Paper Cut

by Andrew Rosendorf

After rehabbing at Walter Reed from injuries caused by an IED explosion, Kyle, now an amputee, finds himself navigating the personal and emotional minefield of returning home. PAPER CUT is a raw exploration of the physical and emotional toll of our returning soldiers as well as the signature wound of the war in Afghanistan: the loss of limbs.

After rehabbing at Walter Reed from injuries caused by an IED explosion, Kyle, now an amputee, finds himself navigating the personal and emotional minefield of returning home. PAPER CUT is a raw exploration of the physical and emotional toll of our returning soldiers as well as the signature wound of the war in Afghanistan: the loss of limbs.

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Paper Cut

Recommended by

  • Logan Rodgers: Paper Cut

    This piece chokes me, beautifully and horribly. The anguish of surviving combat, trauma, and cultural repression cause such a volatile crock pot, that Rosendorf approaches with incredible emotional intelligence and grace. While the world we live in gets progressively efficient at violence, without being rote shows like this bring healing and space for that complex world of heightened pain and lost time enforced by that systemic trauma conditioning of Military culture.

    This piece chokes me, beautifully and horribly. The anguish of surviving combat, trauma, and cultural repression cause such a volatile crock pot, that Rosendorf approaches with incredible emotional intelligence and grace. While the world we live in gets progressively efficient at violence, without being rote shows like this bring healing and space for that complex world of heightened pain and lost time enforced by that systemic trauma conditioning of Military culture.

  • Asher Wyndham: Paper Cut

    Rosendorf is a rare playwright that knows how to create a play with time transitions. Jarring, quick, sometimes fluid transitions from past to present from the perspective of soldier Kyle will create an unforgettable spectacle for your audience. A spectacle that's a minefield of explosive emotions. Rosendorf achieves that while exploring subjects of masculinity, male body, gay sexuality, trauma, and war.
    This is one of those plays where total design - media, lighting, sound and set - could achieve something spectacular. What a challenge for designers!

    Rosendorf is a rare playwright that knows how to create a play with time transitions. Jarring, quick, sometimes fluid transitions from past to present from the perspective of soldier Kyle will create an unforgettable spectacle for your audience. A spectacle that's a minefield of explosive emotions. Rosendorf achieves that while exploring subjects of masculinity, male body, gay sexuality, trauma, and war.
    This is one of those plays where total design - media, lighting, sound and set - could achieve something spectacular. What a challenge for designers!

  • Nick Malakhow: Paper Cut

    Wow! What an extraordinarily tender and complex examination of several queer men each with unique relationships to masculinity, war, and how those things intersect with their identities. Kyle is such a powerful protagonist, a bundle of nerves waiting to be exposed. I loved how this play moved along at a contemplative pace, while propelling itself intently to a suitably wrenching, sweet, and inspiring climax. Rosendorf transitions from scene to scene with boldly theatrical "cinematic" insta-cuts. Scenes bleeding into the next only serve to underscore Kyle's attempts to make sense of his...

    Wow! What an extraordinarily tender and complex examination of several queer men each with unique relationships to masculinity, war, and how those things intersect with their identities. Kyle is such a powerful protagonist, a bundle of nerves waiting to be exposed. I loved how this play moved along at a contemplative pace, while propelling itself intently to a suitably wrenching, sweet, and inspiring climax. Rosendorf transitions from scene to scene with boldly theatrical "cinematic" insta-cuts. Scenes bleeding into the next only serve to underscore Kyle's attempts to make sense of his fragmented life. I must see this!

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Development History

  • Type Workshop, Organization Local Theater Company, Year 2018
  • Type Workshop, Organization Playwrights' Center, Year 2017
  • Type Reading, Organization Queens Theatre, Year 2016

Production History

  • Type Professional, Organization Park Theatre (UK), Year 2023
  • Type Professional, Organization Local Theater Company, Year 2018

Awards

  • Woodward/Newman Drama Award
    Bloomington Playwrights Project
    Finalist
    2019
  • 2017 National Showcase of New Plays
    NNPN
    Finalist
    2017
  • Seven Devils Playwrights Conference
    ID Theater
    Semi-Finalist
    2017
  • Playwrights Conference
    PlayPenn
    Finalist
    2017