Young people explore old feelings in TCC's 'She Kills Monsters' | Theater review
Sibling rivalry is the main dynamic in some families. For Agnes Evans (Kaitlyn Ricketts) and her sister, Tilly (Zira Brown), there is more apathy than rivalry.
Geeky Tilly hasn’t met a challenge she doesn’t want to embrace, in real life and in gaming, while Agnes is average in every way possible. As Qui Nguyen’s “She Kills Monsters,” set in Athens, Ohio, begins at Tallahassee Community College’s Theatre TCC!, they don’t “get” each other and that doesn’t seem likely to change.
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After Tilly and the girls’ parents die in a car accident, Agnes yearns to better understand the sister she feels she barely knew.
A notebook containing a Dungeons and Dragons module created by Tilly is inscrutable to Agnes, but Dungeon Master Chuck (Shadin Haitham) proves to be a trusty guide, even though Agnes is initially grossed out and skeptical after he boasts that he’s “big where it counts” (spoiler alert: he means his brain). He is Agnes’ guide to the D&D world that mystifies her.
Agnes spends the entirety of “She Kills Monsters” trying to read between the lines, both spoken and written, as she straddles the fantasy universe Tilly created in New Landia and the earthside world that presented more challenges than Tilly let on, to herself or anyone else.
She is especially flummoxed when upon entering a life-sized version of Tilly’s module, Tilly surfaces as Tillius the Paladin, attired in brilliant armor and brandishing a lit sword. There are no heartwarming reunions, though, as Tillius informs Agnes that the outing they are embarking on is “adventure, not therapy.”
Agnes has nothing but disdain at first as she’s introduced to Lilith the Demon Queen and Kaliope the Dark Elf. As the interloper, her comparatively prim ensemble is seen by them as the outlier compared to their fantasy-inspired garb.
As the four set out to continue the game, picking up the bright red, horned Demon Overlord Orcus on the way, Agnes and Tilly each become more multidimensional in key ways.
In New Landia, Tillius the Paladin is able to try on different outcomes Tilly could have experienced with people from her everyday life. Can her TV-obsessed friend Ronnie (Joseph MacMichael) tear himself away from “Friends” and join her on a dangerous journey? Will her friendship with Lilly (Madison Beehner) become what she dreams it could be when they leave campus and set foot in New Landia?
These cast members are firmly committed to their roles; each handles the transition between real life and Athens seamlessly. Briana Rodriguez and Allison Wotherspoon as Evil Tina and Evil Gabbi, respectively, bring a cutting mean girl vibe, in the high school halls as well as when they are New Landia’s cheerleader succubi.
Audience members can’t help but be roped in to Agnes’ acclimation to the D&D adventure. As she dons black gloves, begins wielding a sword and starts to understand that Tilly’s brand of “weird” was something she could have embraced rather than evaded, the D&D module reveals that it’s about much more than role plays.
Follow Agnes on her journey to understand what Tilly saw in the game. Somewhere amid the standoffs with dragons, the lifesize jello cube and the shapeshifters, a game may turn out to be the best possible portal to deciphering real life.
“She Kills Monsters” is directed by Hannah Talbot, with technical direction by Ken Frederickson, lighting by Jacob Inman, costume design by Katy Fedore and sound/projections by Wayne Almy.
The show’s runtime is 90 minutes; there is no intermission. Audience members with younger children should note that there is explicit language in the play.
If you go
What: Theatre TCC! presents "She Kills Monsters"
When: October 6-8 at 8 p.m.; October 14-15 at 8 p.m. and October 16 at 2 p.m.
Where: Turner Auditorium, Tallahassee Community College
Tickets: $10 to $18, and TCC students, faculty, and staff receive free admission. For ticket information, tcc.fl.edu
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Sibling rivalry at play in Theatre TCC's 'She Kills Monsters'
