Lakeland’s 2024 fall play She Kills Monsters will be put on from Oct. 31 to Nov. 3 in the Bradley Theater. The performances will be at 7:30 p.m. each night, and there will be an additional performance at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Each of these performances will be considered a convocation credit for all students that attend and those that are involved in the show.
She Kills Monsters is a drama-comedy play written by Qui Nguyen. This show tells the story of Agnes Evans leaving her home after the passing of her parents and sister Tilly. Agnes finds her sister’s Dungeons & Dragons notebook, and she ends up in the imaginary world her sister created.
Ending up in this imaginary world leads Agnes into an adventure where she gets to learn more about her late sister. One of the most notable things Agnes learns about Tilly is her struggles with her sexuality.
Director Kim Koeppen chose this play for many reasons. She was most inspired by her theater students, but she also said that she feels this show will “resonate with the students of the college as a whole.”
Auditions for the 2024 fall play were held on Sept. 16 and Sept. 17. They were open to students, staff, alumni, faculty and family members of current Lakeland personnel. Koeppen described the casting process as “very difficult.” Though some roles were easier to assign, she also said that others had “fierce competition due to the diversified portrayals of the characters.”
Each performance will be impressive and action-packed. Lakeland University’s fall and spring performances are always fun to watch. The cast is incredibly talented, and it is obvious how much work they put into each show.
It is not only the cast that puts in a lot of work to make these shows run smoothly. There are countless others working behind the scenes to make the show the best it can be. It is important to acknowledge those working in tech, lights, sound, prop design and more.
To make this play run smoothly, the Lakeland theater department was able to work with multiple businesses outside of the Lakeland community. Koeppen said that they were able to “borrow set pieces from 7 Ages Theatricals and stage weapons from Rogue Steel.” She also gave a shout out to the Lakeland Stagecraft class for helping to “bring the production side of the show to life.”
Tickets for this show will be available at the Bradley Theater box office starting an hour before each performance. They can also be purchased ahead of time on https://lakeland.edu/tickets and picked up at Will Call before the show.
