Bark Park

Life from both ends of the lead

A Play from Two Perspectives

by
Jim Dalglish

Jim Dalglish
20 Dory Lane
Eastham, MA 02642
(617) 308-0788 (m)

JimDalglish@mac.com
www.jimdalglish.com

Bark Park copyright © by Jim Dalglish

It is an infringement of the copyright to give any performance or
public reading of this play without permission by the playwright.
Mia
(Part One)

Characters
Mia – Beautiful, ambitious woman in her late twenties, early thirties. She has
come to New York on a mission.
Mike – The “Mayor” of the dog run near Strawberry Fields in Central Park. A
man who has lived in New York for 20 years. Though quite gregarious with
strangers, he keeps his personal problems to himself.

Setting
Place
A dog run in Central Park. Not too far from Strawberry Fields. Other
Locales: A clearing on top of a rocky outcropping in The Ramble; a field
next to the statue of Balto, the sled dog; and Mike’s 6-story walk-up in Hells
Kitchen.
Time
Winter, Spring and Summer of this year.

Scenic Elements
No Set. An open stage with subtle lighting cues will suffice.

Synopsis
Mia has a problem with her new border collie. Or is it the other way around?

Truman p. 2
Scene 1
(The sound of a dog run in New York’s Central Park.
Sound effects note: Except for this establishing effect, the dog sound
effects can be minimal. The audience “hears” the dogs barking and
fighting by watching the actor’s reactions.
Lights up.
Mike – a man who you might assume is average in almost every way,
until you look closer – stands center stage. Winter is in full force, yet his
winter jacket is a little threadbare. He is engaged in a conversation with
someone we can’t see.)
MIKE
Hey, Pete. Happy holidays. … Yeah, winter’s hitting us early this year.
(Mia enters. Despite the weather and the Burberry trench coat she
wears, it’s obvious that she knows how to dress for work in a tasteful
way that still shows off her considerable assets. She wears absurdly
high heals. She gazes at Mike with a smile. She is invisible to him.)
Not too bad. How’s it going for you?
MIA
(To the audience:) That’s him.
MIKE
(Continuing to talk to the unseen Pete:) Good.
MIA
This is the way I remember him.
MIKE
Hmmm?
MIA
This is where we met.
MIKE
Yeah. It’s been awhile, about a month.
MIA
A dog run in Central Park.
MIKE

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 1

You heard? … She told you…. Yeah, that’s the reason. Haven’t felt like getting out
much lately. But today, thought I’d come back, see what all her doggy pals are up to.
Kinda strange not having her here with me. You know?
MIA
This is the day we met.
MIKE
Thanks. I appreciate it. I miss her.
MIA
A day like any other. But it wasn’t. It took me awhile to figure that out.
MIKE
No. It was my decision. It just got to be time. I think we both knew. I could see it in
her eyes. … Hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. … Furry bits of heartache.
MIA
This is a love story.
MIKE
Another one? I need a little more time before I get a new dog.
MIA
Forget I said that. About it being a love story.
MIKE
Truman’s looking good. Guarding the whole park like usual. Where’s Brian?
MIA
I hate love stories.
MIKE
Oh. That… that sucks. Maybe he’ll….
MIA
I don’t know what kind of story this is.
MIKE
But you guys were together, how many years?
MIA
I guess I’m still trying to figure it out.
MIKE
Ten years. Huh.
MIA
I came to New York to conquer. I had a lot of expectations when I landed at JFK.
Doesn’t everyone think they know New York before they actually get here? Most
evaporated within a few weeks.

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 2

 MIKE
Sorry, Pete.
MIA
Why am I telling you this? To a room of complete strangers?
MIKE
That’s rough.
MIA
That’s what we are. Right?
MIKE
Yeah. People. You let them get close and then…
MIA
You may have come here with the person next to you.
MIKE
You can’t count on them.
MIA
But look to the other side… or behind.
MIKE
They’re not like dogs.
MIA
Strangers.
MIKE
Dogs are different.
MIA
By the end of the story we’ll be something else.
MIKE
Dogs you can trust.
MIA
You’ll have to trust me.
MIKE
Sorry, Pete.
MIA
A lot of shit comes back to me when I think about my life in New York. And I mean
shit, because that’s how most of it makes me feel most of the time. But not this part.
Not him. Look at him. (She smiles.)
(Mike looks at something off stage.)
MIKE

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 3

New border collie?
MIA
He’s seeing her for the first time. My dog.
MIKE
Whoa. Wow. Look at her go.
(He laughs – getting a kick out of the spirit of the unseen dog.)
Now, that one is a handful.
MIA
Putting it mildly.
(Mike “hears” the sound of a slightly hysterical dachshund attacking the
hyperactive collie.)
MIKE
That’s it, Jimmy. Go get that collie!
(He laughs.)
MIA
The dachshund’s owner freaks.
MIKE
Calm down, Stella.
MIA
Stella weights 300 pounds if she weighs an ounce.
MIKE
Jimmy’s going to be fine. The collie just has him a little worked up.
MIA
Big girl has strapped reindeer antlers on her dog for the holidays.
MIKE
(Back to the unseen Pete:) Who owns the collie?
(Mike looks over to a spot a little ways from him stage left.)
MIA
I see none of this because I have more important things to do.
(Mia takes out a smart phone and begins to text angrily. She steps into
the stage left spot. She has entered the scene.)
Shit. Shit. Shit.
MIKE
(To Pete:) She’s coming back around. Better get Truman.

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 4

 (Mike winces at something he has just seen. Probably Pete’s German
shepherd snarling, lunging and biting at and the border collie.)
Oh… ouch… Stella, you might want to pick up Jimmy.
MIA
(Still texting:) Goddam it…
MIKE
(To Mia:) Um… Miss? Miss?
MIA
What?
MIKE
Your dog?
MIA
Yeah?
MIKE
The collie, right?
MIA
What about her?
MIKE
Do you see what’s going on out there?
MIA
What about it?
MIKE
Are you kidding?
MIA
She’s a puppy. That’s how they play.
MIKE
The other dogs don’t like it.
MIA
It’s a dog park. She’s a dog.
MIKE
You don’t know how this works. Do you?
MIA
What? I need to buy a special pass…?
MIKE
…Your first time here…?
MIA

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 5

… take a test…? Doesn’t say that on the sign.
MIKE
Control your dog.
(There is a stand off. Mia puts her phone in her Gucci bag.)
MIA
(Yelling offstage:) Sarah Jessica. Sarah Jessica. Come. Come here. Sarah
Jessica.
MIKE
That worked.
MIA
Come, girl. Sarah Jessica, you come here right this minute.
MIKE
How long have you had her?
MIA
Picked her up yesterday.
MIKE
From a breeder?
MIA
It’s the only way you know what you’re getting. Sarah Jessica!
MIKE
You just got her, she probably doesn’t know her…
MIA
I told those people her name a month ago.
MIKE
Looks like they didn’t tell her.
MIA
She was supposed to come trained.
MIKE
Really? Huh.
MIA
Sarah Jessica!
MIKE
Your first dog?
MIA
Yeah. Come! Now!
MIKE

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 6

Why don’t you…?
MIA
In these heels?
(Mike tracks the collie across the stage and is suddenly concerned.)
MIKE
That pit bull is not going to like that.
MIA
Sarah Jessica! No! No! No!
MIKE
Give me the lead.
(Mike takes the invisible lead draped around Mia’s neck.
He exits stage right.)
MIKE’S VOICE
Come here, girl. Come on, girl.
MIA
Sarah Jessica! Do as he says!
MIKE’S VOICE
He doesn’t like that. He doesn’t play that way. Paul, could you grab your dog?
MIA
Get your vicious pit bull away from my dog! Sarah Jessica!
(Her eyes widen as she “sees” the pit bull attack her dog.)
Sarah Jessica!
(She calms down as Mike re-enters. He appears to be carrying a
squirming border collie. He grips her muzzle with one hand. His other
hand and wrist are bleeding.)
Is she okay?
MIKE
She’ll live.
(Mia’s phone rings from inside her purse. The ring tone is the theme
song from “Sex in the City.” She hurriedly removes it from the bag.)
MIA
(Into the phone:) It’s Mia.
(Mike glares at Mia. She sees him.)
I’ll call you right back.

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 7

 (She hangs up and puts the phone back in her purse. Mike crouches as
if to put the dog down, but continues to hold her muzzle.)
You’re bleeding.
MIKE
She nailed me. Nailed me good.
MIA
You grabbed her. A strange man she doesn’t know.
MIKE
I saved her from getting her throat ripped open.
MIA
They shouldn’t allow pit bulls in public parks.
MIKE
You got a fear biter here. When she gets upset, she bites.
MIA
You going to let go of her mouth?
MIKE
After she calms down.
MIA
(To off-stage.) They should keep those vicious animals in the fighting ring where they
belong. I know you guys. Your dog fight for you? That the deal? Need a little extra
for child support? Work for it, you unemployed, over-inked, under-endowed asshole.
(Mike laughs.)
What’s so funny?
MIKE
That’s a rescue dog. (To Paul offstage:) Is Hugo okay, Paul? … Yeah. He held back.
You’re making progress. … This one? She’s fine. (To the dog he holds:) Hey. Now,
now, now. Settle down. (Back to Paul:) I’ll be okay. Don’t worry.
MIA
You going to let her go?
MIKE
Is she lead trained?
MIA
What do you mean?
MIKE
Guess not.

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 8

 (Mike lets the dog go. He holds the invisible lead. From Mike’s
gestures it looks like the dog is fighting the lead.)
Settle down, girl. Settle down. Stella? Do you have a liver snap you and Jimmy
could spare?
(He mimes catching the liver snap and breaks it in two with his mouth.)
Thanks.
(He holds up the invisible liver snap for the dog to see.)
Look what I have. Yeah. You smell it, don’t you. Licking your lips like that. You want
it, girl? You gotta come here and get it. Come on. I’m not going to hurt you. Come
on, girl.
(He mimes feeding the snap to the dog and gathering in the lead.)
That’s it. That’s my girl. That’s my girl.
(From his gestures it looks like the dog is fighting the lead again.)
No. No. No. Want another treat? Huh? Come on. That’s it. That’s my… Sarah
Jessica… Nice and calm.
(He pets the collie.)
You don’t mean to be bad. You just get excited. That’s all.
MIA
You’re getting blood on her fur.
MIKE
Here you go.
MIA
(He tries to hand her the lead.)
What am I supposed to…?
(Instead of taking the offered lead, she rummages through her purse.)
Let me get you a… Kleenex?
(He takes the Kleenex and wipes the blood off his hand. Mike has
calmed the dog down a little, but through the next lines she tugs at the
lead occasionally.)
MIKE
Thanks.
MIA
Which one is yours? Your dog?

