By Eva Trieger in Poway, California
In Judaism when we remember the deceased, we believe their soul has an aliyah. This zichronam livracha, allows us to make their memory a blessing. PowPac’s current show, She Kills Monsters, explores a sister’s quest to get to know her younger sister who has passed away in a car accident, along with their parents. While siblings may grow up under the same roof, it is not uncommon for them to have unique interests and experiences.
This edgy show premiered in New York City in 2011, and 15 years later, has made its way to PowPac, drawing younger patrons into the intimate space. Set in 1995, in Ohio, the plot tracks a high school teacher’s journey to learn more about her younger sister, Tilly (Cassandra Shellum), by asking Tilly’s friend group about a notebook found in her bedroom.
The notebook details the story and characters in the game of Dungeons and Dragons. Never having played any video games led me down a rabbit hole, researching the history of these virtual war games, their evolution, creators and regulations.
Despite my paucity of understanding gaming, I did understand the director’s message about the “weird, nerdy, overly imaginative” teens who found comfort in the fantasy game, and along the way, discovered a peer group. I also gleaned how Agnes Evans (Dr. Heather Warren) entered her deceased sister’s world to better understand who Tilly was.
By relying on the Dungeon Master, Chuck (Michael Miller), Agnes was able to meet her sister’s friends and foes: Lilith, the Demon Queen (Justine Elise Banal), Kaliope the Dark Elf (Kaylin Saur), Orcus the Demon (Tim Baran) and Vera (Kaitlyn Summers) in the role playing module. Each of these encounters enables Agnes to move through the stages of grief, as she battles monsters, bullies and cheerleaders (?!), Gabi and Tina (Jana Russick and Jackson Taitano).
The deeper Agnes engages in the fantasy, desperate to finally know her lost sister, the greater the gulf grows between Agnes and her boyfriend, Miles (Travis Rynders).
The play reveals the young teen girl’s sexual experimentation. All of the characters in the Dungeons and Dragons world are gay, and this seems to speak to the questioning of so many teenagers as they explore their identities. Initially, this is surprising to Agnes Evans, yet like so many other facets of her sister, she comes to accept that she really didn’t know her sibling, and it is only through her death and willingness to play D & D that she understands who Tilly was and discover closure, hopefully giving her sister’s soul and aliyah.
Vietnamese playwright, director and screenwriter, Qui Nguyen, penned this play in 2011, but later revised the screenplay. His target audience was teens and young adults. Nguyen went on to win awards including the ATCA New Play Award and the 2016 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing.
It is brave of PowPac to produce this show, because it will not be everyone’s cuppa tea. The acting is quite good, the fight scenes are clever and the premise, touching. I suspect the show will resonate with younger audiences who are familiar with virtual gaming and familiar with some of the characters’ angst.
She Kills Monsters will run through August 16th. Tickets may be purchased at www.PowPAC.org or by phone at 858.679.8085.
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Eva Trieger is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts.