By Robert Tomlinson
News Director
THREE RIVERS — The world of Dungeons and Dragons provides the backdrop for a journey of learning about family in a unique play on stage this weekend at the Three Rivers Community Players.
“She Kills Monsters,” a high-octane drama-comedy fantasy play, opened at the Community Players Theatre at 15526 Millard Rd. in Three Rivers on Thursday, March 12, and will run through March 15. The March 13 show will start at 7:30, the March 14 shows will be at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and the March 15 matinee begins at 2 p.m.
The play, written by Qui Nguyen and debuted off-off-Broadway in 2011, tells the story of Agnes Evans, a woman from a small town in Ohio in the mid-1990s, who lost her parents and her younger teenage sister, Tilly, in a car crash. Agnes and Tilly were never close, having been interested in different things in their lives – Agnes was into pop culture while Tilly was in more nerdy or geeky circles. One day, when clearing out Tilly’s room in order to move to her new place, Agnes discovers a Dungeons and Dragons campaign module that Tilly had written herself, and decides to embark on her own action-packed adventure using Tilly’s campaign to get closer to the sister she never truly knew.
“Through playing that D&D campaign, Agnes is growing closer to her sister and learning more about her sister that she didn’t really know when she was alive,” show director Connar Klock said.
The role of Agnes is played by Nicole Weber, while Tilly is played by River Jackson. Chuck, the Dungeon Master of the campaign, is played by Evan Vicker. Miles, Agnes’ boyfriend of five years, is played by Jacob Talmadge. Kaliope, a dark elf party member based on one of Tilly’s high school friends, Kelly, is played by Katie Ault. Lillith, a Demon Queen party member based on another of Tilly’s high school friends, Lilly, is played by Lydia Kanous. Orcus, a demon overlord of the underworld that joins the party and is based on Ronnie, another high school friend of Tilly’s, is played by Luke Ostrem. The roles of Vera, Agnes’ best friend, and Gabbi, a cheerleader succubus that’s based on one of Tilly’s high school bullies, are played by Sophie Niec-Clapp. The roles of the narrator, Tina – another one of the cheerleaders – and Farrah, a fairy boss in the campaign, is played by Elisa Quigley. The role of Steve, a classmate of Tilly’s that is a mage in the game, is played by Kohl Gonser. The monster ensemble/squad is made up of Aaron Smith, Lila Warren, and Sereah Skutt.
Klock said the cast of the play has stood out for a number of reasons, both for their acting ability and for their “incredible spirit of a human being” and collaborative nature in helping to make the production what it is. In fact, Klock added, there were many different ways the cast could have gone, there was so much talent that auditioned.
“We had such an incredible amount of people show up at auditions, that it was very difficult,” Klock said. “We could have had this cast and we could have had a whole second cast with the rest of the people that auditioned, and it would have been just as good.”
Rehearsals so far, Klock added, have been going well so far.
“We often spend our entire time rehearsing and then we want to do more. It’s hard sometimes to be like, alright, everybody, we have to go home,” Klock said. “We enjoy each other’s company.”
Klock has also praised the combat choreography of the production, essential due to most of the play taking place in a fantasy-adventure world.
“It’s spectacular,” Klock said, recognizing the work of fight choreographer Analiese Puzon behind the scenes. “Annalise has just been the most incredible collaborator and so brilliant and so passionate. Watching our cast interact with her has really been like steel sharpening steel. They’re having such an incredible time.”
There are a number of different themes Klock said stand out in the play, with one of the biggest of those being love for family.
“I think that if I were to want people to leave the play with something, it would definitely be that you should love your loved ones now, because you don’t know when someone might be taken from you and when you might not be able to ever talk to them again or ask them the questions that you want to ask them. So, you really need to love people now and don’t wait,” Klock said.
The other big theme, Klock said, is acceptance and love of who people are. With the story being set in the mid-1990s, Klock said the setting is characteristic of “a time before a lot of our social conversations that we’re having currently,” particularly involving the LGBTQ+ community and the struggles of coming out to family.
“One of the things that Agnes discovers about Tilly is that Tilly was a lesbian, and they only learn this after Tilly is already dead and in this D&D campaign,” Klock said. “And what a shame it is that Tilly didn’t feel like that was something she could be forward about. The play does take place in 1995 as well, so a little bit of a different world, but it’s that sort of acceptance and making sure that you can love on your family members that are LGBT that is also really important.”
The production does have its comedic moments as well, something Klock said audiences will enjoy when they come and watch the play.
“They’ll laugh a lot, because there’s so much good humor in the play. They’ll also cry; there are a couple of scenes where it really hits you in the heart,” Klock said. “They can also expect a lot of ‘90s nostalgia; we have lots of great ‘90s references in the play. We also have some really good stage combat with some really good fight scenes that our team has worked so hard on. So, they can expect to have kind of a grab bag of an experience.”
Because of the themes and language used in the play, Klock said if it were to be rated like a movie, it would be a PG-13 production.
“That’s up to parents on whether they think that their young ones are ready for that kind of material, but there is swearing and adult themes in the play,” Klock said.
Overall, Klock said he’s looking forward to putting on the production.
“There is literally something for everyone in this play,” Klock said.
The production was originally scheduled to be performed on March 6-8, but due to the tornado that swept through Three Rivers last weekend, those dates were cancelled and the performance schedule was re-arranged for this weekend.
Tickets for “She Kills Monsters” are $18 for adults and $15 for students and seniors, and can be bought at the door or online at www.trcommunityplayers.com.
Robert Tomlinson can be reached at 279-7488 or robert@wilcoxnewspapers.com.