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 9

 MIKE
None of them.
MIA
Oh.
MIKE
I had to put mine down last month. You have a ball or a toy or something she can
play with?
MIA
No. So you just come here to…?
MIKE
Where did you get her?
MIA
Upstate. Her father is a national specialty winner….
MIKE
…Four months old?
MIA
About.
MIKE
This is a big change for her. All the cars and people and noises and smells and all
the dogs in every shape and size. A lot to take in.
(He pats his thighs. The dog jumps up on them. He pets her.)
(To the dog:) Even for such a smart girl like you. And you are a smart girl. I can see
it in your eyes. (To Mia:) Don’t take her off the lead until she’s ready.
MIA
Great.
MIKE
How often do you walk her?
MIA
Before and after work. I’m crate training her.
MIKE
She needs more exercise than that.
(Her phone rings again. She answers it.)
MIA
It’s Mia. … Status? … When? … That’s unacceptable, Kimberly. … No. I want it
tonight. … That’s unacceptable, Kimberly. Unacceptable. (Pause while she thinks.)

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 10

Okay. Save whatever you have to Basecamp. Then pack all your stuff in a box and
put your pass-card on my desk… Yes. That’s exactly what I’m doing.
(She hangs up.)
MIKE
Impressive.
MIA
You just hang around dog parks. That your thing?
MIKE
I guess so.
MIA
I’ll take my dog back now.
(She takes the lead from Mike. From Mia’s gestures it looks like the dog
is going nuts.)
Stop. Sit. Sit. Sarah Jessica! Calm down, dammit!
(Mike crouches and calls to the dog.)
MIKE
Come here, girl. That’s it. Good, girl. That’s my girl. (To Mia:) You sure this is a
good idea?
MIA
What?
MIKE
How committed are you to owning a dog?
MIA
I gave up Pilates for this.
MIKE
Two 15-minute walks a day isn’t cutting it.
MIA
I work.
MIKE
(To offstage right:) Jake? Wait up a second. (To the dog:) Stay, girl. Good girl.
(Mike exits stage right.)
MIKE’S VOICE
You have a card on you?
MIA
(Speaking into her phone:) Siri, find me a licensed dog-walker nearby.

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 11

 (Mike re-enters with “card.”)
MIKE
Jake’s a great guy. He’s been doing this for…
(Mia holds up her phone.)
SIRI’S VOICE
I found 42 places matching “Dog Walker” that are nearby.
MIKE
Okay.
(Mia’s distracted by the dog.)
MIA
Good, girl. That’s my girl. See? Wasn’t that fun? Outside. Outside. That’s what
Outside is for. What you just did there. Now we can go home.
MIKE
Not a good idea.
MIA
Why?
MIKE
If she knows she goes home after she does her business, she’ll hold it as long as
possible just so she can play a little longer.
MIA
Really.
MIKE
She’s a smart girl. I can tell.
MIA
Then she’ll figure out how to live with me. On my terms.
(Mia begins to exit.)
MIKE
Uh… You better. Ummm…
MIA
What?
MIKE
Clean up after your dog.
(Another stand off.)
It’s on the sign.
MIA

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 12

You still have that Kleenex?
MIKE
(To offstage:) Stella, can you and Jimmy spare a baggie?
(He crosses a short distance away and mimes grabbing a baggie. She
crosses to where the dog relieved herself and mimes scooping the
excrement up with the baggie. He ties it closed and hands it off to Mia.
She is repulsed.)
Better get used to it. Nice meeting you, Sarah Jessica. Maybe we we’ll run into each
other again soon. Keep an eye out for her. She needs your help.
MIA
You talking to me or my dog?
(He laughs.)
MIKE
There’s a garbage bin over there.
(She exits. Then comes back.)
MIA
This is all new to me. New town. New dog.
MIKE
Takes getting used to.
MIA
You going to be okay?
MIKE
Just a scratch.
MIA
Are you sure?
MIKE
I’ll live.
MIA
I’m sorry.
MIKE
She didn’t mean it. Just got carried away. Sometimes that happens. You find
yourself in a stressful situation and you do something you don’t mean.
MIA
Thanks.
MIKE

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 13

My name’s Mike.
MIA
Thanks… Mike.
MIKE
You’re welcome… Mia.
(She looks at him a little surprised. He mimes answering a phone.)
It’s Mia.
(As she exits, she speed-dials her phone.)
MIA
Kyle… Could you call Kimberly and do a little damage control. I think I just fired her.
(Exits.)
MIKE
Hey, Pete. You see that? (Laughs.) Pretty bitch… Which one? Both.
(Lighting transition.
Mia to the audience.)
MIA
I walked her home. My dog. Across Central Park West. Down 71st. Past our
Russian doorman. Into the elevator. Up to the 26th floor. Down the hall and into my
apartment. Without incident. I collapsed on the couch and fell asleep with the TV on.
I woke at dawn to find my purse ripped to shreds – bits of Kleenex littered all over the
floor – the heals of half of my pumps gnawed off and she had torn the handle off the
hallway door. By the time the super got the hinges off and let us out, she had done
her business in the middle of my bed.
(Lights out.)

Scene 2
(Lights up.
Mike stands center stage. Same coat, but this time he wears worn out
leather gloves.
He is talking to the unseen Stella.)
MIKE

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 14

Stella. Haven’t seen you around in a while. … Aruba. That would explain the tan.
Happy Valentines Day. And to Jimmy too.
(Mia enters being tugged by her dog.)
MIA
Sarah!
(Mike crouches to play with Stella’s dachshund.)
MIKE
That’s quite the sweater you got going there, little guy. Ah … You are a lover. You
think Jimmy likes these deely-bobs on his head, Stella?
MIA
Sarah Jessica!
MIKE
There he goes!
MIA
Heal! Dammit!
MIKE
Jimmy still hasn’t warmed up to that collie, has he?
MIA
I said, heal!
(Mike slaps his thighs. He mimes petting the border collie as her front
legs stand on his thighs.)
MIKE
Hey, girl. How’s it going today?
MIA
You’re here.
MIKE
You too.
MIA
During the day.
MIKE
Yep.
MIA
Haven’t seen you in the evenings.
MIKE
Changed my schedule. Breaks up my day better. How’s my girl doing?

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 15

 MIA
She’s excited to see you.
MIKE
Sit, girl. Sit. That’s my girl.
MIA
How’d you…? No. Seriously… how did you…?
MIKE
We’ve been practicing.
MIA
Oh?
MIKE
A few times. When I happened to be here.
MIA
When I wasn’t around.
MIKE
I guess.
MIA
You know that’s creepy. Right?
MIKE
I haven’t see you in a while, girl. (To Mia:) Take the day off?
MIA
My walker did. Permanent holiday.
MIKE
Sorry to hear that.
MIA
Third one. I don’t get it. She’s a dog. They’re dog walkers. If you can’t hack your job
you shouldn’t do it.
MIKE
That’s one way to look at it.
MIA
Plus… they all have three or four dogs going at once. She wasn’t getting the special
attention she needs. What? You think that’s funny? Okay.
(Mia wants to move on, but her dog won’t let her.)
Come, Sarah Jessica. Come. Now.
MIKE
Go on, girl.

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 16

 (Mia walks the collie a short distance away from Mike.)
MIA
Oh… Is this one of your new friends? What a sweet doggy. He wants to be your
buddy.
MIKE
Um… Mia?
MIA
See? You can be a nice girl when you want to be.
MIKE
She’s flagging.
MIA
What a sweetheart. Good girl! Oh, look. More friends.
MIKE
You don’t want that to happen.
MIA
Oh… this one’s getting frisky. Don’t fight, boys. She can play with all of you.
MIKE
Her… business end…
MIA
So she’s having her period.
MIKE
You know it’s different for dogs, right?
MIA
Okay, boys. Settle down!
MIKE
You want a litter on the ground in 63 days?
MIA
What do you mean?
MIKE
She’s in a full-standing heat.
MIA
Heat? Oh, Jesus. Why didn’t you say so! Stop it! She doesn’t want that.
MIKE
That’s not what her body’s saying.
MIA
Get off her! Knock it off!

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 17

 (Trying to get the dogs of the collie is obviously too much for Mia.)
Help me. Please?
MIKE
(He crosses toward Mia.)
(To offstage:) Guys?! Come and get your dogs. Kevin? That one’s yours, right?
(He separates the dogs from the collie. He has to threaten to kick the
last one to get him off.)
Get away, fellas. This is one of those times where yes means no. Go on. Get!
MIA
Now what?
MIKE
Get her out of the run.
MIA
She hasn’t done her business…
MIKE
I know a place that’s more secluded.
(She is suspicious.)
What? Don’t worry, I’ll keep the dogs off her.
(Lighting transition.
Mia steps into her spot and speaks to the audience.)
MIA
We walked over a bridge. Around the pond and through a section of the park I’d never
seen before. The Rambles. We came out on the top of a rock outcropping. Steep
cliffs on three sides with a clearing on the top. Grass. Or what would be grass if
spring were ever to come again.
(Lighting transition.)
MIKE
I’ll make sure she doesn’t go back down the path.
MIA
Who knew this was here. You can’t even hear the traffic.
(He mimes throwing a ball for the dog.)
MIKE
Go get it girl. Come. Stop. Drop it.
(He mimes catching the ball.)

