DOGS
5F 1M - Full Length - 85-95 min
It is the Fourth of July sometime in the future, and history is about to be made. We are about to witness the annual Hot Dog Eating Contest. The five women invited to this stage have set out to conquer nature, destroy their own limits, and shatter our perception of what the human body is or isn’t capable of. DOGS is a dizzying, anti-plot, high-intensity exploration of capitalism, competition, and consumption that poses the question: how long can we keep all this up?
Production and Development History
World Premiere, Red Theater, Chicago, IL, November 1-24, 2024
Workshop, The Ground Floor at Berkeley Rep Fall Residency Lab, Berkeley, CA, November 2022
Commission, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival Confluence Writers Project, St. Louis, MO, September 2022-April 2023
Honors
Nominee “Best New Work”, Joseph Jefferson Awards, Non-Equity, Chicago, IL 2025
Nominee “Best Ensemble”, Joseph Jefferson Awards, Non-Equity, Chicago, IL 2025
Nominee “Best Performer in a Supporting Role — Stephanie Shum”, Joseph Jefferson Awards, Non-Equity, Chicago, IL 2025
Semifinalist, Ashland New Play Festival, Ashland, OR, June 2024
Semifinalist, Premiere Stages Play Festival, Union, NJ, June 2024
Press
“This play is a must-see! It’s extremely well-written, well-staged, well-acted and too funny!” — Debra Day, Splash Magazine, “DOGS review- Red Theater takes a bite out of the competition”
“Playwright Hanna Kime insures they’re as funny and multi-dimensional as they are just plain smart. In short, they’re nothing that you’d expect.” — Mitchell Oldham, Stage and Cinema, “Theater Review: DOGS (Red Theater in Chicago)”
“DOGS is a funny, fast-moving and only slightly disgusting eating competition.” — Nancy S. Bishop, Third Coast Review, “Review: DOGS by Red Theater Portrays Five Women in Red-Hot Competition”
Production Photos by Faith Decker, Wannabe Studio
Show Specs
CHARACTERS
ONE…………………….Naomi Bell, 24-25, she/her, BIPOC, the best and she knows it
TWO……………………Val Davis, 30-32, she/her, any race, once the best, resentful that she isn’t anymore
THREE…………………Trish Peck, 26-28, she/her, any race, never won, doesn’t care, knows too much
FOUR…………………..Carol Martin, 40s, she/her, white, has been doing this for decades
FIVE……………………Paige Long, 20, she/her, any race, her first time and she’s so thrilled to be here
HOST……………..……20s-40s, he/him, any race, not quite nice enough to be a himbo