The First Play of 2025: IMSA Presents ‘She Kills Monsters’

On October 31st, the fittingly spooky day of Halloween, IMSA’s Drama Club opened the year with their first show, She Kills Monsters, a heartfelt and imaginative play by Qui Nguyen. The story follows Agnes, a young woman coping with the loss of her younger sister, Tilly. While sorting through Tilly’s belongings, Agnes discovers her sister’s Dungeons & Dragons campaign and decides to play through it with the help of a Dungeon Master. Through this fantasy world, Agnes learns more about who her sister was, what she loved, and how she wanted to live.

Despite its adventurous setting, She Kills Monsters explores deeply human emotions—loss, love, and identity—balanced with humor, action, and creativity. The play’s mix of heartfelt moments, fantasy battles, and clever D&D-inspired storytelling kept the audience engaged from beginning to end.

The audience was very delighted with the end product of this show. It was a magical experience, with strong themes that people could relate to and interaction between the audience and the crew. Sophomore Jesse Ferguson shared what made the production stand out. “I really liked the jokes and how they connected with the audience,” he said. “The Dungeon Master kind of narrated the story without actually narrating it, and I thought that was really cool. When they went like, ‘Boss Level Number One,’ it really felt like a real game.”

Many aspects of the production also appealed to the audience. When asked about the performances, Jesse highlighted one scene in particular: “The moment where Chuck was reading a passage from the main character’s sister’s D&D book, and their lines synced up. I thought that was really cool.”

Behind the scenes, students worked creatively to bring the fantasy elements to life. Senior Amelia Kinney assisted in costume design, saying, “I helped out with costumes—specifically making corsets,” while also noting the challenge of finishing large set pieces under tight time constraints, like the cave. Performing allowed for interactive fun too, as Z Peek recalled, “It was so funny since we got to go through the audience and do a bit of interacting with them, but also focusing on our own choreography.”

Rylan Malek highlighted the ingenuity involved in creating props and sets, explaining, “There are a few things, I guess, from the technical aspect of it … The other dragon heads were sock puppets, and I loved how creative that was.” The cast and crew worked together, problem-solving and improvising to maintain both the story’s emotion and its spectacle. Moments like Chuck reading from Tilly’s D&D book emphasized emotional beats, letting both performers and audience feel the depth behind the story. Z also added on to the concept of involvement of the group, saying, “I think this year the crew was much more involved than usual, especially because we had more time to prepare. There were only a few last-minute things, like lighting cues, but everyone handled it really well.”

All cast, crew, and audience agreed that the experience was rewarding. Rylan said, “might be biased, but I’d say it breaks the scale—definitely a 10 out of 10. I love how wild and funny it is. I’d love to watch a full version someday.” The aspect of fantasy was a large part of what made the play interesting. Jesse added, “I would definitely recommend it. I’d give it a ten out of ten. I really liked how they incorporated Dungeons & Dragons and how they included relevant topics and conflicts that relate to students and people in general.” The play was awesome, and a lot of people enjoyed it.

It seems like this production was a success! With heartfelt emotion, plenty of exploration, and a magical sprinkle of fantasy, She Kills Monsters came to life through IMSA Theater. The students enjoyed being part of the show both onstage and behind the scenes. Along the way, they shared many memorable moments that stood out to them. Setting the standard high for the year, we can’t wait to see what the group will bring alive this winter!