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 18

 MIA
What?
MIKE
Good girl!
MIA
How did you…?
MIKE
She’s a smart girl.
MIA
She won’t even chase the ball for me.
MIKE
Do you enjoy it?
MIA
What?
MIKE
Playing fetch.
MIA
Not particularly.
MIKE
She knows that.
MIA
And this is your idea of a good time?
MIKE
Look how happy it makes her.
MIA
She likes you.
MIKE
I’m kind of fond of her.
MIA
She hates me.
MIKE
I don’t think so…
MIA
You know how many duvet covers I’ve gone through? How many tubes of lipstick?
I’m not sleeping because she wines whenever I put her in her crate. I let her out
and… She came this close to electrocuting herself last night – power cord to my

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 19

laptop. I’m developing tendinitis in my shoulder from her lunging at squirrels,
postmen, women wearing hats, construction workers, ambulances, black people. I
think she’s a racist.
(Her phone buzzes. She reads it and begins to text.)
I want this to work. But it is killing me.
(Her dog has jumped on her.)
Knock it off. Down. And this. She won’t let me text in peace. I take out my phone
and she goes ape-shit.
MIKE
Why the dog?
MIA
What?
MIKE
Why the dog?
MIA
I saw a program on PBS. Dogs in Scotland who herd sheep… like across a river
valley. Their owners on one side… with binoculars. Whistling. And the dogs would...
They were so smart. The dogs on the show. But this one.
MIKE
She’s smarter than you think.
MIA
She won’t do anything I say.
MIKE
She will never understand all your words. But her senses are 100 times more
powerful than yours. She reads the tone of your voice, your body language. She
understands how you’re feeling just by the way you smell. She knows you in ways
you will never know yourself. And this one… A border collie? She’s like a Ferrari.
You ready for a Ferrari?
(This brings her up short.)
Why the dog?
MIA
For a city so huge… so many people… so much going on. It can be little…. My
business partner… my boyfriend, actually… Kyle… is on the West Coast setting up
our production lines. I’m here to put the deal together so we can cash out. That was
the plan. It’s just taking me a little longer than anticipated. In the meantime, my life is

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 20

pretty much defined by my 16-hour workdays, my empty co-op on the park and my
office over on Lex and 59th.
MIKE
She needs someone she can trust. Who will look out for her. Who will try to
understand her as hard as she is trying to understand you. She will meet you more
than half way. But you gotta start.
(He offers her the “ball.” She takes it and throws it.)
MIA
Fetch!!!
(The dog has obviously not moved. Mike crosses off stage. He with a
chastising look.)
MIKE
Try it again.
(She throws the ball again.)
MIA
Go get it, girl! That’s it. Bring it back. Stop. Drop. (Genuinely:) That was fun. Who
knew?
(Her phone rings. It’s a text.)
Shit.
(She dials.)
Kimberly. What did I say before I left the office? … AT&T? … Sprint? …
Reschedule. … That’s not good enough. … No. That’s unacceptable. If you can’t set
something up by the end of the week….
(She looks at her dog. Then to Mike. Then back to her dog.)
Kimberly… I know you’re trying. This has been tough. I got a little intense there.
Didn’t I? I’ll be back in the office in 30 minutes and we can strategize together how to
get those two sons of bitches in the same room. Okay? Now go out and grab some
lunch. Take the company card. Great.
(She hangs up the phone. Mike has knelt next to the dog.)
MIKE
What’s the thing on her collar?
MIA
A prototype of my product. Stick it and it sticks to you.
MIKE
Ok.

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 21

 MIA
It’s a tag that lets you track your stuff.
MIKE
I think I’ve seen something like that….
MIA
Not like this. It’s made from materials that naturally reflect 4-G signals. No power
source. No batteries. Kind of like a bicycle reflector. Each has a unique, track-able
code. Kyle’s figuring out how to refine them, practically to the point of invisibility. Not
that we’d go to market with transparent ones. I’m insisting that they can be seen by
the naked eye and clearly branded. Privacy issues.
MIKE
Think it will sell?
MIA
Obviously. (Thinks:) Why? You don’t think so?
(He shrugs.)
Think of all your valuable things. Don’t you want to know where they are?
MIKE
I don’t have a lot of stuff.
MIA
Still… you must have something in your life that’s important. Imagine if you lost it.
MIKE
When things disappear there’s usually a reason.
MIA
Of course.
MIKE
What if it doesn’t want to come back? Will your tag be able to tell me why?
MIA
I don’t think you’re getting the product.
MIKE
(Reading the tag:) Flector?
MIA
Company name. We call them Flectors. Don’t laugh.
MIKE
IPO?
MIA

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 22

Right now it works on home networks. But If I can get the major carriers to agree on a
detection protocol, we’ll be able to track nation wide. Unfortunately those bozos are
too busy trying to use us to screw each other over. It’s all macho gamesmanship.
You New Yorkers… tough crowd.
MIKE
Been here 20 years and still don’t consider myself a New Yorker.
MIA
Where are you from?
MIKE
Omaha.
MIA
A square state.
MIKE
Ummm… It’s not exactly a….
MIA
I’ve flown over it four times in the past five weeks. Is anyone in this town really from
here?
MIKE
Where did you grow up?
MIA
Sonoma. But I consider myself from Palo Alto. It’s where I got my MBA.
MIA & MIKE (IN UNISON)
Stanford.
MIA
Yeah. 20 years in New York?
MIKE
Yep.
MIA
Where’s your place?
MIKE
Hells Kitchen.
(She’s a little surprised.)
Blue liked the run up here better than the parks closer to home.
MIA
Your…?
MIKE

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 23

Dog,
MIA
Nice name.
MIKE
She had blue eyes.
MIA
Pretty.
MIKE
She had her own look.
MIA
What breed?
MIKE
Hines 57
MIA
Never heard of it.
MIKE
I got her from the pound.
MIA
What do you do? For work?
MIKE
I freelance.
MIA
Where?
MIKE
I work out of my place.
MIA
What field?
MIKE
Publishing. Books mostly.
MIA
That’s tough.
MIKE
Yep.
MIA
Talk about an industry in a free fall. May as well be music.
MIKE

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 24

It’s what I know.
MIA
Rent or own?
MIKE
Rent.
MIA
Rent controlled?
MIKE
Um… Yeah.
(She begins to rummage through her bag as she speaks.)
MIA
Married?
MIKE
No.
MIA
Seeing someone?
MIKE
I guess I’m better with dogs.
MIA
You could use a little extra money. Couldn’t you?
MIKE
A lot of questions.
(She hands him an apartment key. He takes it. A little confused.)
MIA
I try to get to know all my employees.
(Lighting transition.
Mia steps into her spot.)
That’s how he became my dog walker. And that’s when I felt the first connection to
this city. A stranger you meet in a park. You hire him to walk your dog. And a place
filled with 2 million aggressive, driven, neurotic egomaniacs, becomes a little more
human. And with that little connection, you begin to see a way to be a little more
human yourself.
Work was… challenging. The IPO wasn’t going to fly without the four major players
cooperating. Our funding was running out and Kyle was getting impatient.
Impatience spread across a three-thousand-mile phone connection can start to seem

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 25

like disappointment, anger and distrust. And when we managed to be together –
when I’d fly back to the Valley - those feelings bloomed too easily into hostility and
recriminations. He had the patents. I had the ideas. I was running out of those.
In the middle of all that. When I couldn’t face the latest shit storm at work, I’d walk to
the park when I knew he would be there. With my girl.
(Lighting transition.
Mike center stage. Mia still at her spot speaking to the audience.)
MIKE
Hey, Pete. Truman come home?
MIA
It was like he was the mayor of the Strawberry Fields Dog Run.
MIKE
Yeah, I’ve been looking.
MIA
Everyone liked him.
MIKE
Yesterday we headed up into the Rambles calling his name…
MIA
The friendliest guy, but how well did they know him? His last name? Where he lived?
Did they know anything about his personal life?
MIKE
Nothing.
MIA
I started to notice things. Maybe I was developing a few new senses I never knew I
had before.
MIKE
He’s a good dog.
MIA
Things obviously were not going well for him professionally. But there was something
else. Something inside. A hurt. I couldn’t put my finger on it.
MIKE
Truman’s just sewing his wild oats.
MIA
I’d bring him a sandwich. Or maybe a new stocking cap. One time, a pair of leather
gloves. But I couldn’t figure out how to find the deeper part. The part on the other
side of the halfway point where we met. That’s a skill I hadn’t learned yet.

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 26

 MIKE
He’ll come back.
(Mia enters the scene.)
It’s Mia.
MIA
Hey, girl. Yes. That’s my girl. Good girl. (To Mike:) Thanks for picking up my dry
cleaning.
MIKE
No problem.
(She hands him an envelope.)
What’s this?
MIA
Turandot. Two tickets. You like opera. That’s what you said.
MIKE
I do. Dress Circle. Center. Wow.
MIA
You said you hadn’t been in a while. Right?
MIKE
That’s…. Incredible. How’d you…? Two tickets?
MIA
I thought… if there was someone you’d like to take…
MIKE
Oh… Um… Do you want to come along?
MIA
Opera’s not my thing.
MIKE
Okay. Uh…. Here… give this one to someone who you think would…
MIA
You sure?
(He nods.)
You’ll go. Right?
MIKE
Sure.
MIA
Okay. Come here, girl.

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 27

 (Mia kneels down and mimes holding her dog. She closes her eyes
tightly and exhales.)
MIKE
Work?
MIA
How’d you guess? How about you? Pick up a new project?
MIKE
I’m hanging out with Teddy Roosevelt today.
MIA
Is he a good companion?
MIKE
According to this book, fascinating. But a little self-destructive toward the end. Lost
sight of who he was. Kind of sad.
MIA
Do you like your work?
MIKE
Um… Yeah. I do.
MIA
Why?
MIKE
Every book takes you somewhere. Paris in the 20s. The moonshot in ’69. A whole
new place.
MIA
Far away from your studio apartment in Hells Kitchen?
MIKE
Sometimes that’s better that actually walking out the door.
MIA
The dog park?
MIKE
Well… that’s different. You know how dogs are…
MIA
And how people are when they’re around them.
MIKE
Kyle coming out this weekend?
MIA
Cancelled.

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 28

 MIKE
If you want to fly out, she can stay with me again.
MIA
We decided that I needed to stay here and work.
MIKE
I gotta show you something. Come on, girl. Show Mia what you can do. One…
two… three… Jump. Jump. Jump.
MIA
It’s like she’s a bouncing lamb!
MIKE
That’s it. That’s my girl! Try it. Go on girl. Listen to Mia.
MIA
Sarah Jessica. One… two… three… Jump. Jump. Jump. Come here, girl. Good,
girl!
MIKE
She likes you.
MIA
I’m kind of fond of her.
MIKE
Beautiful day.
MIA
Spring. Finally.
(Lighting transition.
Mia steps to her spot and talks to the audience.)
There’s a tree in Central Park. I don’t know what kind it is, because I’ve never paid
any attention to that sort of thing. Maybe it was always there… since before the
Indians traded the Island for trinkets. Maybe it was hand-planted on land cleared
when they built the park. I don’t know. But it’s on a hill. Not too far from the sculpture
of Balto – the sled dog that rescued some Alaskan town from diphtheria or something.
It’s not the tallest tree in the park. But its limbs reach up and out, into a perfect.... A
perfect… I don’t know what… but it’s… perfect. And in the spring it has the most
gorgeous light pink blossoms. Once Mike could trust her off a lead, that’s where he
started taking her.
(Lighting transition
Mike is seen setting up a row of cones. They are invisible to the
audience.)

