The Contra Costa College drama department’s production of “Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead” debuted on April 3. The production is a parody show that pays homage to Charles M. Schulz’s “Peanuts” comic strip. Instead of the lovable and silly characters from the original, “Dog Sees God” has a cast full of troubled teens with more trouble to get into (spoilers ahead).

The production director, Tori Thompson, chose this production for the attractiveness of its shock value and humor.

“I love tackling identity; I love tackling uniqueness…I love making the audience uncomfortable,” said Thompson.

Thompson initially received this manuscript in high school, later using a monologue from the show for her college auditions.

Thompson also experienced struggles that were like some of the characters, shaping her interest in the production. “The more that I worked on this show, the more I realized how much I had in common with some of these characters,” said Thompson. The characters in the show represent personalities, body types and lifestyle choices that are commonly used as excuses for bullying.

Thompson said that growing up with her brother helped inform her perspective about the characters. “My brother is gay and growing up with him coming out and like seeing the shift between his relationships with the men in our lives and how they like completely changed towards him,” Thompson said. “It was so much language that was happening that I just didn’t understand. You know what I mean? Now I have words for it.”

While in the thick of grieving the loss of his dog, CB (Kaiulani Aguigui), was searching for answers about the afterlife and in desperation for inner peace. In one scene, CB decided in an instant that he was going to live his alternative lifestyle out loud.

He ran into his former best friend, Beethoven (Will Parsley), who had gone recluse because of peer bullying induced by his timid and quirky demeanor. Beethoven and CB have a heated discussion about what happened with their friendship. In the middle of the conversation, CB decides to blindside Beethoven with an act of physical intimacy towards him, leaving Beethoven startled and CB filled with happiness.

The incident led to a series of negative peer interactions, including bullying, malicious gossip and even an attempt at coercion. The situation boosted CB’s ego while giving Beethoven yet another challenge to comprehend.

Van’s sister (Avery May), another character who is portrayed as a patient in a psychiatric ward after setting another student’s hair ablaze, was the only peer of CB’s that sort of embraced his decision to live out loud. Van’s sister clearly faced significant challenges, understood the requirements for reintegration into society, but said she preferred to stay and receive medication at the facility. This touches on another controversy, whether a person needs continued medical assistance or if they’re just trying to get high.

While the show was shocking and forced the viewers into sitting through intense teenage conversations, it also made way for some parents to reconsider the type of questions to ask their teens about their day. Tricia (Kate), another character, would constantly initiate negative dialogue about Freida, another character, but referred to her as a repulsively obese person with every other word. Tricia was eventually called out for having a romantic attraction to Freida.

Another example of children trying to navigate large emotions by themselves, leading with their most pressing ones, which were seemingly anger and confusion. That mixed with their need to be viewed in a certain way by their peers resulted in a lot of traumatic experiences for the group.

This challenges the production’s title of “Teenage Blockhead.” Blockhead is a term that was coined in the 16^th century to describe a person that is stupid. A teenager in need of answers and guidance is just that, not stupid. Ideas like this allow for questionable teenage behavior to be written off as an acceptable and expected phase.

The department had a wonderful display of respect for the arts, excitement about joining the cast, as well as camaraderie amongst the actors. “Working with an amazing cast and crew” said cast member Jermaine Lamar Breedlove Jr. (Van) about what he looks forward to about the production. The actors weren’t just students of CCC, an open casting call was made signaling talent from all over to audition for the production. “I just came here and registered just to be a part of the show,” said cast member Kaiulani Aguigui (CB).

Audience members also weighed in on the show, sharing their thoughts and opinions about the show.

“I liked how it was different, I was expecting like a happy ending and it was not; it hit deep,” said Mya, an attendee.

The audience members got different messages from the show: “There are certain consequences that you don’t realize when you’re on a specific path, you don’t know how they branch out to others, or even yourself” said Kevin, another attendee.