Drama! Action! Dragons…? As a fan of both Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) and theater, I was thrilled to hear about the fall play. After spending a busy month and a half learning the script, creating props, and practicing, “She Kills Monsters: Young Adventurers,” a story by Qui Nguyen about a high-school student coping with the loss of her sister through D&D, ran in Seto Hall from Nov. 6-9, and stood tall and proud with its strong story, life-like acting and stunning design.
“She Kills Monsters” debuted on Nov. 4, 2011 at the Flea Theater in New York City. In 2016, it was adapted into “She Kills Monsters: Young Adventurers Edition.” The protagonist, Agnes, is adapted from a 25-year-old English III teacher to be a senior, profanity is toned down and the story is generally more polished.
In our performance, the acting was astronomically endearing. Whether it be dorky lines like, “What the Hades!” and “You can’t hurt me… I play football!” or more sincere lines, such as the speech about the wish-fulfillment aspect of D&D delivered by Tilly (played by Kayli Shimizu ’28) or her last remarks to her sister as written at the end of her journal, every line was soulfully performed. A stand out example was when Evil Tina (played by Qingqing Chen ’27) twists Agnes’ (played by Tria Boland ’25) arm. Upon my first viewing, my heart was beating out of my chest!
While design is not as flashy as acting, it was just as striking. The tennis court seating–an arrangement that places seating in two rows on opposing sides of the stage– was unexpected, but exceptional at immersing the audience.
“[Seto is] really beautiful,” Ms. Nagatani reflects, “However for theater, it’s a little tricky because it’s so big, and so I wanted to find a way to create a smaller space so that the audience would feel more immersed and in the place.”
The staging certainly succeeds at immersion! The audience surrounds and engulfs the stage, bringing a certain level of intimacy and closeness, which would be much more difficult in a typical, proscenium stage.
Even the pre-show music choices were thoughtful and added to the ambience. Songs like “Welcome to Paradise” by Green Day, “All That She Wants” by Ace Of Base and “Buddy Holly” by Weezer subtly eased the audience into a time of decades past.
A particularly stand-out example of the exemplary design is the trick during the dragon fight when the lights turned red and the background changed to a projection of flames. It was a clever way to dodge around the liability that pointing a flamethrower at a student would bring.
The fall play was a sight to behold! Whatever production comes to ‘Iolani next, I am sure that the theater department will execute it with style and creativity!
