SHE KILLS MONSTERS Will Come to Mary Moody Northen Theatre

Mary Moody Northen Theatre will launch its 54th season with She Kills Monsters by acclaimed playwright Qui Nguyen. A high-energy theatrical adventure blending comedy, fantasy, and heartfelt storytelling, the play follows a young woman who enters the imaginative world of Dungeons & Dragons in an unexpected quest to better understand the sister she has lost. Directed by Marcus McQuirter, She Kills Monsters runs September 17–27, 2026, at MMNT on the St. Edward's University campus.

Set in the 1990s, She Kills Monsters follows Agnes Evans, whose discovery of her late teenage sister Tilly's Dungeons & Dragons notebook sends her into a fantastical world populated by heroic adventurers, fearsome monsters, and larger-than-life villains. As Agnes joins Tilly's campaign, the game becomes a doorway into a part of her sister's life she never knew. Funny, action-packed, and deeply moving, Nguyen's play explores grief, identity, belonging, friendship, and the courage it takes to truly know the people we love.

Director Marcus McQuirter currently teaches in the Drama Department at Austin Community College. He holds a BFA in Directing from Howard University, an MA in Theater from the University of North Texas, and a PhD in Performance as Public Practice from The University of Texas at Austin. Professionally active as a stage and audio drama director, his recent credits include Macbeth at MMNT, Annie Jump and the Library of Heaven at The VORTEX, Not This White Woman at Hyde Park Theatre, Hearts Like Fists at Austin Community College, Jarrett King's A War of the Worlds at Penfold Theatre Company, Nightbird at Austin Playhouse, The Burden of Legacy Podcast, and Oversight with The Zahir.

The creative team includes Theada Haining (Scenic Design), Susan Branch Towne (Costume Design), Conor Tompkins (Lighting Design), Kiryat Jearmin Castillo, Johann Solo (Sound Design), Wendy Sanders (Hair/Make Up Design), Sheila Gordon (Vocal Coach), Andrew Heinrich (Fight Choreographer), and Brennah Crowley-Galvin (Production Stage Manager)

Joining the student company is professional guest artist Amber Quick, appearing as the Narrator/Vera. Quick returns to the Hilltop after previously appearing at MMNT as Reverend Mother Mary Regina in Nunsense. Her recent regional credits include Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help at Ivoryton Playhouse; A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Importance of Being Earnest, and Hamlet at Illinois Shakespeare Festival; and The Girl Who Became Legend at The Kennedy Center.