USM Theatre Opens SHE KILLS MONSTERS Next Week

The USM Department of Theatre brings audiences back to Russell Hall with the funny, moving, and adventure-packed She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen from November 12-21, 2021.

It's 1995 - Gangsta's Paradise, Waterfalls, and Creep are at the top of the charts. But for Agnes, none of that matters because her little sister, Tilly is gone - or is she? Armed with her sister's last Dungeons and Dragons campaign, Agnes now has to navigate the secret world Tilly created to find out who she really was when she was alive. Bursting with homicidal fairies, nasty ogres, and 90s pop culture, She Kills Monsters is a heart-pounding homage to the geek and warrior within us all.

Megan Tripaldi, the show's director and USM Theatre Alum ('12 ), says She Kills Monsters has a universal appeal that audiences will love, "Everyone experiences being a teenager. As silly and larger than life as this show can get, the real power behind it is how it shows us that as alone as we felt when we were that age, we never really were." She says that the play, which slips in and out of real and imaginary worlds, provides unique directing challenges, "The most fun and terrifying part about directing this show is finding the line where the magic and reality blur together. It's so easy to see things in a binary way; black and white, real and magic. The true challenge is to find the lovely grey areas, because that's where the truth lives."

USM Theatre student Juliet Moniz plays the lead protagonist Agnes. "Everything about Agnes Evans is average. Her clothes, her cheerleading, her boyfriend. Until her sister suddenly dies and she is thrust into a world of grief, guilt, and Dungeons and Dragons. For the first time in her life, Agnes is an outsider and the geeks are in charge. She must learn how to fight and accept those who aren't afraid of being different."

She Kills Monsters opens November 12th and runs through November 21st. All performances take place on the USM Gorham campus in historic Russell Hall.

Content warnings: This show addresses themes of bullying and homophobia and contains depictions of violence. There is use of flashing lights.

To purchase tickets, info, and special accommodations, visit usm.maine.edu/theatre, or call the USM Theatre Box Office at (207) 780-5151.