About She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms

Director's Notes:

When I saw She Kills Monsters for the first time I was immediately transported back to high school. I remembered the incessant desire to fit in and to find my people. I fortunately was able to meet both of these needs though theatre and the performing arts. After a short time with the theatre kids I knew I was home! A special thing happens when you are home. The sense of belonging allows you to be vulnerable. By letting your guard down you can connect with other people, and through this you can learn who you really are. In my mind this is what happens for Agnes. Following the breadcrumbs left by her sister, Agnes meets the people who she can be her true self around, and thereby discovers her power.

This play tackles so many important issues: loss, belonging, bullying, representation of marginalized groups (both those who identify as LGBTQIA+ as well as those with disabilities), finding your voice, and living a life that is authentic to who you are. In many ways this play reminds me of a late 1990s Saturday morning cartoon: between the action filled stage combat, broad jokes, and sense of irony. This is fitting because the original version of the script was set in 1994, but at times this clashes with the 2019 setting as described in the Virtual Realms update. And yet, this is not just a carefree romp, the joking action packed scenes are punctuated by moments of real honest connection between characters which give this play its heart.

Though this play is performed virtually, we wanted to honor the theatricality of a live theatre event. Because of this we decided to perform this play live for each of our show. Not only this, but we also chose to abandon the popular zoom conventions of screen sharing and virtual backgrounds for more low-tech options. We hope the individual actor lighting, costumes that would be easily available to teenage LARPers, and title cards/toy puppet theatre elements will delight your senses.

Enjoy the show!

- Richard Buchanan


Synopsis: She Kills Monsters tells the story of Agnes Evans as she leaves her childhood home in Ohio following the death of her teenage sister, Tilly. When Agnes finds Tilly’s Dungeons & Dragons notebook, however, she stumbles into a journey of discovery and action-packed adventure in the imaginary world that was Tilly’s refuge. In this high-octane dramatic comedy laden with homicidal fairies, nasty ogres, and 90s pop culture, the acclaimed young playwright Qui Nguyen offers a heart-pounding homage to the geek and warrior within us all.

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