“She Kills Monsters” Kills It Opening Night

Agnes is aggressively average. 25 years old, living in Athens, Ohio in 1995, all Agnes has ever cared about is being normal – that is, until the night before her college graduation. Agnes wished that her life could be less boring, and her wish was granted. That very night, her entire family was killed in a car accident. While Agnes was packing up her old family house, she discovered a journal that her nerdy 15-year-old sister, Tilly, had left behind. Tilly was never interested in Agnes’s average lifestyle, much preferring to immerse herself in a land of fantasy, a world she could create and manipulate: the world of Dungeons and Dragons. The journal Tilly had left behind was the last adventure she had written. Agnes, wishing to understand her late sister, set out to play through Tilly’s world. Agnes seeks the help of Chuck Big, a quintessentially 90s high school junior complete with cassette player and flannel shirt tied around his waist. With his help as her dungeon master, Agnes delves into her sister’s adventure only to discover that the world Tilly had created was much more personal than she could have believed. Agnes joins Tillius the Paladin and her party as Agnes the Asshatted, and the motley crew of mythical creatures (and the mere mortal Agnes) begin the search for Tillius’s lost soul. They must battle a trash-talking, high-kicking fairy, a gelatinous blob that Tilly has created to represent Agnes’s boring boyfriend Miles, and Tiamus, the mighty dragon. Agnes discovers herself, her sister, and a new passion, but most importantly, she kills monsters.

The play seamlessly transitions between the reality that Agnes has always been so in touch with and the fantasy world that Tilly could not get her head out of. The realm that Tilly has created within her module is reflective of her day-to-day life: the cheerleaders who bullied her are now all powerful succubi, her friends live out the fantasies they can’t achieve in reality, and Tilly reveals her deepest secrets. Agnes’s exploration exposes her to Tilly’s fears, hopes, friends, and her personality, which Agnes had always avoided.

Frostburg State University’s Department of Theater and Dance kicked off their season on Friday night with the opening of “She Kills Monsters.” The cast and crew fully immersed the audience in the mystical realm with epic pyrotechnics, larger than life projections, incredible stage combat, and magnificent costuming. The set of this production beautifully encapsulates the mix between the reality of school and Tilly’s former room with the blood-spattered chessboard that the realm resides on. There is even a dragon puppet that takes the entire cast to operate because, as Tillius the Paladin said, “what’s a game of D&D if you don’t get to fight a dragon?” The puppet is brilliantly constructed to incorporate all of the characters in the culminating battle.

This show is a wonderful combination of witty humor, wrenching emotions and visual attentions. Whether you’re a die-hard D&D player or have never even heard of it, this show’s combination of the nerd fantasy and everyday reality will suck you in. The next performances will be on Saturday, Oct. 17 and 18, and Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 23 through 25, at 7:30 p.m., with a matinee on Oct. 18 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $6 for students and $12 for the general public. While you’re there, pick up a season pass: $40 for community members but only $20 for students!

The Theatre department auctions off memorabilia from all of their shows, donating all of the profits towards student scholarships. For “She Kills Monsters,” the company is holding a silent auction for a sword, a battle axe, and three Dungeons and Dragons books, all of which are signed by the cast.

Photo by Mia McCaslin.