COD College Theater Opens Season with "She Kills Monsters" Nov. 4

College of DuPage (COD) College Theater pays homage to the geek and warrior in all of us when it presents “She Kills Monsters,” by Qui Nguyen at the McAninch Arts Center’s Playhouse Theatre, Nov. 4-14. COD Professor of Theater and Buffalo Theatre Ensemble Associate Artistic Director Amelia Barrett directs. The Chicago Reader says, “Qui Nguyen vividly conjures the underground nerd world of Athens, Ohio, in 1995, when the Internet was operating at a mind-boggling 56 kilobytes per second,” and The Chicago Tribune hails “She Kills Monsters” as “clever, funny, moving, lively and delightfully geeky.”

Agnes is leaving her childhood home and finds her recently deceased sister’s “Dungeons & Dragons” notebook, sending her on a comedic romp into the world of fantasy role-playing, discovering ‘90s pop culture with hostile fairies, nasty ogres and a five-headed dragon as she searches to connect with the sister she never knew.

“At COD College Theater we felt our audience, as much as we, wanted to have some fun and ‘She Kills Monsters’ fits the bill,” says Barrett. “This remarkable fantasy empowers the outsider within all of us, and gives us a chance to step out of our lives … and a little back in time … to see ourselves, one another and life in a new way.”

“She Kills Monsters” received its Off-Off-Broadway debut at The Flea Theater in New York City in 2011 and was presented later at the Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 2013. That same year it garnered an award by the American Alliance for Theater and Education. To date the play has been staged nearly 800 times. Playwright Qui Nguyen is the artistic director of the Obie Award winning Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company, whose productions, penned and choreographed by Nguyen, have performed to sold-out audiences at the New York International Fringe Festival and enjoyed extended runs throughout the nation.

The cast for “She Kills Monsters” includes residents from Carol Stream, Downers Grove, Glen Ellyn, Lisle, Lombard, Naperville Roselle, West Chicago and Wheaton and features Seren Croteau (Agnes), Leo Grabowski-Grant (Vera), Jack Harrington (Miles), Sianna Hoover (Narrator/Farrah the Faerie), Isabella Iasillo (Evil Tilly), Rhiannon Iasillo (Evil Gabby), Lucy Laplaca (Lilith/Lilly), Brandon Luna (Orcus/Ronnie), Antonjia Magazin (Tilly), Nathaniel Sojka (Chuck), Bianca Tellez (Kaliope/Kelly) and Alexander Wisniewski (Steve).

The design team for “She Kills Monsters” includes Amelia Barrett (director), Sabrina Zeidler (scenic and properties design), Kimberly G. Morris (costume and hair design), Elias Morales (lighting design), Fisher Parsons (sound design) and David Gonzales (fight director). Jamie Foster is stage manager and a Second City John Belushi Scholar Recipient.

COD College Theater’s presents “She Kills Monsters” by Qui Nguyen, directed by Amelia Barrett at the McAninch Arts Center’s Playhouse Theater, 425 Fawell Blvd. on the campus of College of DuPage, Nov. 4-14. Performances are 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $16 (adult) and $14 (student). For tickets or more information, visit AtTheMAC.org or call the MAC Box Office at 630.942.4000.

Related Special Events: Pre-show discussion with director and designers 6:45 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 4; Post-show discussion with director, actors and crew Friday, Nov. 12.

Please note: This play uses adult language and themes. COVID-19 Protocols: Masks are required for all visitors to the MAC. For more info visit AtTheMAC.org