect on the characters is one of the best and simplest-yet-most-tangible expressions of how gaslighting derails our perceptions, challenging the audience to feel as unsteady as Alice while the world shifts beneath her feet.
  • Jacquelyn Floyd-Priskorn:
    17 Aug. 2020
    I actually found myself breathing out an air of relief and my muscles finally relaxed when I got to the end of this play. High tension from beat one. Absolutely dark and real in a very surreal manner. It's a heartbreaking picture of the cycles of abuse.
  • Cheryl Bear:
    7 Aug. 2020
    A remarkable metaphor for abuse and a powerful exploration. After taking in a stray, we examine the very nature of abuse and gaslighting. Fantastic work.

Character Information

  • Penny
  • Elmo
  • Bella
    Tweens
  • Alice
    18 or 19

Development History

  • Workshop
    ,
    Columbia College
    ,
    2019
  • Reading
    ,
    Project Y Theatre
    ,
    2018
  • Reading
    ,
    Bechdel Group

Awards

Semi-Finalist
,
Theatre503 Playwriting Award
,
Theatre503
,
2020