The Little Dog Laughed

by Douglas Carter Beane
Studio 88 Theatre, Miami University • October 2014

I have a fondness for plays that provide different perspectives on LGBTQIA+ issues. We’ve come quite a long way since Little Dog was written, so it feels a little dated. The character Mitchell buys into the fear that he can’t be a box office star and openly gay, and can’t accept that being gay is just part of who he is. He worries about how others will view him. He listens to his high-pressure agent Diane, rather than to Alex, the hustler with whom he falls in love.

The story is about Mitchell and Alex, as told by Diane. Her storytelling is sharp and direct. The world of the play reflects that. The hotel room is the key location of the story. The dramatic action begins and ends there. It is the source of Mitchell’s underlying conflict: the private versus the public sphere. The hotel is Mitchell’s private space, and has the most realistic elements.

The surround is the constant reminder of Mitchell’s public celebrity persona. It is bounded by red carpet and backed with panels that echo the step and repeats of the press line. The words on them include gay “labels” or identifiers that might be going through Mitchell’s head as he struggles with who he is. Here are some of the inspiration images.

This was done in a black box space. I did reconfigure some of the usual entry paths to allow Diane’s first entrance to come through the audience, and for the audience to feel they were also on the red carpet.

Show Credits (visual components)

Direction by Carly Mungovan
Costume Design by Bobby Vlasic
Lighting Design by Russ Blain

Technical Direction by Curtis Mortimore