Dark comedy/ 6 Characters, 2 Men (with doubling), 2 Women/ One Act, 75 minutes
Synopsis:
March 1996. 30-something Marge’s reverie about the single man on her milk carton is interrupted by the news — broadcast by the mysterious Blondie — that a teller at the local bank is dead and that there are still no leads in the ten-year old theft of a carton of milk from Sam’s 24 Hour Market. Marge’s seven-year old son Jackie tells her that his younger sister and he poisoned the cookies they gave the bank teller. As the police arrive, Marge flees, leaving her children to fend for themselves.
Limping along the highway, Marge accepts a ride from Bruce, the man on the milk carton. On the run from “milk,” a conspiratorial corporate entity, Bruce persuades her to join him in a quest to find Rufus, a reputed freelance version of the witness protection program rumored to be somewhere in Montana. Their quest takes them through Nevada and Idaho, as they steal cars, break into slot machines, rearrange dairy cases and yell “fire” in a half-crowded theater — and eventually follow Blondie to a dairy farm in Montana. Will Rufus give them the new identies they crave? What about Marge’s children? And what if the milk conspiracy turns out to be reality . . ?
“Dorf has a wonderful knack for writing snappy, slyly politically incorrect dialogue, which feels like a collaboration between Woody Allen and David Mamet . . . beguiling . . .”
– Backstage
Most of of Milk and Cookies may be read by clicking on the “Read It Now” button. To obtain a complete reading copy, please see the Contact Information on this page.
Amateur and professional rights:
Jonathan Dorf
7125 De Longpre Ave. #209
Los Angeles, CA
USA 90046
E-mail: jon@jondorf.com
Playwright’s website: www.jonathandorf.com
About the Playwright: Jonathan Dorf has had his plays produced across the United States, as well as in several foreign countries, including stagings of his work by Walnut Street Theatre, Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey, Ensemble Studio Theatre – LA and the Pittsburgh New Works Festival. Mr. Dorf is the co-chair of the Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights, the former managing director of the Philadelphia Dramatists Center and a member of the Dramatists Guild of America. He has also written several produced short screenplays and a number of feature scripts.
In addition to writing for stage and screen, he serves as the resident playwriting expert for Final Draft: he created “Ask the Expert” Playwriting for their scriptwriting software and also writes a column about playwriting for their website. He is resident playwriting expert for The Writers Store, for whom he created Playwriting 101.com, and he also contributes regularly to their e-zine. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College with a degree in dramatic writing and literature and holds an MFA in playwriting from UCLA. He is available to playwrights and screenwriters as a script consultant.
Milk and Cookies premiered at the Sidewalk Studio Theatre, Burbank, California, 2008.