By William Kopp

Contributing Writer

The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is putting on their upcoming show She Kills Monsters this weekend from Thursday, April 20 until Saturday, April 22.

She Kills Monsters is a play created by Qui Nguyen in 2011 and tells the story of Agnes Evans as she comes to terms with the death of her teenage sister, Tilly.

The show embarks on a Dungeons & Dragons-style adventure in the imaginary world Tilly created and mixes high-energy comedy with themes of overcoming loss and what it is to be queer.

“It’s also just highly entertaining. It’s like going to one of the big, splashy musicals, it’s got so much going on,” Director Alan Kopischke said. “You’ve got monsters, you’ve got stage fighting, it’s very colorful — it’s kind of like a Marvel movie in some ways.”

Audiences can also expect a lot from the performance itself. 

Kopischke added, “[Expect] a big, bad dragon; a five-headed dragon; demons, elves and monsters; stage combat; an adventure comedy; goofballs. We have, actually, an important story underneath it that confronts bullying and bigotry and takes us on a journey discovering identity, community, friendship and being true to yourself.

The play offers two versions of the script including the original, as well as the Young Adventurers Edition of the script, which will be utilized for UW-Green Bay’s show— primarily used to adapt the characters’ ages from adults to teenagers and omitting the more harsh profanity and intimate references to reflect the characters’ ages as well.

When asked about his favorite part of the show, Kopischke was quick to respond, “I think right now I’m enjoying the comedy of it. Because the comedy comes from good nature, friendship and some of the awkwardness of trying to make new friends — I love it when it makes me laugh.”

Like many shows though, there comes a variety of setbacks from sickness to injury to someone dropping out of the show all together and She Kills Monsters is no exception.

“It’s a huge play,” Kopischke said. “And so, like many shows, we’re always under-resourced, we always have less time than we want, we always have less money for some of the things we want to buy than we want. And, you know, there are the inevitable. We had a cast member out for a week, an important part, and so we were making contingency plans — fortunately that person is back. Yeah, there’s always stuff. That’s part of the thing about theater is it’s all kind of built around ‘okay, what do we have today. We’re gonna make the best we can with what we have today.’”

The show will run without an intermission at less than a two hour show time and is available and friendly to people of all ages, from children and teens, to adults and parents alike.

Tickets will feature various prices between advance purchases and at the door prices, with adult tickets selling for $22 in advance and $25 at the door; senior and student tickets selling for $17 in advance and $20 at the door; and UW-Green Bay student tickets selling for $12.

Kopischke added, “There’s no reason to miss this because it’s just one heck of a good time.”

For those interested in attending, you can purchase tickets at https://www.ticketstaronline.com/events/detail/she-kills-monsters or by calling (920)465-2400. Tickets can also be purchased at the box office, one hour prior to curtain.