Jenna Bacon, Campus Carrier arts and living editor

Ali Luciani, Campus Carrier asst. arts and living editor

Berry College Theatre Company (BCTC) invites audiences into a world of fantasy, grief and dice-rolling adventure with its upcoming production of “She Kills Monsters.”  The show will take place at Sister’s Theatre, with performances at 7 p.m. Jan. 29–31 and 2 p.m. Feb. 1. “She Kills Monsters,” written by Qui Nguyen, tells the story of Agnes, a young woman grieving the loss of her younger sister.  Upon discovering her sister’s old Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) notebook, Agnes embarks on an adventure that helps her better understand Tilly, her grief and the magic of D&D. 

BCTC describes “She Kills Monsters” as “a love letter to family, friendship and embracing your inner s/hero.”

According to sophomore Emma Loeslein, who plays Agnes, rehearsals began in early November, starting with a table read. 

“You just sit down with the whole cast, the director, the stage manager and even some of the crew to read the whole show,” Loeslein said. “And you kind of talk about what to expect, community norms, how to go about preparing yourself, maybe even an off-book date.” 

Once the table read was complete, the cast and crew ran through the entire show, blocking each scene. Blocking is a part of the rehearsal process where actors will stand, walk or move during each part of the play to ensure actions look natural and that everyone can be seen and heard.

While most theatre productions require a certain level of commitment from their cast and crew, “She Kills Monsters” demanded additional preparation due to its physically challenging fight scenes. According to Loeslein, the cast had to dedicate extra time to mastering the fight scenes, often practicing outside of the regularly scheduled rehearsals. 

“There’s a lot of fighting, and so a lot of us have taken it upon ourselves to start going on runs or going to the Cage Center to start working out to build stamina,” Loeslein said.  “That way, it’s not so obvious when we’re a little bit fatigued on stage.” 

Rehearsals for the production require a significant time commitment, with Loeselin estimating around 20 hours per week spent in scheduled rehearsals alone. Outside of rehearsal, cast members are responsible for memorizing lines, blocking and learning choreography independently. 

“You have to memorize your lines on your own, memorize your blocking on your own and in this case, fight choreography,” Loeslein said. “Once you get all that stuff down, you just start running the show from beginning to end and work on transitions.” 

In addition to the physical demands, Loeslein said preparing for the role of Agnes required intentional character work. Unlike her character, she does not have a younger sister.

“I actually do not have a sister, let alone a younger sister,” Loeslein said. “I’m the youngest of five children. I have four older brothers.”

To connect with Agnes’ role as an older sister, Loeslein took inspiration from close friends and her relationship with freshman Jay Vogt, who plays Tilly.

“It’s just been really easy, because he’s such a great guy and being able to play his older sister has been really amazing,’’ Loeslein said. “He’s made it really easy for me to see him and go, ‘Yeah, that’s my sibling.’”

Senior theatre major Amerial Page plays Vera Martine, Agnes’ best friend and a high school guidance counselor. Page described her character as a grounding presence throughout the play.

“I feel like the best way to do so is to say that she’s kind of the voice of reason,” Page said. “In every scene she’s in, she has something to say. She’s very outspoken and that really helps contribute to the character’s decisions. And she ends up being right.”

Page said the production balances humor with heavier subjects related to grief.

“Everyone is affected by Tilly’s death in some way, shape or form,” Page said. “Sometimes people are really funny because they’re just really sad.”

Behind the scenes, Assistant Stage Manager freshman Grace Robershaw works to ensure coordination and safety during performances.

“My role is kind of to be the eyes and ears of the stage manager,” Robershaw said. “It’s my job to keep track of props and costumes and actors.”

Robershaw said the show’s stage combat presented unique challenges.

“This show is about dungeons and dragons, so there’s a bunch of monsters and fighting,” Robershaw said. “One of the most interesting aspects has been making sure that while we’re doing these fights, the swords and everybody stay safe, which I’ve never really dealt with before.”

According to Robershaw, collaboration between cast and crew is essential throughout the production process.

“It is a lot of everybody collaborating together, making sure everybody’s heard and a lot of Excel spreadsheets,” Robershaw said. 

To support both the emotional and physical demands of rehearsals, Robershaw and the stage management team begins each rehearsal with a check-in system designed to see how the cast and crew are feeling.

“We would do sort of a stoplight check in, and this was just a really quick way for everybody involved to know where you stand,” Robershaw said. “Starting off rehearsals that way makes sure that we can take that into account where everybody stands and be considerate.”

Both Loeslein and Page said they hope audiences leave with a deeper understanding of the play’s themes.

“I hope that the audience takes away that things are not always what they seem,” Loeslein said. “I just hope that in the same breath that they can also realize to cherish the people that they have close to them, because they might not always be there.”

With its combination of humor, combat and emotional storytelling, “She Kills Monsters” offers the audience a way to grapple with themes of loss and understanding. BCTC’s production invites viewers to engage with the story both as entertainment and as reflection.