A Quest of Understanding (Pandora Productions)

Feb 11

3 min read

138

She Kills Monsters By Qui Nguyen Directed by Mollie Murk A review by Beth Beck

Pandora Productions has done it again! Never ceasing to impress, their latest production, She Kills Monsters, is the highlight of the season. Featuring a diverse and all-inclusive cast, as Pandora is known for as supporters of the LGBTQ+ and DEI community, this play has a multitude of elements that help the audience to feel empathetic and included.

Our main character, Agnes (played by Nicole Lockard) takes us on a journey of the grief process years after her younger sister Tilly (played by Bex Willenbrink) passes away in a fatal car wreck. While Tilly and Agnes never saw eye to eye, Agnes was left with a deep desire and lack of opportunity to truly get to know her sister. As fate would have it, the opportunity arises when she finds that her sister had left behind a DnD (Dungeons and Dragons) campaign with her friends. Agnes proceeds to embark on the quest her sister had laid out for her and her fellow players in order to reconnect with her sister.

This aspect of the She Kills Monsters is played with poetic sympathy and humor as we see each character transform from their real life counterparts to the characters they created and dreamed of being in Tilly’s world. Not to give too much of a spoiler to this but there is a particular love interest involved that will leave you clinging to the edge of your seat. The narrator (played by Erica McClure), who also plays Vera in the campaign portion of the play, leads us on an expedition with the main character. This quest helps the audience understand Tilly’s struggles and Agnes’s exploration of familial recognition and personal self-discovery. Coincidentally, the narrator was also my high school English teacher so you could imagine the solidarity I felt with Agnes as is guided through her mission.

Shoutout to the cast and crew for the well-rounded efforts that bring this story to life! The background music, including subtle details such as a snippet of the Zelda theme song, tied the battle and dance sequences together immaculately. The lighting, props, platforms, and artwork elegantly place you in the DnD mindset. The choreography and use of stage space for each battle and dance sequence was well-timed and dramatically engaging.

The “NPC stance” was synchronically comparable to Mortal Kombat characters waiting to make a move for their next turn. The costume designer for the play based each costume off of outfits that she longed to wear growing up. In a way, this could be interpreted as her artwork portraying a sense of what her own DnD character would have been like thus making her part of the campaign as well.

Each performer managed to capture the subtle nuances of the exaggerated version we all see within ourselves through their DnD counterpart. Still, when out of game, their realistic display of humanity in their day by day performances made each of them feel relatable. Save for the Dungeon Master (played by Erik Moth) who, while consistently intense and quirky, perfectly timed their punch lines in a manner that represents that one friend you know who is, well, a proud Dungeon Master in and out of game.

The introduction to the play pays homage to the wearisome factors that actively affect theater tribes nationwide during these trying times. As a form of reverence to this notion I humbly ask readers to “take a page out of Agnes’ book.” If you are looking for an opportunity to learn to laugh through sadness and connect with yourself on an equal level with those around you, do yourself a favor: go see this performance. It leaves you with a feeling that is reminiscent of reading Campbell’s Soup For The Soul books.

She Kills Monsters has a charming way of helping others feel connected through laughter, solidarity, differences, and the epitome of endearing nerdiness: DnD.

To quote the director, Molly Murk, “I hope audiences see Tilly’s creation and, for a moment, think of the adventurers in their own lives who’ve moved on to new realms.”

Murk continued, “I hope folks can feel empowered to be a little silly in our sadnesses and fearless with our feelings. As Agnes makes her way to the Mountain of Steepness, we regular humans can feel ready to encounter our monsters of all kinds a little bit stronger together.”

Additional shoutouts to:

-Steve/Stephen (played by Ian Cobb): their considerable death sequences and constant albeit short-lived appearances brought Kenny from South Park to mind.

-Tiamat, the Five-Headed Dragon

-Miles the Gelatinous Cube (played by Vic Leon Reibel) She Kills Monsters Pandora Productions February 13-15 and February 20-22 at 7:30 pm February 16 at 2 pm February 23 at 5:30 pm Henry Clay Theater 604 S 3rd Street Louisville KY 40202