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 29

 MIKE
Hey.
MIA
Where are you today?
MIKE
Venice. With Ruskin.
MIA
That’s good news. Cones?
MIKE
Yeah. Blue and I use to play with these. Agility exercises. I thought I’d see how she
takes to it.
MIA
Sounds good.
MIKE
Let’s try something new, Girl!
(Lighting transition.
Mia at her spot.
In the background, Mike can be seen “training” the dog to go through the
cones.)
MIA
When you walk down the street in New York, you pass tens of thousands of people
every day. People you don’t know. Will probably never see again. And without
knowing it, you’ve negotiated a deal with every one of those people.
MIKE
Go. Right, girl. Go right.
MIA
Right there on the sidewalk.
MIKE
Left.
MIA
Left.
MIKE
Right.
MIA
Right.
MIKE

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 30

Stop.
MIA
Stop.
MIKE
Go.
MIA
Go. Kind of like the murmurations of starlings in the evening sky. Murmuration… isn’t
that the term? You’ve seen the videos, right? The constantly shifting, pulsing
patterns of thousands of starlings as they try to find a place to settle for the night. It’s
mesmerizing. In New York, the worse thing you can do on the sidewalk is look
someone in the eye. You have to look past them. Your gaze indicating where you
will be going. And like the starlings, you feel where they are gazing too. And
instinctually you are part of a large throbbing mass of complete strangers.
(Lighting transition.
Mike is training the collie.
Mia enters.)
MIKE
Make the turn, girl. Now come back.
MIA
Hey, Mike.
MIKE
Hey, Mia.
MIA
Where are you today?
MIKE
Mexico. I’m afraid Trotsky doesn’t have long to live.
MIA
She’s doing great. With the cones.
MIKE
It’s in her blood.
MIA
I’ve been thinking. Amazon has these agility kits… obstacles… hoops… a bizarre kind
of tunnel thing. What do you think?
MIKE
Um… where would we…?
MIA

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 31

We can store it at my place. God knows there’s enough room. Most of them collapse
into a bag anyway. We wouldn’t have to lug it far.
MIKE
I think she’d like that.
MIA
Good. I’ll see what I can do.
MIKE
How’s work?
MIA
I’m here. What does that usually mean?
(Lighting transition.
Mia steps to her spot.)
MIA
Then there are the incomplete strangers. Those are the ones who smile and chat
with you as they sell you your coffee everyday at the corner bodega. The security
people you say good morning to as you flash your work badge to before you hit the
elevator. Or the ones you give your key to. Who you let into your home
unsupervised, so they can walk your dog, drop off your laundry. A bad batch of
coffee. A lunatic at work with a gun. A thief who rips off everything of value in your
home. These incomplete strangers you see every day… You are trusting them with
your life.
(Lighting transition.
Mia back in the scene.)
MIA
Where are you today?
MIKE
Hells Kitchen I’m afraid. (To the dog:) Around the last cone, girl. Now through the
hoop. Ignore the squirrel. No! Let it go. Say goodbye to the squirrel. That’s it!
Through the hoop.
(Lighting transition.
Mia at her spot, but she is watching Mike work with her dog.)
MIA
But that’s not how my girl sees it. She knows everyone. Instantly. She meets them
and one sniff is all it takes. Since Mike. She wags her tail and looks up into their
eyes. And… And people love it. They love her. No one is a stranger. There is no
halfway point you have to negotiate. How does she do that?

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 32

 (Lighting transition.)
MIKE
Over the bar. Keep going.
MIA
Hey, Mike.
MIKE
It’s Mia!
MIA
She’s looking great.
MIKE
Through the tunnel. Nope. You can do it.
MIA
Come on girl!
MIKE
She’s afraid of that tunnel. I can’t get her to go through it.
MIA
It’s okay, girl.
MIKE
Okay. Come back, girl.
MIA
She’ll get it.
(Mike notices that Mia is wearing flats.)
MIKE
No heels.
MIA
Today’s the day you show me how to do this.
MIKE
It’s easy. You start in front of the first pole and weave to the left…
MIA
You know what I mean.
MIKE
You have an hour to kill?
MIA
I got all afternoon.
MIKE
Everything okay?

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 33

 MIA
No. But this… this is.
(Lighting transition.)
Things were happening at work. Back in California. Things I wasn’t supposed to be
aware of. The bills for our New York operations where hitting us hard and we needed
cash. Kyle was supposed to fly out for meetings with some new angels I had found.
He didn’t get on the plane. I looked like an ass. We didn’t get the money.
(Lighting transition.
Mike mimes opening a door.)
MIA
Sorry. I don’t mean to barge in. I tried leaving a message…
MIKE
Problems with my phone.
(He reaches down to pet the Mia’s dog.)
Hey, girl.
MIA
I rang the buzzer, but…
MIKE
It’s broken.
MIA
So I followed someone in. I was going to slip this under your door. But since you’re
here…
(Awkward pause.)
I need someone to take Sarah for a few days. Meeting in DC with the FCC. Hail
Mary pass of sorts. I hope I’m using that correctly. That term. It’s football. Isn’t it?
(Awkward pause.)
I’ve got to leave first thing tomorrow. Can you help me out?
MIKE
Sure.
MIA
Six floors. Quite a hike.
MIKE
Can I get you a… glass of… something?
MIA

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 34

Sure.
It was an old building. One I would refer to as a tenement. I’m not sure what New
Yorkers would call it. Pre-war? It was a few blocks and more than a 150 years off
Times Square.
Mike, you don’t have to…
MIKE
Just have to wash the glass.
MIA
Two rooms... The main room and an alcove barely large enough to fit a twin bed. The
larger room had a sink, metal cabinets, a microwave and a loud refrigerator. The
window faced a brick wall… A window fan was blowing air in or out.
MIKE
Let’s see what we have.
MIA
I saw what I thought was a closet until I noticed the toilet bowl through the half-
opened door.
MIKE
Water?
MIA
Sure. The walls were horsehair plaster with moldings that betrayed a former doorway
here… a walled-up window there. A medallion that no longer sported a light fixture
bloomed like an empty flower from the middle of the ceiling. Mike tried to fill my glass
from a water filter he kept in the refrigerator, but it was empty.
MIKE
Is tap okay?
MIA
It’s fine.
Two bowls on the floor – one filled with water – and a dog bed nearly as large as the
twin in the alcove. Sarah settled onto the bed and rolled over extravagantly onto her
back.
(He hands her a glass of water.)
MIA
Where are you today? Someplace special?
MIKE
Hells Kitchen.
MIA

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 35

Oh.
MIKE
Looks like I’ll be here for a while.
MIA
Not a bad place.
MIKE
Can I get you some…. Crackers… chips…?
MIA
A bookcase crammed with manuscripts, envelopes and hardcover books filled the
length of the wall opposite the… kitchen? A photo of a black dog with blue eyes.
Blue?
(He nods.)
She was a character. I can tell.
As he looked through his cupboards I found another photo… sticking out from under
some papers. Sarah Jessica. Looking into the camera. The same shade of blue.
On the other side, written in his hand, was my name… Mia… Mia… Mia…
MIKE
Saltines?
(As he returns, she quickly puts the photo back.)
MIA
I’m fine. Are these your books? The ones you’ve edited?
MIKE
Yes.
MIA
Impressive. Can I look?
MIKE
Sure.
MIA
All the worlds you’ve been. Contained in one room.
(To audience:) One small, dingy, airless room. It made me shiver.
(Awkward pause.)
Can I leave her here tonight?
MIKE
That’s fine.

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 36

 MIA
I don’t mean to intrude.
MIKE
Not a problem.
MIA
Let me know if you need help.
(Awkward pause.)
With your phone… situation. Okay?
MIKE
Might be nice living off the grid for a little while.
MIA
Are you kidding?
MIKE
It would kill you, wouldn’t it?
MIA
In a minute.
(Lighting transition.)
What did it mean? Any of it. All of it. There was something so good there. So kind
and decent. But that half-way point? That was not the way I wanted to go. That
direction scared the hell out of me. My other half-way point? Between New York and
Palo Alto? (She reacts.) Kyle. Three days without a word. No texts. No email. I
couldn’t get him on the phone. Kyle. My boyfriend. My business partner. My biggest
mistake.
(Lighting transition.
Mike at the park playing with Sarah.)
MIKE
Here, girl!
(Mia enters. She looks like she is in shock.)
Mia?
(She doesn’t answer. Instead, she goes to the dog and clutches her for
dear life. She doesn’t mind that the dog licks her face. She hardly
notices.)
Mia?
(She won’t let the dog go.)

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 37

You okay?
MIA
It’s over.
MIKE
What?
MIA
Everything. It’s over. The company. He pulled the plug.
MIKE
Kyle?
MIA
He sold his patents to the military.
MIKE
Without your permission?
MIA
The rat.
MIKE
Didn’t you have to agree….?
MIA
They were his property. The son of a bitch. Why couldn’t I see what he really was?
A rat.
MIKE
How much did he get?
MIA
An obscene amount.
MIKE
How much for you?
MIA
That? I don’t want that. It’s the department of defense. You don’t think the CIA, FBI
and NSA won’t get their hands on it? The whole idea was that it was going to be
open source. You controlled what you wanted tracked. You know what the military
will do with it? You think the NSA’s digital surveillance is bad? Just wait. They get
their hands on the science and they will embed it in the fibers of clothes, forge jewelry
with it, cars, shoes, luggage, anything they can get their hands on. They will be able
to track every person and piece of property on the planet. And no one will have a
clue. Because it will all be invisible.
(She mimes ripping the tag off the dog’s collar.)

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 38

What Kyle got for this? It’s blood money.
MIKE
He didn’t ask you?
MIA
He knew he wouldn’t get the answer he wanted.
MIKE
Lawsuit?
MIA
(Sarcastic:) You think?
MIKE
I’m sorry.
MIA
I need to block that rat. He wants war, I’ll give him fucking war.
MIKE
Do you want me to take Sarah for a few days?
MIA
Five years. I’ve wasted five years… He had nothing. Nothing but a few carbonized
crystals that reflected digital pulses. Sure… he knew molecules, but he couldn’t find
his ass with both hands. Not till I came along. I was the idea person.
MIKE
When did you find out?
MIA
This morning. I’m meeting with some idiots from AT&T and three lawyers and their
goons barge into the conference room with a cease and desist, inform me that the
company has been dissolved, that my staff was dismissed and we all must vacate
immediately. Those goons searched me before I could walk out the door. They
wouldn’t even let me take my laptop. And now they are giving me 5 days to get out of
my co-op. They are probably there right now trashing the place.
MIKE
I can help.
MIA
Are you kidding? How?
MIKE
I can go back to your place with you.
MIA
What in the fuck am I going to do? It’s over. Everything. In five minutes. My
company. My boyfriend. My life. Over. I am a failure. A total and complete failure.

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 39

 MIKE
No, you’re not.
MIA
This is epic.
MIKE
You may have failed, but you are not a failure.
MIA
This is supposed to make me feel better?
MIKE
This is something I know about.
MIA
Really?
MIKE
When I graduated from high school, my grandfather came up to me at the reception
and said, “Mike, you are going to fail.” My mother nearly fell off her chair. “What do
you mean he’s going to fail? This is his graduation day, for Christ sakes.” But my
grandfather held his ground and explained that I would know what he meant and that
it is a good thing.
MIA
What the hell am I supposed to do with that?
MIKE
He was right. I failed. A lot of times. At a lot of things. Practically everything. No.
Everything.
MIA
This isn’t working.
MIKE
By telling me that. Like it was a given. I didn’t fear it so much. And I could go on
when it happened.
MIA
Go on? To what?
MIKE
What do you want?
MIA
I’ve banked everything I have on this. My career. My life. There is nothing left.
Nothing. Do you know how terrifying that is?
MIKE
Yes.

