If there is one thing we learn when doing Improv Theatre it's to always expect the unexpected. But it also teaches us to "go with the flow" and react to the events of the moment. The unprecedented confluence of events that started in March of 2020 have been extremely unexpected to say the least. Broadway theatres shut down on March 12th and are just now beginning to open up with some sense of normalcy. Most high schools, colleges and community theatres lost the chance to present their spring shows and for some this moratorium still continues. The theatre world has found itself in a crisis from which we are just now beginning to recover.  Even "going with the flow", one thing is very clear - how we produce and experience theatre is still going to be very different for our foreseeable future.

With all of this swirling about, we here at Syosset High School Theatre Arts made a commitment to try to bring back some sort of normalcy for our students. The arts have always been an integral part of the educational experience at SHS and in these still uncertain times they are the one thing many of our students look to in order to express who they are and how they are feeling.  Expression through the arts is an important way for many of them to cope with the constant uncertainty created by this pandemic and we've been so grateful for the support of the administration, our parents and the students of The Association of Creative Thespians in coming together to make these shows possible.  Although some schools are still limited to creating shows with actors relating to each other from small boxes on the screen, we have been blessed to be able to perform live (although masked) for you on our stage. It is indeed a blessing to share this story with you and the cast and crew are so very excited to be back doing what they love.

It is no surprise that many of the people who participate in theatre also playDungeons and Dragons. The storytelling, detailed character creation, and improvisational skills involved in the game are pure theatricality. Both create a reality dependent on the imagination and commitment of those that participate in it. Both are also realms where many feel they are “outsiders” and that they have found a group to which they belong.  The Playwright, Qui Nguyen is an exciting voice in the American Theatre who understands what it means to negotiate many worlds and identities. He is achild of Vietnamese immigrants, born and raised in the American south, and whose action filled plays are a vehicle to explore surprising depths of human nature. So prolific is Nguyen's writing and so distinct his style, that he is singlehandedly creating a genre that pushes the boundaries of what you can accomplish in a theatre. This play is filled with sword fights, monsters, dragons, and exciting choreography but at its heart She Kills Monsters is a play about loss, escape, and finding the people who make your journey through life worthwhile. It was a joy to work on this production with so many excellent artists, designers, actors, and technicians, who have so painstakingly built this world. It is an honor to be a part of your group.  Our play, She Kills Monsters is an comical, fantastical, poignant, and heartfelt exploration of loss, connection, and self-discovery. 

Dungeons and Dragons is having a renaissance. It may be because my generation – the generation who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s when this play is set – not only grew up playing games but expected those games to grow up with us. We still play it these games: video games, phone games, board games and yes, tabletop role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons. In the theatre, our work depends on our ability to play, and the skills required to bring an imaginary world to life are the more of less the same whether on a stage or aound a D&D table.   In creating She Kills Monsters Qui Nguyen takes us on a thrilling journey where Tilly Evans challenges her older sister Agnes to step outside of her comfort zone and take risks through playing Dungeons & Dragons.  “It’s about adventures and saving the world and having magic.”  

Unfortunatey, like theatre, D&D also has a misogynist and racist history. The particular edition of D&D played in this text not only put a lower cap on a female character’s strength than a man’s, but it also depicted all human and humanoid characters as Caucasian. In its most recent iteration, D&D has evolved to embrace diversity of gender, sexual orientation and race. But, like in theatre, in practice men still do most of the fighting.

One of the remarkable things about She Kills Monsters is that it makes space for women to be the hero and take no prisoners on stage in ways we rarely get to see. Like theatre, D&D is a space that has been claimed by outsiders despite its history. It is a place where queer communities, communities of colour and many others who don’t always fit into the norm can take space.  This play foregrounds the story of a teenage lesbian Dungeon Master in a time and place when being queer, female and a geek made you a target and a freak.  In reading the play, the first thing that stood out for us was the motion and composition of the story telling. The script reads and feels like a comic book, with moments of explosive interruptions from villains and monsters that really bring attention to themselves (much like the villains in the original Power Ranger series).  Villians that our hero must overcome in order to finish her quest.  This play celebrates imagination as a means of empowerment and gives the mostly female cast a chance to show their strength. It is unique in its unapologetic celebration of how imagination can empower the powerless. 

The world we inhabit is full of monsters and they come in all shapes and sizes. They might be physical, they might be a bad or dangerous habit, they might even be an overwhelming urge. They can appear when you least expect them, they can show up in our dreams, they can materialize out of thin air. A monster is defined as anything so ugly as to frighten people, and our fears are as unique to each of us as our fingerprints.  And most monsters require conquering, or at least a good showdown.  The monster has been a favourite trope in theatre, film and literature forever.  Consider the monster created by Dr. Frankenstein. Or the Minotaur of the Greeks. Or Smaug, who guarded the ring.  They are all entities that were frightening but had to either be vanquished or, at least, confronted. Through addressing the monster in some fashion, the hero is allowed to move ahead in her/his life.

In She Kills Monsters, Agnes has a showdown with the monster that represents all the things that she never knew about her sister Tilly. There is a reason that the things we perform are called “plays” and this “play” does double duty in that it is only through the creativity of playing Dungeons and Dragons that Agnes is allowed to confront her monsters (and Tilly’s).  I am always delighted when we can look to creativity as a way to solve problems, whether they are universal or intensely private. I invite you to play along with all the emerging artists who have prepared She Kills Monsters for you.  We know that you are all out there supporting these incredible young actors, technicians and designers who have had their entire lives upended in ways none of us could ever have imaged just a short year and a half ago.  They have endured a disruption unlike anything any of us had to go through at their ages and so, for being here and being the supportive audience they all need to present their art, we thank you.  We hope you enjoy our production and ​join us in celebrating the type of journey that can bring positive growth to us all.

     The courses and performance opportunities offered by the Theatre Arts Program are designed to meet the needs, interests and talents of our students who are interested in theatre and dance,.  Although intended to introduce students to skills and techniques they will need to pursue a possible career in these disciplines, these courses present ALL students the opportunities to develop self-expression and appreciation through participation in various theatrical productions.

     In addition to the experience and training provided in the classroom, students are encouraged to put theory into practice by participating in the numerous theatrical activities outside the classroom.  Primarily through our co-curricular group The Association of Creative Thespians (ACT) and Troupe 3880 of The International Thespian Society (ITS), students each year have the opportunity to participate in the following either on stage or in a technical capacity:

Two main stage dramatic productions each year - a contemporary drama in the fall and a Shakespearean production in the spring.

One main stage musical each year - drawing form the combination of techniques learned in dance classes, stage design classes, music/vocal classes and acting classes the students produce on all-school musical.

One student-directed One-Act play competition - student directors choose a script, cast the show and, with some mentoring from the Theatre Arts coordinator, direct and produce a 30-minute play. These plays are then adjudicated by a panel of judges and awarded a prize for best play.

Two self-directed showcases - at the end of each semester students are encouraged to choose (or write their own) pieces to present before an invited audience. These pieces allow students to stretch themselves in directions of their own interest and showcase their individual talents.

Up to three student directed productions each year - working with the Theatre Arts coordinator students choose a script, edit it to a 70-minute time frame, cast the show, direct and produce a show which is presented in our Little Theater to an invited audience. These opportunities are designed to give them experience directed a full length play or musical from concept to completion.

Various independent study projects are available for students to pursue in areas of the Theatre Arts which are not offered as general courses in the curriculum. These include costume design and construction, theatre arts management, directing, choreography, lighting/sound design, dramaturgy, and playwriting.