paper chairs enthusiastically announces its next production, PLANO written by Will Arbery and directed by returning paper chairs co-founder Dustin Wills. PLANO recently received its NYC debut with Clubbed Thumb. Now paper chairs is thrilled to give this very Texas play its very Texas premiere!

In PLANO, three sisters are each suffering from strange household plagues. The men in their lives keep disappearing or doubling; time keeps leapfrogging; and the slugs just won’t go away. Plano, Texas, seems to be not just a nearby city but also a malevolent existential state. The New Yorker recently described PLANO as “a David Lynch script performed as screwball comedy.” In the writer’s words: “My play is about three sisters on a porch in Dallas, dealing with a series of hauntings which are linked to the male presences in their lives. It’s about time moving so fast you don’t have time to think. And dying while you’re still alive. And not being able to help the people you love.” More from the playwright in this recent interview with Brooklyn Rail.

The cast is made up of paper chairs co-founder Elizabeth Doss (Murder Ballad Murder Mystery, Totalitarians), Heather Hanna (The Method Gun, Stop Hitting Yourself), and Hannah Kenah (The Method Gun, Field Guide) as the three sisters. Also featuring Janelle Buchanan (Doubt, Omnium Gatherum), Harold Fisch (Disgraced) and welcoming back to Austin stages the founders of Rubber Repertory: Josh Meyer (Dionysus in 69, Biography of Physical Sensations) and Matt Hislope (Mr. Z Loves Company, A Thought in Three Parts).

PLANO features scenic design by paper chairs co-founder Lisa Laratta (Antigonick, Poor Herman), costume design by Iman Corbani (The Women of ____ [A Song Not Song]), lighting design by Miriam Alexander (Men on Boats), and sound design by Dustin Wills (Catalina). 

Will Arbery (Playwright) is a native Texan whose other plays include Evanston Salt Costs Climbing (New Neighborhood), Wheelchair (3 Hole Press), and the upcoming Heroes of the Fourth Turning receiving its world premiere this Fall at Playwrights Horizons. He’s currently under commission from Playwrights Horizons and Shadowcatcher Entertainment. He’s a member of The Working Farm at SPACE on Ryder Farm, Page 73’s Interstate 73, and Youngblood. This recent interview with the Brooklyn Rail offers more insight into PLANO’s playwright.

Dustin Wills (Director) is a paper chairs co-founder and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY. Upcoming projects include Hansol Jung’s Wolf Play (Soho Rep) and A Boy’s Company Presents: Tell Me If I’m Hurting You by Jeremy O. Harris (Playwrights Horizons). Recent projects: Frontières Sans Frontiéres (Bushwick Starr, Top Ten Theatrical Productions 2017 – New York Magazine), Masculinity Max (Public Theatre), Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (Yale Opera), L’Egisto (Yale Baroque), O, Earth (Foundry Theatre). He is a two-time recipient of the Princess Grace Award, and a Drama League & Boris Sagal directing fellow.