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 40

 MIA
That helps.
MIKE
What’s your worse-case scenario?
MIA
This!
MIKE
It’s not.
MIA
It is.
MIKE
What are you the most afraid of. If you tell me what it is. If you get it out, you won’t
be so afraid. Trust me.
MIA
What am I afraid of? That by the time I turn 40, I will end up with some low-paying job
in some nearly extinct industry, barely able to feed and cloth myself, accepting table
scraps from people I barely know and living alone in some overheated, 6-floor, one-
room walk up in Hells Kitchen. And that’s all I will have… Where I will be trapped…
for the rest of my sad, miserable, pathetic life. Until I die. That’s my worse case.
That’s what I’m afraid of.
(Mike reaches into his pocket and removes a key. He hands it to Mia.
He then turns and begins to walk away.)
Mike… don’t… I didn’t mean it… Mike…
(The dog breaks away from her embrace and runs after Mike.)
Sarah …. Stop. Stop. Come. Come girl. Please?
(Mike puts his hand up for the dog to stop and then gestures toward
Mia. The dog returns to Mia. He exits.)
That’s my girl. My beautiful girl.
Mike?
(Lights out.)

Scene 3

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 41

 (Lights up.
Mia is seen working with her dog.
Mike enters half way through. Mia doesn’t see him.)
MIA
Through the hoop. Turn. Through the cones. Over the bar. Jump. Cross the plank.
That’s it, girl. Through the tunnel. You can do it. Don’t be afraid. Do it, girl. Do it!
That’s my girl. Come. Come, girl.
MIKE
Impressive.
MIA
She went through the tunnel. Did you see? She did it for me. My girl. That’s my girl!
(The dog runs up to Mike. She jumps on his thighs. He pets her.)
MIKE
Hey, Sarah.
MIA
You got the note… that I slipped under your door. My email bounced. You’ll have to
fix that. Thanks for coming.
(Mia gestures to a spot upstage.)
See? Whole spread. Fried chicken, coleslaw, potato salad. From Zabars. Glass of
wine? From my family’s vineyard. It’s not bad.
MIKE
I don’t drink.
MIA
Oh. You’d think I’d know that.
(Awkward pause.)
About last week. What I said…
MIKE
Hey, any time you need a worse case scenario, I’m happy to oblige.
MIA
It was inexcusable.
MIKE
But it seemed to have worked. Back on your feet. Smile on your face.
MIA
Join me. Us. A picnic. Under the tree. You can see him. Balto. Right over there.
MIKE

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 42

I can’t stay.
MIA
Please?
MIKE
I’ve got… something. I came only to say goodbye.
MIA
There is so much about the time I spent in this town that I will hate. Will hate for the
rest of my life. But not you.
MIKE
I guess that’s something.
MIA
That first time we met. In the dog park. “Nice bitch.”
MIKE
You heard that?
MIA
Oh yeah.
MIKE
Sorry.
MIA
It’s okay.
MIKE
“She’s having her period, so what?”
MIA
Where would I be now?
MIKE
A dozen little Sarah Jessicas running around.
(They laugh.)
What’s next for you?
MIA
Back to Sonoma. My parents place. To think things through.
MIKE
Have any ideas?
MIA
I have a few options. But I’ve decided to let none of them scare me. Thanks to you.
MIKE

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 43

Glad I could help.
(Awkward pause.)
I better…um…
MIA
Goodbye, Mike. My friend.
MIKE
Happy trails, Mia.
(He kneels and pets Sarah.)
Sarah Jessica. You got to do me a favor, okay? Ignore those squirrels. They’re no
good for you. Mostly fur… may as well be rats and you are not a terrier. You are a
herder. A natural born leader. That’s your job. Give up the rats. You are better than
that. You are a smart girl. The smartest girl I’ve ever met. And so pretty. You don’t
even know it. How pretty you are. And kind. Maybe not the first day we met… back
when you were a fear biter. But once we got to know each other. We became pretty
good friends. Now… you’re going to be heading to a new place. I know you don’t
like change. It’s in the countryside and you have turned into a big city girl. At first it’s
going to seem like a step backward. But it’s a lot like going back home. Where you
were born. So it won’t be so scary. Okay? Now you’ve got to promise me
something. When you meet other dogs. Most of them aren’t going to be as smart as
you. Or as talented. Or as beautiful. You may be afraid that some of them will try to
hurt you. But you got to remember to give everyone a chance. Think about
everything you have done for me… so many things. You brought be back from a dark
place. You didn’t know that. Did you? You did. And now I’m not afraid to take my
own advice and not be afraid of what’s next. There’s a whole, big beautiful world out
there. I guess I needed someone to kick me in the ass to realize it. And I thank you
for that. You have a generous and beautiful heart. Don’t be afraid to share it. Okay?
Good girl.
(He kisses the dog.)
Furry bits of heartache.
(He gets up and turns away. He can’t look Mia in the eye.
Lighting transition.
Mia narrates the action.)
MIA
He walked away from the tree. Sarah tried to follow. But he sent her back.
(Mike exits.)

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 44

Like I said before, this is a love story. He loved her. She loved everyone. And I…I
loved... Loving was something I was still working on.
(Lighting transition.
Mike reenters. He is his old self.)
MIKE
Paul! How’s Hugo doing?
MIA
My Sarah?
MIKE
He’s looking good.
MIA
She lived another 14 years.
MIKE
Playing with everyone. Having fun.
MIA
Whenever I would take her for a run and she’d jump like a lamb, I’d think of him.
MIKE
From the fighting cage to this.
MIA
And I would smile.
MIKE
Damn good job
MIA
So… Why am I standing here now? Telling you this?
MIKE
Me? Another dog?
MIA
To a room full of complete strangers?
MIKE
You know… Yeah. I think it’s time.
MIA
Maybe I’m hoping that by sitting there and listening to my story, we’ll all be something
else.
MIKE
Maybe I’ll hit the pound tomorrow.

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 45

 MIA
If we all just try to go half way.
MIKE
Wanna come with me? Help me pick her out?
(Mike freezes.)
MIA
That last part. With him in the park? Talking to his friend about getting a dog? It’s
nice. Isn’t it? That’s what I want to imagine. That he was telling the truth about
starting over. Getting out of his shell. That he’s happy. Because he deserves it.
More than anyone. But I don’t know. How he’s doing. Because that day… as he
walked off… back through the park. Away from us. Sarah barking after him. He
walked beyond the half-way point between us. And no matter how hard I tried… to
get ahold of him. That day in the park was the last time I ever saw him… my
incomplete stranger.
(Back out.
End of Part One.)

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 46

Truman
(Part Two)

Characters
Truman – Played by a tall, well-built actor with a quiet, watchful demeanor and
deep soulful eyes. Stoic.
Jimmy – Smaller and thinner than Truman. An actor who is sharp, quick and
tenacious, yet has a sense of humor.

Setting
Place
A dog run in Central Park. Not too far from “Strawberry Fields.” Other
Locales: The northern section of Central Park – in the “Loch” area and the
“North Woods.” The east bank of the Hudson River along the railroad
tracks 90 miles north of New York City. Deep in the Taconic / Berkshire
Mountains.
Time
Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall of this year.

Scenic Elements
No Set. An open stage with subtle lighting cues will suffice.

Synopsis
Life has to be better than two daily trips to the dog walk park. Sure, fetch can
be fun and nothing beats having your food served to you on a tray. But what
wild new world waits just on the other side of the dog run fence?

Playwright’s Note
This play is dedicated to Carl Pritzkat and Tony Travostino – two of the best
friends anyone could ever have. (And, of course, to their eternally faithful
companion, Truman.)

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 47

 Scene 1
(Lights up.
Truman stands facing the audience. A tall, darkly attractive man with
soulful eyes, he wears a silver chain around his neck. It looks rather like
a choke chain.)
TRUMAN
There are things I need to tell you. There have always been things I’ve needed to
say. You’ve needed to hear. But from the very start, it didn’t work out that way. I
didn’t bother you. You were happy with it that way. As long as I did what you told me,
that was enough for you. And you thought that should be enough for me as well.
It wasn’t.
And that’s why I did what I did.
I’m not blaming you. It’s not your fault. Not mine either. But let’s face it. You always
called the shots. I followed every step of the way.
But did you ever think about me? What I wanted? Did you care? Sure. I didn’t say
anything. But the signs were there.
If I could tell you… If I could unlock everything in my mind and come up with a way to
tell you… I can’t… but if I could… If I could find you again and if by some miracle I
could tell you. This is what I’d say…
You weren’t enough.
(Jimmy, enters from stage right. Though he is smaller than Truman,
there is something very alert and tenacious about him.)
JIMMY
That’s a little harsh
TRUMAN
It’s the truth.
JIMMY
He took care of you for five years.
TRUMAN
I didn’t ask him to do that.
JIMMY
Still.
TRUMAN
Did I have a choice?

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 48

 JIMMY
Do any of us?
TRUMAN
You’re supposed to come in later.
JIMMY
I’m tired of waiting.
TRUMAN
I told you your cue.
JIMMY
You’re stalling. They’re getting impatient.
TRUMAN
Grrrrrrrr….
(Jimmy’s eyes get big. He quickly walks off stage right.)
(Continuing:) You weren’t enough. Everything you gave me… provided… The time
you spent with me… The trips we took together… It wasn’t enough.
I know… You probably thought that I was happy. I can wag my tail with the best of
them. But that’s because my expectations were so low. I’d take anything you would
give me. That’s how it was since the first day you met me so long ago that I barely
remember.
(Jimmy returns to the stage from stage right. He wears a little Christmas
sweater and reindeer antlers. He wears a collar that is attached to a
long retractable lead. The other end of the lead is off-stage. We hear it
unwind as he crosses to Truman. It snaps to taut abruptly. Jimmy
chokes for a second. Truman sees him.)
You’re cue is…
JIMMY
“It all began that day in the dog park last Christmas Eve…”
TRUMAN
So…
JIMMY
So I just said it. And here I am.
(Truman sighs and crosses upstage toward Jimmy.)
Hi.
TRUMAN
Nice horns.

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 49

 JIMMY
Yeah.
TRUMAN
It makes you look real tough.
JIMMY
Your ass smells weird.
TRUMAN
Science Diet.
JIMMY
That stuff sucks.
TRUMAN
Yeah. Well, what am I supposed to do?
JIMMY
Toss it back up on the floor. He’ll get the message.
TRUMAN
I don’t do that.
JIMMY
You’re whipped.
TRUMAN
At least I’m not wearing a reindeer hat.
JIMMY
Better than the bunny ears for Easter.
TRUMAN
Merry Christmas.
JIMMY
And Happy Chanukah.
(Truman is distracted by something in the distance downstage left.)
What’s up?
TRUMAN
Those kids.
JIMMY
Ones running around?
TRUMAN
They should be quiet and standing in a line.
JIMMY
Shepherd?

