Arts

Play weaves in and out of reality and fantasy

NEYT presents ‘action-packed adventure’ based on role-playing game

BRATTLEBORO — New England Youth Theatre presents She Kills Monsters, by Qui Nguyen, directed by Micheal Trzos, to be performed on at 7 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, Oct. 5, 6, 12, and 13, and at 2 p.m. on Oct. 6 and Oct. 13.

The play will be staged at the theater at 100 Flat St.

According to a news release, Nguyen's play is inspired by the phenomenally successful role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons and is an action-packed adventure that weaves in and out of reality and fantasy.

The story centers around Agnes, who stumbles upon a Dungeons & Dragons scenario that her younger sister wrote before she was tragically killed.

In getting involved in the game, Agnes embarks on an adventure that forces her to confront a personal tragedy, a finicky boyfriend, and fight to save her sister's soul from a shape-shifting monster.

In battling creepy demons and blobs of very skilled Jell-O molds, Agnes discovers the importance of friendship in a world that is not so friendly.

“This will be my seventh show with NEYT,” says director Trzos, “and this team, more than ever before, has embraced this project as a truly collaborative venture.”

Master stage combat artist Jodi Clark worked closely with the students, teaching the fundamentals of combat and its influence on storytelling.

“We've also partnered with a brilliant sound expert, Noah Flower, to help establish the atmosphere of our production,” adds Trzos.

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