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She Kills Monsters is bad ass. Fight Choreographer Casey Kaleba mounts some truly exhilarating brawls, featuring spears, axes, and even a curious gelatinous cube. Like kids with no adult supervision, the dozen cast members leap joyfully between the angular platforms that make up Ethan Sinnott’s excitingly dynamic set. Together with a clever and provoking lighting design by Brian S. Allard, She Kills Monsters lends itself to a lot of testosterone-flavored cheering. But don’t be fooled by the demons, elves, and references to 90′s cult TV series. This is a play about real people who confront real tragedy. Director Randy Baker displays superb agility in his ability to hop from deadly earnestness to D&D mayhem in a flash. Baker sacrifices neither substance nor spectacle as he tells us a story about, well, people who tell stories.” DC Metro Theater Arts

The production, directed with some clever touches by Randy Baker, is enveloped in a cheeky, pop-cultural nostalgia… [But] the affecting conclusion of “She Kills Monsters” affirms it as more than a glib riff on nerd culture. Agnes may have to become immersed in make-believe to connect with Tilly, but what she gains through all the shenanigans feels real.” — Washington Post

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: Though Dungeons & Dragons has often been characterized as an escapist crutch for those struggling in gym class, She Kills Monsters channels the game’s traits of imagination and innovation allowing Agnes to come face to face with her and her sister’s demons and in the end prevailing mightily. The warning at the beginning of the play proves accurate: D&D is not therapy. It’s shock therapy.” — DC Theatre Scene

“She Kills Monsters is unabashed nerd theater, a goofy treat for anyone willing to admit they enjoy some fairies, dragons, and gelatinous blobs now and again. It’s hard to imagine any other acting company this season enjoying themselves more than Rorschach’s crew.” -Washington City Paper

If you lived through the 1990’s, and especially if you were young during that time, you’ll recognize these characters instantly, and this production is made to tickle your nostalgia thoroughly. But more than that (and if you don’t remember 1995 with fondness), this production is an excellent expression of a deep script, and, put simply, Rorschach’s SHE KILLS MONSTERS is fantastic storytelling. See it.” — Broadway World

 SKM Dress-38“Qui Nguyen’s SHE KILLS MONSTERS succeeds in introducing the world of the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons to the outside world while never condescending to its adherents. In director Randy Baker’s vibrant production for Rorschach Theatre at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, it’s also a celebration of the mid-90s, a time now 20 years past, with all of its flashy (and nostalgically familiar) musical cues and dances…it’s fairly spectacular.” —MD Theatre Guide 

FEATURE ARTICLES ON SHE KILLS MONSTERS:
DCIST: “Preview: She Kills Monsters @ Rorschach Theatre”
DC Theatre Scene: “Geeks do theatre: creating She Kills Monsters at Rorschach”
WTOP: “She Kills Monsters: Dungeons & Dragons for the grownup crowd”

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SHE KILLS MONSTERS / Photo by Brian Allard

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