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 50

 TRUMAN
German.
JIMMY
That explains it.
TRUMAN
What?
JIMMY
Nothing.
(Truman examines Jimmy with a discerning eye.)
What?
TRUMAN
Terrier?
JIMMY
(Offended:) Miniature wire-haired dachshund.
TRUMAN
Oh.
JIMMY
Purebred.
TRUMAN
Of course.
JIMMY
Twelve generations. Certificate’s at home. My aunt showed at the Garden. No,
wait… (Proudly:) Actually, she’s my aunt, sister and grandmother.
TRUMAN
It happens in the best of families.
JIMMY
Can you believe that crazy-assed border collie? Where the hell did she come from?
TRUMAN
She’s just a kid.
JIMMY
She needs to back off!
(Jimmy snarls and lunges forward. Then hears something and looks
offstage left.)
JIMMY
He wants you.

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 51

 TRUMAN
He can wait.
JIMMY
He’s got a ball.
(Truman looks offstage left quickly. He is excited for a second before he
regains his cool.)
TRUMAN
He can wait.
JIMMY
Okay.
TRUMAN
You always on a lead?
JIMMY
Yeah.
TRUMAN
Discipline problem?
JIMMY
It keeps her from running off.
TRUMAN
Funny.
(Truman looks closely at the tag on Jimmy’s collar.)
What’s it say?
JIMMY
“James Dean.”
TRUMAN
Okay.
JIMMY
But she calls me “Jimmy.” You?
TRUMAN
Truman.
(A tennis ball rolls across the stage in front of them from left stage to
offstage right. There is a tense pause.)
JIMMY
You better…
TRUMAN

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 52

Gotta go.
(Lights change.
Jimmy exits.)
(Back to the audience:) And, of course, I grab the ball and run back to you. And you
throw it and I chase it down…
“Get the ball, Truman! Get the ball! Where’s the ball? Get the ball. Come on, boy!
Bring me the ball!”
And I did. Over and over. Till the lights came on and it was time to go home. Just
like every other day.
(Lights change.
Jimmy enters. He wears a pink sweater with little doggy cupids
stenciled on it and a headband that has two long, bobbing springs with
red hearts attached to the ends. As before, he wears a collar with a
retractable lead. We hear it unwind. It snaps to taut abruptly. He
chokes for a second.)
Haven’t seen you in a while.
JIMMY
She went to Aruba. I went to camp.
TRUMAN
Is that what you call it?
JIMMY
That’s what she calls it. Less guilt.
TRUMAN
Lucky you didn’t come back with the croup. I got a buddy…
JIMMY
This was a nice place.
TRUMAN
If you like living in a 3 by 5 foot cage.
(Truman points to the bobbing hearts.)
Nice… um….
JIMMY
Shut up.
(Truman laughs. Jimmy doesn’t.)
TRUMAN

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 53

(Under his breath:) Whipped.
JIMMY
What did you say?
TRUMAN
Nothing.
JIMMY
God I wish she’d get a boyfriend. Give her someone else to fuss over. This morning.
She looked at the calendar. Burst into tears. Since then, one box of chocolates after
another…
TRUMAN
Shit’s poison.
JIMMY
Boy do I hate this day. What’d your guy get you?
TRUMAN
Heart-shaped biscuit.
(Jimmy looks offstage for a second.)
JIMMY
Hey… I got an idea. Your guy… Big momma... Maybe we could figure out a way…
TRUMAN
Won’t work.
JIMMY
Why?
TRUMAN
He doesn’t chase after her scent.
JIMMY
Not even during a full moon?
TRUMAN
No bitches for him.
JIMMY
He runs with the big dogs.
TRUMAN
They run to him.
(Jimmy looks offstage appraisingly.)
JIMMY
I can see that.

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 54

 TRUMAN
Lately, two or three times a week.
JIMMY
Sounds dangerous.
TRUMAN
I keep an eye on them. One of my jobs.
JIMMY
Maybe he can do her hair. I mean, look at it.
TRUMAN
No way.
JIMMY
She never gets anyone sniffing around.
TRUMAN
Not his thing.
(Truman is distracted by something off stage. He snaps to attention.)
JIMMY
What’s up?
TRUMAN
Birds.
JIMMY
What about them?
TRUMAN
They may attack.
JIMMY
He’s got you on high alert, doesn’t he?
TRUMAN
What do you mean? Least I could do for him.
JIMMY
What? For feeding you science diet? Blechhhh!
(Jimmy’s lead is tugged. It yanks him back and he sputters a little.)
TRUMAN
Big girl ever let you off that thing?
JIMMY
She’s high strung.
TRUMAN
She must have her reasons. She must. It’s not like you can get over the fence.

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 55

 JIMMY
Can you?
TRUMAN
Oh, yeah.
JIMMY
Why don’t you?
TRUMAN
Why doesn’t she take you off the lead?
JIMMY
I get carried away.
TRUMAN
How?
JIMMY
You know how many squirrels and chipmunks and moles and rabbits and mice…
TRUMAN
…and rats…
JIMMY
… and hedgehogs frequent this park?
TRUMAN
Yeah.
JIMMY
Some are right here in holes they’ve burrowed right under our noses. I smell them.
Right here.
TRUMAN
Okay.
JIMMY
That tree over there? You can’t tell me you don’t smell them.
TRUMAN
Three mice, two squirrels, four gophers…
JIMMY
…two snakes in mud around the back and one domesticated pot-bellied pig.
TRUMAN
I can’t believe they let that sun-of-a-bitch in here.
JIMMY
It’s a DOG PARK, PEOPLE!
(Jimmy’s lead is tugged. It yanks him back and he sputters a little.)

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 56

(To offstage:) HEY! (Back to Truman:) And that’s just what we can sniff out since that
big snow three days ago. Trees… Where the roots are?
TRUMAN
Yeah?
JIMMY
Heaven.
TRUMAN
For a dachshund.
JIMMY
Yeah.
TRUMAN
So you got a thing for fur.
JIMMY
It’s more than that.
TRUMAN
More than a good sniff?
JIMMY
I want them. I need them. I gotta have them. I know exactly where they are and I
wanna dig and dig and dig and grab those furry little shits and…
TRUMAN
What?
JIMMY
RIP THEM TO SHREDS!
(Jimmy begins to scratch at the stage with his feet.)
DIG DIG DIG DIG!
(The lead pulls again. Jimmy stops abruptly and chokes. Truman
laughs.)
What’s so funny?
TRUMAN
I can just see you tangling with a New York City rat.
JIMMY
I would.
TRUMAN
Bigger than cats.
JIMMY

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 57

So?
TRUMAN
They fight dirty.
JIMMY
I can take em.
TRUMAN
You’d be scared shitless.
JIMMY
Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t take em on.
TRUMAN
Yeah?
JIMMY
Having courage doesn’t mean you’re not afraid.
TRUMAN
Hmmm…
JIMMY
It’s like something comes over me. Like it’s hardwired. GET THE RAT. GET THE
RAT.
(He scratches with his feet and mimes the actions.)
CATCH THE RAT. SHAKE THE RAT. SHAKE THE RAT. SLAM. SLAM. SLAM.
SLAM. RIP. RIP. RIP. RIP!
(He’s pulled back again. He chokes for a second.)
Not that I’ve ever actually done it.
(He notices that Truman has started sniffing the air and is looking
intently off stage.)
What?
TRUMAN
Smell that?
JIMMY
That border collie in heat? She’s pretty ripe for the plucking…
TRUMAN
… no…
JIMMY
…not that I’d care.
(He glances down at Truman’s haunches.)

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 58

Oh. You still got em. Nice set. How’d you manage that?
TRUMAN
No. Smell.
(They sniff. Jimmy’s eyes get big.)
JIMMY
What the hell?
TRUMAN
Smell it?
JIMMY
Where is it coming from?
TRUMAN
There.
JIMMY
Where?
TRUMAN
There.
JIMMY
Lay off. It’s not like I’m a sight hound.
TRUMAN
Far side. Outside the fence. In those shrubs.
JIMMY
Geez. Where the hell…?
TRUMAN
How’d he get…?
JIMMY
Anyone else notice?
TRUMAN
We’re the only ones.
JIMMY
What’s he doing?
TRUMAN
Staring at us. Check out his coat.
JIMMY
I can smell it from here. What does he want?
TRUMAN
I don’t know.

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 59

 JIMMY
He looks just like us.
(Truman gives him a “what are you crazy?” look.)
Well. Like you.
TRUMAN
Wild.
JIMMY
What does he want?
TRUMAN
We gotta find out.
JIMMY
WE GOTTA.
TRUMAN
WILD.
JIMMY
WE GOTTA. WE GOTTA. WE GOTTA.
(Jimmy’s lead is tugged again. He stops.
The ball rolls across the stage.)
The ball.
TRUMAN
I see it.
JIMMY
Gotta get the ball. He wants you to get the ball.
TRUMAN
Shut up.
JIMMY
He’s calling you. GET THE BALL!
TRUMAN
SHUT UP!
JIMMY
The fence. What you said before…
TRUMAN
What about?
JIMMY
Jumping it. I don’t believe you.

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 60

 TRUMAN
Yeah?
JIMMY
He’s calling you. (Taunting:) Get the ball. Come on, Truman. GET THE BALL, BOY!
TRUMAN
What does he want? Where is he from? Wild. Gotta find out. GOTTA. GOTTA.
GOTTA. GOTTA!
JIMMY
The fence? PROVE IT!
TRUMAN
JUMP IT! JUMP IT! JUMP IT! JUMP IT! JUMP IT!!
(Truman runs off stage. Jimmy jumps up and down excitedly.)
JIMMY
GO. GO. JUUUUUUUMP… YEAH!
(He jumps high and is pulled by the lead at the same time. He falls over
and coughs, but he is ecstatic.)
GO, TRUMAN!
(Lights out.)

