PLAY BY
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PERFORMANCES
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VENUE
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CAST & CREATIVES
DIRECTOR
ZOE BURKE SOUND/VIDEO OPERATOR ALIX HUDSON CAST ALI TALLMAN MAIRI CHANEL NOAH SEGARD DEVIN ZAMORA CRISTINA VIGIL CLARA NATONABAH DACHARY (DACH) VANN SARAH RUNYAN MILES BLITCH TORI FRAZEE MARGOT COLE (U/S) DRAMATURG MAIRI CHANEL FIGHT & DANCE CHOREOGRAPHER ALI TALLMAN COSTUME DESIGN ALEX REID PROPS DESIGN MAIRI CHANEL GRAPHIC DESIGN MAIRI CHANEL |
THE SHOW
Let's Kicketh Some Ass!
We partnered with Ad Astra Theatre to present this thrilling new virtual adaptation of Qui Nguyen's widely popular play - marrying the exciting action of live performance with the safety of being able to watch from your own home, from anywhere in the world. She Kills Monsters tells the story of Agnes Evans as she leaves her childhood home in Ohio following the death of her teenage sister, Tilly. When Agnes finds Tilly’s Dungeons & Dragons notebook, however, she stumbles into a journey of discovery and action-packed adventure in the imaginary world that was Tilly’s refuge. In this high-octane dramatic comedy laden with homicidal fairies, nasty ogres, and 90s pop culture, acclaimed young playwright Qui Nguyen offers a heart-pounding homage to the geek and warrior within us all. A comedic romp into the world of fantasy role-playing games, She Kills Monsters is a high-octane dramatic comedy laden with homicidal fairies, nasty ogres, and ’90s pop culture – a heart-pounding homage to the geek and warrior within us all. &Sons Theatre's mission is to create insightful, intentional, uncompromising, unconventional theatre. We want to challenge audiences with unfamiliar theatre that includes them and invites them to be part of the conversation “She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com In pursuit of theatre that is both accessible for everyone and sustainable for us, we are using a More-If-You-Can/Less-If-You-Need ticketing model. In recognition of the financial hardships that many of us are facing in the midst of COVID-19, we have significantly lowered our ticket prices.
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FROM THE DIRECTOR
I discovered She Kills Monsters right before my first year of teaching high school theatre. I was intrigued initially because of the design and combat elements (what high schooler doesn't like wearing fun makeup and slinging steel?); reading the script, though, I was surprised by how much it spoke to me, as an adult, beyond the educational opportunities it held. I directed it the next school year and was very moved by the way my students connected to it, as well. After all, they were Tilly's. They were Lilith's. They were Ronnie's. They were Chuck's. They were Steve's. And particularly for my students who were in the process of coming into their own as members of the LGBTQIA community, it was one of the first times they saw themselves represented on stage. The value of that cannot be overstated.
In addition to all of that, a lot of ways, I feel like Dungeons and Dragons in She Kills Monsters is a bit of a stand-in for theatre. We may be limited by our circumstances in our real lives, but theatre offers us the opportunity to become something else - sometimes something entirely different, but other times, a truer version of ourselves. And, crucially, we don't do it alone. As with DnD in the context of this play, theatre gives us a sense of community. That holds an immense amount of value at any time, but especially now that we are all so isolated, the opportunity to work on this show - with a pretty fantastic group of adult actors from the Santa Fe and Albuquerque theatre communities - has been just as great an experience as when I directed it that first time, years ago, with my students.
This time is, of course, a little bit different - as much as I would have loved to direct SKM in person with this same cast, COVID-19 has made that an impossibility. This production (which has been re-re-imagined, from Nguyen's original 1995 script, to his current 2020 script, back to - as I see it, a sort of visual representation of a 90's chat room or message board, not dissimilar to the way such things are used in Quiara Alegria Hudes's brilliant Water By The Spoonful) has, however, allowed us to get very creative with rethinking everything from combat to the place that pre-filmed footage can have in theatrical productions.
We don't know when we'll be able to tread the boards in person again, but I am immensely grateful to playwrights like Qui Nguyen for adapting their works for online performance and allowing actors to continue to play, discover, and create.
- Zoe Burke, Director
I discovered She Kills Monsters right before my first year of teaching high school theatre. I was intrigued initially because of the design and combat elements (what high schooler doesn't like wearing fun makeup and slinging steel?); reading the script, though, I was surprised by how much it spoke to me, as an adult, beyond the educational opportunities it held. I directed it the next school year and was very moved by the way my students connected to it, as well. After all, they were Tilly's. They were Lilith's. They were Ronnie's. They were Chuck's. They were Steve's. And particularly for my students who were in the process of coming into their own as members of the LGBTQIA community, it was one of the first times they saw themselves represented on stage. The value of that cannot be overstated.
In addition to all of that, a lot of ways, I feel like Dungeons and Dragons in She Kills Monsters is a bit of a stand-in for theatre. We may be limited by our circumstances in our real lives, but theatre offers us the opportunity to become something else - sometimes something entirely different, but other times, a truer version of ourselves. And, crucially, we don't do it alone. As with DnD in the context of this play, theatre gives us a sense of community. That holds an immense amount of value at any time, but especially now that we are all so isolated, the opportunity to work on this show - with a pretty fantastic group of adult actors from the Santa Fe and Albuquerque theatre communities - has been just as great an experience as when I directed it that first time, years ago, with my students.
This time is, of course, a little bit different - as much as I would have loved to direct SKM in person with this same cast, COVID-19 has made that an impossibility. This production (which has been re-re-imagined, from Nguyen's original 1995 script, to his current 2020 script, back to - as I see it, a sort of visual representation of a 90's chat room or message board, not dissimilar to the way such things are used in Quiara Alegria Hudes's brilliant Water By The Spoonful) has, however, allowed us to get very creative with rethinking everything from combat to the place that pre-filmed footage can have in theatrical productions.
We don't know when we'll be able to tread the boards in person again, but I am immensely grateful to playwrights like Qui Nguyen for adapting their works for online performance and allowing actors to continue to play, discover, and create.
- Zoe Burke, Director
IN THE PRESS
Alex De Vore
August 19, 2020 | Santa Fe Reporter
August 19, 2020 | Santa Fe Reporter
Zoe Burke
August 18, 2020 | Broadway World
August 18, 2020 | Broadway World
