The mystical world of Dungeons & Dragons will come to life April 24-27 at Valborg Theatre.
Written by Qui Nguyen, “She Kills Monsters” takes place in two vastly different worlds. One consists of the 1990s suburban town of Athens, Ohio, a place defined by its normality, according to the play. The other is the fantastical world of New Landia, a place where fairies and monsters work together to complete quests and journeys.
The play follows Agnes Evans, a young woman grappling with her grief when her entire family, including her younger sister, Tilly, died in a car crash at the opening of the play. Amid the woes of her grief, she discovers the world of New Landia, the campaign Tilly led as Dungeon Master. Through this fictional world she begins to understand the sister she was always irritated by in the real world.
Paulette Marty, a professor of theatre arts, is the director of the production. She emphasized how amazing the collaboration between the cast and crew has been.
“Most of the time as a theatre director, you come in with a very strong idea of what you want the show to say and feel like, and work with your collaborators to flesh that out,” Marty said. “But, for this show, so many people on the creative team and cast have so much passion for Dungeons & Dragons and this particular story that I have concentrated more on helping weave together and realize their visions than on forming my own.”
To prepare for their roles, Marty encouraged the cast to dive deeper into their characters. In the beginning of February, the cast played their own campaign of Dungeons and Dragons in order to do so.
Kiana King is a freshman theatre arts major. On stage, she switches between the characters Kelly, a student with a physical disability, and Kaliope, an athletic dark elf.
“I didn’t know how fun and how immersive it was until after our first campaign,” King said. “After I left it felt like I was leaving actual memories of real experiences.”
Mackenzie Boone is a junior double majoring in theatre performance and english. She performs as the lead, Agnes Evans. Despite the differences between the two, Boone has bonded deeply with her character over the course of the last several months.
“I think a lot of people can relate to her even if they haven’t experienced her specific circumstances,” Boone said. “She’s a young person who’s trying to figure out how to move on when everything feels like it’s falling apart. I think that’s pretty accurate to how we all feel right now.”
One of the most important components of “She Kills Monsters” is the many fight sequences. Up on stage, the characters adorn their weapons and fight against several vicious bosses. Many of the cast members said the choreography has been a challenging factor.
“It was very meticulous and precise,” Boone said. “One of the reasons I was especially drawn to this role was because of the stage combat. It made me feel like Jon Snow.”
Derek Davidson, an associate professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance, leads the dramaturgy team for the play. Dramaturgy is a field devoted to researching and understanding plays in order to create an accurate and interesting depiction of the written script upon the stage.
“Dramaturgs do a lot of research on the play itself. Where is the play set? When is the play set? Who are the characters? What is their backstory? All of that stuff,” Davidson said.
Dramaturgs don’t just work on the background of the play, explained Davidson. They are involved in the experience of the play as well, helping with everything from accurizing set design to setting the atmosphere of the Valborg lobby.
“The show experience starts with people coming into the theater, and we’re going to have a lot of cool stuff,” Davidson said. “We’re actually going to have a D&D campaign in the lobby. Just sitting at a table; they’ll have snacks and they’re going to be playing the game just to get people in the mindset.”
For all Dungeons & Dragon lovers out there, this play provides an opportunity to get into costume. Anabel Merriam, a sophomore theatre arts major, emphasized this. She plays the roles of Tina and her counterpart, Evil Tina.
Outside of her schoolwork and growing acting career, she enjoys cosplaying a wide array of characters.
“We really would love it if people wanted to come in their D&D characters or come as whatever cosplay they want,” Merriam said.
Joey Diasparra is a senior theatre arts major. He plays Orkus, the Overlord of the underworld in New Landia as well as Tilly’s friend Ronnie. He describes his character as a curmudgeonly monster who watches too much “Twin Peaks.”
“Whether you know a ton about D&D, whether you know nothing about D&D, whether you know a lot about theater or nothing about theater, there’s something in this play for everybody,” Diasparra said. “It’s funny, it’s weird, it’s sad, it’s very heartwarming.”
“She Kills Monsters” will be Diasparra’s fifth and final play with App State as he gets ready to graduate in May.
“I think the most important thing is that you’re going to have fun if you come to this show,” Diasparra said. “Take a night off, leave all your stuff at the door and just come see a really, really good show.”
“She Kills Monsters” will play April 24-27 at Valborg Theatre. All evening performances begin at 7 p.m. with matinee shows at 2 p.m. Student tickets are $10, faculty and staff tickets are $15 and adult tickets are $17. Tickets can be purchased through the Schaefer Center for Performing Arts.