Scene 2
(Lights up.
Jimmy stands center stage. He wears bunny ears, a lavender sweater
and the ever-present collar and retractable lead.
Truman enters. He crosses to Jimmy slowly. He is embarrassed by the
large cone-shaped medical collar he wears.)
JIMMY
Hey.
TRUMAN
Hey.
JIMMY
Haven’t seen you in a while. Nice collar.
TRUMAN

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 61

Nice sweater.
JIMMY
She doesn’t get it. I have FUR. I don’t need this ugly thing. Why the…
(He looks down at Truman’s haunches and winces.)
Oh. Hey, man. I’m sorry. Shame.
TRUMAN
Hmph.
JIMMY
Come on. It’s not too bad. Kinda takes the edge off things, but you get used to it.
TRUMAN
Right.
JIMMY
Why’d he do it?
TRUMAN
I thought we had a deal.
JIMMY
Yeah?
TRUMAN
I take care of security, he let’s me keep my boys.
JIMMY
Why’d he…?
TRUMAN
You screw up once. That’s all it takes.
JIMMY
Wha’d you…
TRUMAN
You were there. I abandoned my post.
JIMMY
The fence?
TRUMAN
Gone all night.
JIMMY
Oh, boy…
TRUMAN
Running wild.

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 62

 JIMMY
No!
TRUMAN
All night.
JIMMY
He must have freaked. Where you go?
TRUMAN
Out… There… Far side of the park. Past the reservoir. Running wild. All night. With
him.
JIMMY
Him?
TRUMAN
He led. I followed.
JIMMY
The wild one?
TRUMAN
Yeah.
JIMMY
Woooooow! You ran free?
TRUMAN
Yeah.
JIMMY
What’s his name?
TRUMAN
No names.
JIMMY
What?
TRUMAN
They just are.
JIMMY
They?
TRUMAN
There’s three of them.
JIMMY
Geezes! Where are they from?
TRUMAN

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 63

Up North.
JIMMY
How’d they…?
TRUMAN
Followed the river.
JIMMY
Why here?
TRUMAN
They go wherever they want. Whenever they want. They don’t take shit from
anyone.
JIMMY
And they let you…
TRUMAN
He led me to them.
JIMMY
What are they like?
TRUMAN
They don’t talk much.
JIMMY
Yeah?
TRUMAN
They don’t have to.
JIMMY
Wild.
TRUMAN
Exactly.
JIMMY
Where’d you go? Wha’d you do? What are they like?
TRUMAN
You know what happens at night?
JIMMY
Yeah. Big momma drops off with the TV on and I’m supposed to lie still at the foot of
the bed.
TRUMAN
Do you know what really happens at night?
(Jimmy shrugs.)

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 64

Everything.
(Jimmy’s eyes get big.)
All day… when the sun is out and you think you see everything, cause that’s the only
time they do?
JIMMY
Yeah?
TRUMAN
It’s nothing compared to when it gets dark and they come out of hiding.
JIMMY
TELL ME. TELL ME. TELL ME!
(Jimmy’s lead is pulled.)
TRUMAN
Calm down or she’ll yank your head off. The moon comes up and the black and white
world of the sun turns gray and blue and indigo and turquise.
JIMMY
I’ve seen it.
TRUMAN
Not under the streetlights and neon where they take us. You haven’t seen anything
like this.
JIMMY
Where?
TRUMAN
Other side of the reservoir.
JIMMY
The dangerous part.
TRUMAN
Every shade of blue you can imagine and you look up and you see…
JIMMY
The moon…?
TRUMAN
And stars.
JIMMY
Wow! And the wild ones?
TRUMAN
They rule the night. They report to no one. They don’t need them. They eat what
they find or catch or kill…

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 65

 JIMMY
And they let you join them?
TRUMAN
We’re all brothers.
JIMMY
How?
TRUMAN
I know it doesn’t look like it. Especially when I look at you…
JIMMY
Hey!
TRUMAN
But we… all of us… are from the same pack. It’s just that they’ve always lived free.
JIMMY
They escaped?
TRUMAN
Never were taken… taken from their mothers or fathers.
JIMMY
They know their fathers?!
TRUMAN
And they all run together.
JIMMY
Do they dig?
TRUMAN
Dig?
JIMMY
You know… DIG!
TRUMAN
Whenever they want.
JIMMY
And they don’t have to worry about tracking inside?
TRUMAN
There’s no inside.
JIMMY
No crate or kennel or camp?
TRUMAN
No “Get the ball!” or “Stay!” or “Roll over!” or “Sit!”

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 66

 JIMMY
You’re kidding!
TRUMAN
They don’t even have words for it.
JIMMY
And you ran with them…
TRUMAN
All night long.
JIMMY
What did you…?
TRUMAN
I caught a rabbit
JIMMY
A furry one?
TRUMAN
They taught me how.
JIMMY
Did you…?
(Jimmy’s mimes shaking the rabbit with his mouth, ripping into it and
eating it.
Truman stares at Jimmy’s bunny ears and starts to drool. Jimmy
notices and grabs his bunny ears.)
Knock it off. It’s a costume for Christ sakes!
TRUMAN
And those garbage bins… do you know what’s inside? Meat and blood and shit and
grease and…
JIMMY
… they always smell so good…
TRUMAN
…and when you tip them over and it spills out you can eat it and smell it and roll in it
until the scent is smeared over every inch of your coat.
(Jimmy is in ecstasy.)
And they fight.
JIMMY
Did you get hurt?

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 67

 TRUMAN
No teeth, no claws and no one to tug on your lead. It’s the way they play.
JIMMY
I wanna play. I WANNA PLAY! I WANNA PLAY!
(Tug.)
TRUMAN
The sun came up and we went into the rocks. A deep cleft in the hill. Near the
stream. In between the boulders. Where the sun couldn’t reach the soft moss that
covers the ground. We laid down together to keep warm. And we slept. Until I heard
his voice.
JIMMY
Who?
TRUMAN
Calling me. My name.
JIMMY
You didn’t…
TRUMAN
And he sounded like…
JIMMY
Like what?
TRUMAN
Like after Brian left.
JIMMY
Brian?
TRUMAN
We were together. The three of us. And then he left and didn’t come back and things
were really rough for a while and that’s what he sounded like when he called me. But
instead of Brian, it was my name. And something inside me… I had to go to him.
Protect him. I had to make everything all right for him. That’s my job. Don’t you see?
JIMMY
(Pointing to the medical collar and Truman’s haunches:) And this is what he did to
you?
TRUMAN
(Disgusted:) We had a deal.
JIMMY
I’m so sick of this. I mean… look at me! I look ridiculous.

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 68

 TRUMAN
It’s not so bad.
JIMMY
Are you kidding? A bunny? It’s what I should be ripping to shreds! This is
humiliating. I mean… smell me. Go on.
(Truman sniffs him.)
Are we supposed to smell like this? Do you know how many times a month she has
me plucked and bathed?
TRUMAN
He just brushes me. It feels kinda nice.
JIMMY
Hurts like hell and trimming our claws?
(They both shudder.)
If fatso would just let me dig, they wouldn’t need to be trimmed. Look at us… Here.
When all of that is out there! What the hell are we thinking? I want it, Truman. I want
what you had out there. I want it. I want to be wild!
(The ball rolls across the stage floor. They see it. Truman begins to get
mad. Jimmy eggs him on.)
He’s calling you. Get the ball, Truman. Get the ball. See the ball? Get the ball!
TRUMAN
Asshole.
JIMMY
He’s waiting.
TRUMAN
I can’t! Not with this fucking thing around my neck!
JIMMY
Idiot!
TRUMAN
(Changing his mind and defending him:) He’s not…
JIMMY
Look at you. What he did to you. We gotta get out of here. WE GOTTA. WE
GOTTA!
(Severe tug of the lead.)
TRUMAN
She’s going to kill you!

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 69

 JIMMY
I can’t take it anymore! Attack me!
TRUMAN
What?
JIMMY
Attack me and she’ll drop the lead.
(Jimmy starts to snarl at Truman. Truman snarls back and lunges at
him. Jimmy growls and rolls over on his back. Truman pretends to
attack Jimmy. But the collar gets in the way of it looking too frightening.
Jimmy is pulled to safety across the stage by the lead. She didn’t drop
it.)
It didn’t work.
TRUMAN
Help me get this thing off.
JIMMY
How?
TRUMAN
Pretend it has fur on it.
(Jimmy lunges at Truman and begins to tear the collar with his teeth.
It’s working.)
That’s it. Go for the throat!
JIMMY
She’s screaming!
TRUMAN
Ignore her and get it off me!
(The cone comes off.)
JIMMY
It’s off.
TRUMAN
Uh-oh, here he comes.
JIMMY
He’s running.
TRUMAN
I’ve got her. Going to scare her good.
JIMMY

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 70

Don’t hurt her. She bleeds real easy.
(Truman runs off stage in the direction of the lead. He returns in a
second.)
TRUMAN
Bitch won’t drop it! Get on your back!
JIMMY
Hurry! He’s coming!
TRUMAN
Scream like I’m killing you.
(Jimmy flops on his back and screams. Truman starts biting through the
collar.)
Almost… Almost…
JIMMY
What are you doing?
TRUMAN
There!
(Truman has bitten all the way through the collar. The lead retracts
rapidly offstage.)
JIMMY
It worked!
TRUMAN
Run!
JIMMY
Where?
TRUMAN
The fence on the far side.
JIMMY
I can’t jump over it!
TRUMAN
You can dig can’t you?
JIMMY
I get to dig?
TRUMAN
If you want to be free.
(They run furiously.)

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 71

 JIMMY
RUN! RUN! RUN! RUN! RUN! RUN!
TRUMAN
RUN! RUN! RUN! RUN!
JIMMY
They’re running this way!
(They get to the “fence.”)
TRUMAN
DIG!
(He begins to dig.)
JIMMY
DIG! DIG! DIG! What about you?
TRUMAN
I’ll jump over when you get through. HURRY!
JIMMY
DIG! DIG! DIG!
TRUMAN
They’re almost here!
JIMMY
DIG! DIG! DIG!
TRUMAN
It’s not going to work!
JIMMY
It’s got to work!
TRUMAN
Hold on…
JIMMY
What are you doing?
TRUMAN
Hang on!
(Truman picks Jimmy up.)
JIMMY
Ahhhhhhhhh!
TRUMAN
When you hit, ROLL!

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 72

 (Truman throws Jimmy over the “fence.”)
JIMMY
ROLL!
(Jimmy flies through the air, lands on the ground and rolls.”)
TRUMAN
That’s it!
JIMMY
Truman! He’s going to catch you!
TRUMAN
I’m coming! JUMP JUMP JUMP JUUUUUUMP!
(Truman jumps over the “fence.”)
JIMMY
You did it!
TRUMAN
We’re free!
JIMMY
RUN! RUN! RUN!
(They run off stage.

