AVPA Theater’s 2026 fall play will be “She Kills Monsters.”
“She Kills Monsters” is a must-see play about an older sister, Agnes, who ventures out into a Dungeons and Dragons world to figure out who her sister really was. “‘She Kills Monsters’ is a beautiful, hilarious, gut-wrenching, and heart-warming story that addresses themes like grief, sisterhood, chosen family, mental health, queer relationships, and serves as a love letter to the 90’s and D&D,” said Cecilia Loo-Miller, the student director of the play.
The storyline starts when Agnes, a popular varsity cheerleader, finds a Dungeons and Dragons book that belonged to her late sister. With the help of a nerdy freshman named Chuck, she enters the world of D&D to try to better understand her sister, Tilly. The original “She Kills Monsters” written by Qui Nguyen, was first performed on November 4th 2011. It premiered off-off-Broadway at The Flea Theater in New York City, and is now coming to our own Robert Frost and being performed by our fellow classmates! The story uses shifts between the real world and the magical world of a D&D game to demonstrate the parallels between Tilly’s world and Agnes’.
There are 2 casts: the Dungeons cast featuring Kaylin Murchison as Agnes, Sophie Hill, Benjamin Flenner, Zoe Smith, Sachi Reiss, Karlyn Avila, Mila Petrella, Amir Kumar, Aaron Zhao, Maya Austin, and Zoe Simon; and the Dragons cast starring Iris Harmon as Agnes, Royale Lewis, Leopold Obradovic, Bruce Marin, Veronica St. Angelo, Sole Kirk, Lina DeRosa, Sky Williams, Yzo Santos, Madison Vermette, and Mila Skyrme.
The show times for the Dungeons cast are on 11/11 at 7:00pm (*Free), 11/13 at 7:00pm, and 11/14 at 2:00pm. The Dragons cast performs on 11/12 at 7:00pm, 11/14 at 7:00pm, and 11/15 at 2:00pm. From casting to behind the scenes, the actors aren’t the only people who helped this play come together. This production will show the hard work of countless people on stage and off.
Seniors Kaylin Murchison and Iris Harmon both play the lead, Agnes, for their own casts. “I like the character journey she goes through. The ending is really rewarding as an actor to kind of see it all end in this really nice way,” said Harmon.
“75% of the time Agnes is fighting bad guys, showing off cool tricks on stage, and fighting with a sword, and struggling with her grief over her dead sister throughout the course of the show, a breath of fresh air,” said Murchison. The dialogue and the importance of showing every point of view, makes it crucial for them to feel passionately about the scenes they are stepping into.
AVPA theatre has spent months dedicated to making this play feel special. It is also the last fall play for the seniors who are graduating next year. Therefore, it is important to show up for the school and show support to all the seniors, not to mention the dozens of other students and adults who have contributed. “She Kills Monsters” is guaranteed to be a good time for actors and audience alike!
Buy your tickets at https://avpa.org/announcements/she-kills-monsters and check out The Spot Cafe for “She Kills Monsters” themed drinks! Proceeds go to support our school and AVPA as a whole!