The UCSB Theater/Dance to Present SHE KILLS MONSTERS: VIRTUAL REALMS

The Department of Theater and Dance presents She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms, a hilarious and heart-warming homage to the warrior within us all, written by Qui Nguyen and directed by Pirronne Yousefzadeh. The show opens at 7 p.m. on May 13 on Zoom and runs through the 15th.

The show follows Agnes Evans after the death of her teenage sister Tilly. When she finds Tilly's old Dungeons and Dragons notebook, she decides to embark on an epic adventure into the fantasy world that was her sister's refuge. The production invites audiences to watch as Agnes comes to terms with her sister's death amongst this comedic world of homicidal fairies and nasty ogres.

While the original version of this script was written for the stage, it has since been adapted for Zoom. Filled with joy and humor, this universal story explores not only the love between sisters, but also the challenges of highschool, growing up, and finding your community.

She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms reminds us to cherish and appreciate those closest to us. "I think the play is a reminder to get to know the people in our lives for who they are, not who we wish they were," said Yousefzadeh. "It's about celebrating one another's weirdness, and honoring our own."

After watching the show, Yousefzadeh hopes that audiences will leave with the same sense of joy and community that exists both within the fiction, and in the process of creating it. "This pandemic has been so emotionally taxing, and super isolating and lonely, and this play is so much about community," she said.

Join the UCSB Department of Theater and Dance for this joyful comedy of love and loss. The production is free to everyone, and the viewing link is available online at www.theaterdance.ucsb.edu.