About the Play
Dramedy. 10 minutes. 2 males. Suitable for high school actors (or possibly skilled, mature middle school actors) or older.
Premiered at NativeAliens Theatre Collective (New York, NY). Originally developed with the assistance of Rosie Best and the students of Toledo School for the Arts, and then read as part of the Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights / City of West Hollywood Lesbian & Gay Playreading Festival.
The Cooking Gene is also available as part of On the Edge: Challenging Short Plays for Teen Actors, a collection that may be produced in any order (and with any plays left out).
Synopsis
When a high school home economics family budgeting assignment requires each student to pick a pretend spouse, a gay teen chooses his boyfriend. But not everyone may be ready for this "marriage," including his future husband...
"Jonathan Dorf's writing soars above the typical fare we've looked at for young actors. In The Cooking Gene he takes what can be a challenging subject and manages to make it funny and touching and genuine at the same time. Our audiences were moved by this lovely piece of work." - Donald Shenk, Artistic Director, StillSpeaking Theatre (San Marino, CA)
"The Cooking Gene was awesome! If I were a teacher, I would definitely put it into my forensics rotation... I think it poses a rewarding challenge for young actors because the characters are so candid and well drawn. It's just the sort of material I wish more teachers and students would take a risk on." - Bradley Hayward, professional playwright