by CADY MAAS
Where the worlds of fantasy and reality collide, beware … as a thrilling adventure awaits in the Dungeons & Dragons realm!
Last week, She Kills Monsters made its stage debut at Chadwick. She Kills Monsters featured a host of Chadwick’s talented actors, with seniors Amalia Goshtigian and Adeline Smith playing the lead roles.
She Kills Monsters tells the story of Agnes Evans. She is a girl that connects with her distant teenage sister Tilly after Tilly’s death. Through reading Tilly’s Dungeons and Dragons journal, Agnes discovers the fantasy world that was her sister’s refuge.
As she journeys through the world imagined in her sister’s journal, fighting monsters and learning about herself, she finds herself finally connected with her sister.
“This is a fun, fast, exciting show,” said Andi Dëma, Upper
School theater teacher. “I think the student body will love it. There’s awesome costumes, puppets, lights, projections, acting, and stage combat … She Kills Monsters deals with two of my favorite things: high school and Dungeons and Dragons. And it combines the two pretty deftly.”
“This really feels like our chance to do this show that we’ve been wanting to do our entire high school career. And me being able to play Agnes and go on her journey with her and experience that is something that’s really special to me,” says Goshtigian.
She Kills Monsters, however, is no ordinary play. As Dëma emphasizes, “It’s dealing with texts, subject matter, scenes, and moments that they’ve never encountered before.”
The play covers themes such as family, grief, and loss through a setting based delicately in comedy.
Speaking about the play’s distinct themes and ideas, Goshtigian adds that She Kills Monsters draws beautiful connections to the real world.
“It’s such an impactful show. It hits a lot of very relatable points to people around grief and belonging … that there are monsters you can defeat because you have the strength to fight them.”
The show, which featured a divided-projection backdrop and a comedic dance number, captivated the audience from beginning to end. The show’s climax brought out the crew’s most stunning creation, a massive five-headed dragon puppet which served as the final boss Agnes had to defeat to complete her quest.
Goshtigian reports, “Everybody is really funny. One thing that I love about Chadwick is that through my entire high school career, I always end up laughing at something during rehearsal. The cast members are so funny. They have so much energy, they bring so much life to the characters. Everybody is all there to play at the theatrics of everything. And I love that.”
As the group conquered the play, they shared so many fun memories.
“The best part of my day is when somebody does something, or something happens, and there is a mess up where it goes too slow, and somebody happens to fills in that space with a joke. And then everybody is laughing, and it is the best experience ever,” Goshtigian said. “You just keep playing, keep going. And it really makes it even better.”
Since Goshtigian took the lead role, she hasn’t regretted a moment. Reflecting on her journey, she said, “I never knew when the next opportunity to be in that show was ever going to come up for me again. And so when it does, you really just have to go for it and seize the moment.”
And seize the moment they did. Through their training process, the team bonded with each other, they shared laughter and tears, and they learned lifelong lessons.
They even worked with stage combat professionals to improve their show. Goshtigian reflected on the show’s bountiful takeaways.
“The greatest lesson the show has taught me is that anywhere you go, anything can happen if you are just willing to go ahead and take the risk. You can learn to really play whatever game is before you.”
Chadwick’s spring musical, Legally Blonde, premieres in February.
The show promises to offer another memorable experience. Already, the cast is hard at work.
As the Chadwick community turns its sights toward February’s musical, Goshtigian waved goodbye to her theater community with a parting thought.
She said, “Thank you to the cast. Thank you to the crew. Thank you to the creative team. This has been a wonderful adventure.”
The Mainsheet 