By Deanna Dement Myers
‘She Kills Monsters’ by Qui Nguyen. Directed by Marta Rainer. Production Manager/Set Design: David Towlun; Costume Design: Chelsea Kerl; Sound Design: George Cook; Fight Choreographer: Sarah Flanagan; Dance Choreographer: Katie Suchyta;; Lighting Design: Siena Wise; Stage Manager: Natalie Solomon; Assistant Stage Manager: Mieke Bovbjerg;; Fight Captain: Anna Beyette. Through April 14.
“I’m no nerd, I have a girlfriend.”
Oversized polyhedron shapes dominate the stage at the Ruth Nagel Jones Theater at Wellesley College. Upbeat music from the early 90s fades out as a hooded figure emerges from behind the d20. The first of many shadow puppets act out the tragedy that engenders our story. For it is 1995 and we are in Athens, Ohio, where internet operates at a blazing fast 56 kilobytes per second.
Agnes, a 24 year old English teacher at the high school she went to, is packing up her childhood home, following the car accident that killed her whole family, including her much younger sister, Tilly. Agnes finds Tilly’s indecipherable D&D notebook, and takes it to a local expert, DM Chuck Biggs, the high school clerk at the local gaming store. Together, Chuck and Agnes role play through the story in the notebook and discover the world Tilly lived in.
The stage comes alive as Agnes learns the game of Dungeons and Dragons, which was a refuge for Tilly. She encounters sexy demons, blood thirsty fairies, and a pair of Mean Girl harpies dressed in cheerleader uniforms. While she begrudgingly joins Tilly’s party of adventurers, Agnes learns that her actions in the game lead to real-world revelations. The more she battles magical monsters, the more she realizes that she didn’t know her younger sister very well. Nor did she recognize the struggles Tilly dealt with in real life. Besides being a gaming nerd, Tilly was also a lesbian and a champion for those on the margin of the social scene, and Agnes is ashamed once she comprehends these previously unknown parts of her sister’s life.
The all-female-presenting cast throws themselves into this play with great gusto and enthusiasm. There were several well-choreographed fight scenes, often with several melees going on at once. This complex staging gave testament to the skill of the actors involved, and certainly engaged the audience as well. The script is witty and clever, and contains authentic teen dialog, achingly awkward and heartbreaking all at once. The dice-shaped stage pieces sit on top of a hex paper stage which is instantly recognizable by any gamer. For those who don’t play, it seems a perfect multi-level background that suggests the River of Wetness, the Mountain of Steepness, or a guidance counselor’s office as needed.
Watching the show is a hoot. I haven’t had this much fun at a play in a long time, and this may have been because I both played D&D in my youth and lived through the 90s. Those cultures had cringe-worthy moments, though the director wisely chose not to play them up just for the yucks. Instead, we are transported to that era through an excellent soundtrack and subtle costuming, with characters wearing iconic Vans sneakers, chunky Steve Madden ankle boots, and those ubiquitous, stretchy, tattoo necklaces. On a small stage, we are treated to an epic dance battle. It was especially satisfying to watch a fight scene to the song, “Mama Said Knock You Out.”
As we get more engrossed in the plot of the game, Agnes wrestles with the knowledge that she wasn’t a very good big sister. At one point, her somewhat unlikable boyfriend joins the game, and she has to grapple with the tension between his role in her life and how it may have inadvertently affected the relationship she could have had with her sister.
For both gamers and those who have never played, this performance is not to be missed. Many spontaneous moments of guffaws and clapping broke out in the audience. The talented, collaborative cast keep the action going and help us face our own dragons and monsters. For tickets and info, go to: https://www.wellesley.edu/events/node/162361
