Upon entering Warren High School’s intimate Emerson Theatre we are immediately immersed in the music of the 90’s. Our eyes are drawn to the stage which is a huge elaborate multilayered dungeon with two flickering torches high above. A spectacular spiral staircase leads to the top. There is a mysterious entrance to a cave stage right. And a dark area in center stage from which the magic of theatre will bring forth characters, sets, puppet screens, projections, monsters, and an enormous dragon. The lighting grid above that will facilitate this magic is filled with lighting equipment that would be the envy of any small theatre in Los Angeles.

THE PLAY

This is our introduction to the Drama Department’s presentation of Vietnamese-American playwright Qui Nguyen’s early award-winning play “She Kills Monsters” (2011). Even though Nguyen has moved on to more significant plays, and writing for Disney, this play has a life of its own. It has been staged more than 800 times.

The New York Times referred to it as a “deceptively breezy and somewhat ingenious comedy.”

Nguyen says he based the character of Chuck, the Dungeon Master, on his best friend in school who helped him understand the subtleties of the English language, saved him from bullies, and introduced him to the role playing game Dungeons and Dragons (D&D).

DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS

D&D is celebrating its 50th anniversary. I remember in the 70’s, with my young son, trying to find The War House, a store in Long Beach in search of the rules to D&D. I have seen young people, hours on end, gathered around the dining room table with my son, the Dungeon Master, spinning fantastic stories of their adventure and twists of fate with each roll of these odd-shaped dice. The characters form a party and interact with the setting's inhabitants and each other. Together they collaborate, solve problems, engage in battles, explore, and gather treasure and knowledge.

It’s important for students and audiences to have the opportunity to experience new styles of theatre by artists that reflect on contemporary issues in our society.

To his credit, Kyle Deichman (drama teacher, director, and production designer), has selected the original script, not Nguyen’s later adaptation for high schools.

Diechman says, “When I read the play, I felt the students would appreciate it. I knew they played Dungeons and Dragons, so what better play to launch their performance year.”

THE PLAYWRIGHT

Nguyen is one of our leading contemporary playwrights. He is the founder and artistic director of the Obie Award-winning Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company (2000), which began on the campus of Ohio State University in Athens, Ohio, where “She Kills Monsters” takes place in 1996. Vampire Cowboys are recognized as the creators of Geek Theatre, a unique theatre form that often incorporates action, adventure, fantasy, gaming, and comic book themes into live theatre.

I have been fortunate to see the world premieres of two of Nguyen’s later exceptional plays: “VietGone” (2015), a high-energy comic look at his parents’ romance in an American Vietnamese refugee camp, and “Poor Yella Rednecks” (2019) the sequel, a similar look at his family’s relocation to Arkansas. Both were commissioned by South Coast Repertory Theatre (SCR) in Costa Mesa. SCR’s commitment to new playwrights was one of the theatres that influenced my founding as artistic/administrative director of Los Angeles’s award winning Off Off Broadway storefront Scorpio Rising Theatre (1969-1989).

THE PLAY, THE PLOT, THE THEMES

“She Kills Monsters” is a dramatic comedy that tells the story of Agnes Evans, a 25-year-old high school teacher who has recently lost her parents and little sister, Tilly, in a car accident. Agnes was never close to Tilly. They seemed to live in different worlds. Agnes loved everything trendy and 90’s pop culture, while Tilly had no interest in that, but had a passion for everything we might view as nerdy or geeky. She had a special love for Dungeons and Dragons.

In her grief, Agnes is packing up Tilly's room in order to move everything to her place with her boyfriend. She finds a book and a strange map that Tilly had written for D&D. She seeks out Dungeon Master Chuck, and with his help plays the role-playing game Tilly has designed. As she delves deeper into her quest, the fantasy world and reality begin to collide and mix as Agnes searches to connect with Tilly and realizes how much of her sister she never knew.

The story takes place in reality and in the imaginary game world of D&D. Strong female characters are leaders wielding swords and defeating monsters and demons. Agnes discovers how Tilly struggled with her sexuality and also with being bullied at school.

It is the students in the audience that are particularly moved, reacting and cheering on the positive characters throughout the play. That’s what the Groundlings in Shakespeare’s audiences did.

PRODUCTION DESIGN

With a limited budget, and a large classroom converted into a theatre, Deichman is a gifted production designer giving us this exceptional set, lighting, and sound. It is significant how much he has allowed his students to take responsibly for the production. Deichman recognizes Nathaniel Lopez as a driving force behind the construction of the set, molding of the rocks, and the fight choreography; Ana Trebizo, who designed the costumes, built the masks, the beholder and took on the role of stage manager at the last minute; and Warren High School art teacher William Russell and his sons, who designed and painted the spiral staircase and doors.

One ingenious moment is the surprising emergence of a five-headed dragon, in beautiful work of theatrical puppetry.

CAST AND CHARACTERS

Narrator: Aneshka Boanos
Agnes: Calina Madrigal
Miles: Nathaniel Lopez
Chuck: Adam Simental
Ochs/Ronnie: Ryan Chalhoub
Bug Bear: Diego Velazquez
Big Bear: Roger Sanchez
Steve/Student: Brady Stoll
Tilly: Calinda Madrigal
Goblin/Beholder: Maxine Reyes
Lileth: Aeris Rivera
Faerie/Evil: Melody Vera
Vera/Evil Gaby: Audrina Tafolla
Farrah the Faerie/Evil Tina: Melody Vera
Kaliope: Yareth Alaniz

ADDITIONAL CREW

Lights: Brianna Salomon
Sound: Alex Ruelas
Makeup: Mandy Silva, Desiree Tesso
Running Crew: Hannah Johnson, Sarahi Benitez, Maxine Reyes, Diego Velazquez

Deichman credits Warren High Principal Dr. Cari White for her support, along with the Downey Unified School District Board of Education and California voters who approved Prop 28 supporting arts programs in schools.

NEXT UP ROMEO & JULIET

Always up for a challenge, this spring, the WHS Drama Department will present its first ever “Shakespeare In The Park,” in the school’s front grass bowl area off Paramount and DePalma. Now that’s a challenge and an opportunity.