Juliet Monize as Agnes and Myles Robbe as Miles rehearse a fight sequence in She Kills Monsters. Contributed photo
USM Theatre Lights Up the Stage with the Fantastical, D&D-Inspired Adventure Story She Kills Monsters
The University of Southern Maine Department of Theatre brings audiences back to Russell Hall with the funny, moving, and adventure-packed “She Kills Monsters” by Qui Nguyen Nov. 12-21 on the USM Gorham campus in historic Russell Hall, 24 University Way in Gorham.
It’s 1995 — Gangsta’s Paradise, Waterfalls, and Creep are at the top of the charts. But for Agnes, none of that matters because her little sister, Tilly is gone — or is she? Armed with her sister’s last Dungeons and Dragons campaign, Agnes now has to navigate the secret world Tilly created to find out who she really was when she was alive. Bursting with homicidal fairies, nasty ogres, and 90s pop culture, She Kills Monsters is a heart-pounding homage to the geek and warrior within us all.
Megan Tripaldi, the show’s director and USM Theatre Alum (’12 ), says “She Kills Monsters” has a universal appeal that audiences will love, “Everyone experiences being a teenager. As silly and larger than life as this show can get, the real power behind it is how it shows us that as alone as we felt when we were that age, we never really were.” She says that the play, which slips in and out of real and imaginary worlds, provides unique directing challenges, “The most fun and terrifying part about directing this show is finding the line where the magic and reality blur together. It’s so easy to see things in a binary way; black and white, real and magic. The true challenge is to find the lovely grey areas, because that’s where the truth lives.”
USM Theatre student Juliet Moniz plays the lead protagonist Agnes. “Everything about Agnes Evans is average. Her clothes, her cheerleading, her boyfriend. Until her sister suddenly dies and she is thrust into a world of grief, guilt, and Dungeons and Dragons. For the first time in her life, Agnes is an outsider and the geeks are in charge. She must learn how to fight and accept those who aren’t afraid of being different.”
She Kills Monsters opens November 12th and runs through November 21st. All performances take place
Tickets cost $16 general admission, $8 students, faculty and staff, $12 seniors.
To purchase tickets, or for more information, visit usm.maine.edu/theatre, or call the USM Theatre Box Office at 207-780-5151.
COVID Protocols
USM Theatre requires masks for all audience members and vaccination or proof of a negative PCR test within 48 hours of the performance or a negative ‘Rapid Test’ within 12 hours of the performance. Testing requirements include children under 12.
For more information, contact Janice Gardner at janice.gardner@maine.edu or 207-780-5289.
Copy the Story LinkComments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