Light transition.
Truman returns and speaks to the audience. )
TRUMAN
And so we ran.
JIMMY
Ran.
TRUMAN
Ran.
JIMMY
North past the reservoir.
TRUMAN
Around the hotdog stands…
JIMMY
(Sniffing:) Heaven.
TRUMAN

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 73

…between the swing sets…
JIMMY
… beyond the fountain…
TRUMAN
… and the pavement…
JIMMY
…and benches…
TRUMAN
… and streetlights…
JIMMY
The part of the park where the people don’t go.
TRUMAN
To the cleft in the rocks.
JIMMY
But they weren’t there.
TRUMAN
The wild ones.
JIMMY
Our brothers.
TRUMAN
So we hid.
JIMMY
Until night.
TRUMAN
When it was safe to come out.
(Light transition.)
JIMMY
(Looking around:) Blue. So many glorious shades of blue.
TRUMAN
We’ve got to find them. They will teach us.
JIMMY
I’m hungry.
TRUMAN
Yeah? So?
JIMMY
Really hungry.

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 74

 TRUMAN
Do it.
JIMMY
What?
TRUMAN
What you do.
JIMMY
You mean…?
TRUMAN
What are you waiting for? There’s a tree over there. It smells good.
JIMMY
Real good.
TRUMAN
I’m going to hunt that trash can over there.
JIMMY
Anything good?
TRUMAN
Something at the bottom.
(Jimmy begins to sniff at the ground. Then he starts to dig…)
JIMMY
Yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah! Dig. Dig. Dig! DIG! DIG! There’s something. FUR!
FUR! FUR! RAT! RAT! RAT!
TRUMAN
Rat?!
JIMMY
I got it!
TRUMAN
Big as a cat!
(Jimmy mimes grabbing a rat by the neck and shaking it and slamming it
on the ground until the rat’s neck snaps. Truman is surprised at
Jimmy’s prowess.)
JIMMY
I got it. I got it!
TRUMAN
You did it.
JIMMY

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 75

Oh, boy! Oh, boy!
TRUMAN
I can’t believe it.
JIMMY
Never done that before.
TRUMAN
You’re kidding?
JIMMY
Something came over me.
TRUMAN
Weren’t you afraid?
JIMMY
Of course!
TRUMAN
Wow. Smells good.
JIMMY
Real good. What do I do now?
TRUMAN
Eat it.
JIMMY
How?
(Truman mimes ripping into the rat with his claws and mouth. He
swallows a piece of meat.)
TRUMAN
There.
(Jimmy swallows a piece too.)
JIMMY
Tastes different.
TRUMAN
Better than Science Diet.
JIMMY
If only it came to you in a bowl all chopped up.
TRUMAN
Yeah.
JIMMY

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 76

But this is fine. Not complaining. Nothing wrong with it. It’s good. At least it’s fresh.
TRUMAN
We’re free.
JIMMY
No more leash choking me to death.
TRUMAN
No more sentry duty.
JIMMY
No more dress up.
TRUMAN
Free.
JIMMY
Wild.
(They smile at each other as they chew.)
JIMMY
Now what?
TRUMAN
Find them.
JIMMY
How?
TRUMAN
Their scent.
(Lighting transition.
Truman speaks to the audience.)
We headed north. Out of the park. Along the streets. As fast as we could. Before
you could find us and call out my name. We ran away from my bowl and my bed.
Away from you. To the river bank. The steel rails where the one eyed machine runs.
We walked north along the river. Following the scent they left when they returned to
their summer hunting grounds deep in the woods. We walked for days… weeks. And
then the trail split off from the river and we entered the woods. The world was our
home now.
JIMMY
I’m tired.
TRUMAN
We have two more hours before sunrise.

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 77

 JIMMY
And hungry.
TRUMAN
You know what to do.
JIMMY
It’s a lot of work.
TRUMAN
No free lunch anymore.
JIMMY
Where next?
TRUMAN
Up that ridge.
JIMMY
Way up there?
TRUMAN
Scent is fresh. We’re catching up. Less than a day away.
JIMMY
Really?
TRUMAN
Up on that ridge.
JIMMY
You think they’ll like me? The wild ones?
TRUMAN
Why not?
JIMMY
I’m not… you know… I kinda look like what they usually… you know… eat.
(Truman has never thought of this before. He’s a little alarmed, but he
decides not to scare Jimmy.)
TRUMAN
You’re braver than anyone.
JIMMY
Yeah?
TRUMAN
Yeah. They’ll have… They’ll respect you… You just gotta show them you’re tough.
(Jimmy is relieved. They sit and look around the forest.)
JIMMY

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 78

It’s nice here.
TRUMAN
Wild.
JIMMY
Home.
(They smile at each other.
Suddenly they both smell something. They become alarmed.)
Do you?
TRUMAN
Yeah.
JIMMY
What the hell?
TRUMAN
RUN!
JIMMY
What is it?
TRUMAN
BEAR!
JIMMY
Fur?
TRUMAN
RUN!
JIMMY
Look at that! LOOK AT THAT! LOOK AT THAT!
TRUMAN
RUN!
JIMMY
RUN! RUN! RUN! RUN! RUN!
(Jimmy runs offstage in the direction of the bear.)
TRUMAN
THE OTHER WAY!
JIMMY
I GOT YOU! I GOT YOU! I GOT YOU!
TRUMAN
JIMMY!!!

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 79

 (Jimmy lets out an off-stage yelp. Truman runs offstage.)
LEAVE HIM ALONE! LEAVE HIM ALONE! LEAVE HIM ALONE!
(A moment of silence.
Then we see Truman dragging Jimmy back on stage. Jimmy can’t
walk.)
JIMMY
(A little weakly:) I got him. I got him. Did you see that?
TRUMAN
You got him all right.
JIMMY
Where’d he go?
TRUMAN
You mean after he picked you up by the ass and threw you into that boulder?
JIMMY
I had him!
TRUMAN
I chased him off.
JIMMY
Why’d you do that?
TRUMAN
Are you nuts?
JIMMY
Let me at him.
TRUMAN
Okay.
(Jimmy tries to get up, but can’t.)
JIMMY
Ahhhhhhh….
TRUMAN
Go ahead.
(He tries again, but he can’t. He stops trying.)
JIMMY
(Changing the subject:) Did you see that?
TRUMAN
You bit his tale.

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 80

 JIMMY
I had to jump for it.
TRUMAN
You got him mad.
JIMMY
I didn’t let go.
TRUMAN
Nearly ripped it off.
JIMMY
Tasted great.
(They laugh.)
TRUMAN
You going to be okay?
JIMMY
Just need to rest.
TRUMAN
That tree over there.
JIMMY
Yeah?
TRUMAN
Can you stand?
JIMMY
I’ll be fine.
(Truman drags Jimmy further on stage. Truman notices the blood on
Jimmy’s leg.)
TRUMAN
Let’s sit here under the tree for a while and listen. See that?
JIMMY
What?
TRUMAN
Stars.
JIMMY
Moon.
TRUMAN
Hear the owl in that tree.
JIMMY

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 81

Bet he has a mouse. Think he’d share?
(Truman sniffs.)
TRUMAN
Fresh water.
JIMMY
Where?
(Truman points off stage.)
TRUMAN
Just down the hill.
(He hears something and he turns around.)
JIMMY
What is it?
TRUMAN
Doe.
JIMMY
Baby one.
(Truman starts to get up to go hunting. Jimmy stops him.)
No.
TRUMAN
What?
JIMMY
Let her be.
TRUMAN
You’re hungry.
JIMMY
Let her be.
TRUMAN
Why?
JIMMY
She’s so beautiful. Let’s just watch.
(They mime watching the doe as it crosses the stage. Then Truman
sees something. He sits up.)
Where’d she go? What’s that?!
TRUMAN

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 82

WILD ONES!
JIMMY
They’re after her?
TRUMAN
All three.
JIMMY
Look at them run.
TRUMAN
Flying.
JIMMY
Ever seen anything like that?
TRUMAN
They got her.
JIMMY
Bringing her down.
TRUMAN
They got her.
JIMMY
So quick. Just walking… gently through the moonlight. To the drinking hole…
TRUMAN
And out of nowhere. It’s over.
JIMMY
Did they see us? Wild ones?
TRUMAN
Here he comes.
JIMMY
So big. Bigger than the rest. Truman, I’m scared.
TRUMAN
Sure you are. We’re all scared. Remember?
JIMMY
No.
TRUMAN
But we have courage. That’s what you taught me. I’ll be right back.
(Truman crosses off stage. Jimmy is alone on the stage for a few beats.
He is frightened and getting weaker from his injuries.)
JIMMY

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 83

What did he say?
TRUMAN
They’re done with her. Now they’re moving back up the hill.
JIMMY
Are you…
TRUMAN
… I can stay.
JIMMY
Don’t worry. I’ll find you.
TRUMAN
How?
JIMMY
I have a nose, don’t I?
(They laugh for a moment. Then they both become anxious.)
Up on that ridge?
TRUMAN
Yeah.
JIMMY
Bet the view is beautiful up there.
TRUMAN
See all the way to the river.
JIMMY
I’ll find you.
TRUMAN
You get hungry, use your front legs and dig. That’s why I dragged you to the tree.
JIMMY
You remembered.
TRUMAN
Of course.
JIMMY
I’ll be fine.
TRUMAN
Nothings going to harm you. I made sure of that.
JIMMY
How?

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 84

 TRUMAN
I made them promise.
JIMMY
You did?
TRUMAN
Of course.
JIMMY
Beautiful tree. Smells so good. I think there’s a chipmunk… a nice juicy, fur ball of a
chipmunk right here. Under my nose.
(Lighting transition.
Lights come up.
Jimmy is gone.
Truman speaks to the audience.)
TRUMAN
I never saw Jimmy again. As I was led away, I looked back. He lay there. Sniffing
the dirt under the tree. Gently scratching the ground with his one good leg. They kept
their promise.
I ran with the wild ones. They let me in and I ran. The four of us. We owned the
forest and the rivers and the lakes and the streams. Running wild and free, we ruled
the night.
But the night doesn’t last forever. One-by-one they fell. Poisoned meat. Turkey
farmer with a shotgun. The wild one? A broken leg that wouldn’t mend.
I’m old now. And on a cold winter night… when I’m spent from the chase of a
hunter… too tired to dig for the scraps of food hidden beneath three feet of ice and
snow. I think about your home in the city. My bed. My blanket. My bowl. The
warmth of sofa as I lay with my head in your lap. How easy it all was.
I think back to the first time we met. You came to the box and lifted me up… away
from the heat of my mother. You held me up to your face and we touched. My nose
to your nose and we smelled each other for the first time. I remember that scent. And
I miss it.
I have my battle scars. My limp. You probably wouldn’t even recognize me if you
saw me… driving up the parkway on your way into the hills. There I’d be. Beside the
road. Eating from a spilled garbage can. Maybe you’d see me in your rearview mirror
as you drove away. But if you were to recognize me. If you were to stop the car. Get
out and call my name, I would not come running to you.

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 85

No matter how hard you try to bend us. Get into our minds. Break our wills. Breed
out the things you despise or fear. You will only be fooling yourselves.
We will always be strangers in your world.
(Black out.
End of play.)

Bark Park • Mia • Truman by Jim Dalglish p. 86