On November 21, Linganore High School’s (LHS) Drama Department hosted their opening night of the fall play “She Kills Monsters.”
“She Kills Monsters” is a drama-comedy play written by Qui Nygen. It is centered around Agnes Evans, a highschool cheerleader and her little sister, Tilly. Early on in the play, Agnes loses Tilly and her parents in a car accident. Agnes begins to realize how much time she has lost with her sister, and in an attempt to connect to her late sister, she starts playing a Dungeons and Dragons module Tilly had created. The module showed Agnes sides of her sister she had no clue about, including her sexuality, experience with bullying and who her closest friends were.
LHS Drama has been working since early September on this production. Each day was dedicated to hours of rehearsing, painting and creating sets, costumes, props, and makeup.
Linganore math teacher Dan Lake is the director of “She Kills Monsters.”. Lake shared the hardest part of being a director and how students coming together can really impact the show.
“There are so many details to manage that the hardest part of directing is usually holding it all together,” said Lake. “Luckily, Linganore Drama is full of so many creative and responsible students, as well as their families. And, everyone chips in to help, so the workload becomes manageable.”
LHS senior Luka Van Herksen is the student director of “She Kills Monsters.” Van Herksen is used to being on stage and was excited to be a director this year. Van Herksen shared his experiences and challenges in being a student director.
“Having to put aside my close relationships with my peers and direct the show was difficult at first, as well as staying patient throughout rehearsals,” said Van Herksen.
Other student leaders step up to coordinate various aspects of the performance.At LHS, the tech team works on set pieces, stage management and everything in between. The tech crewwork just as tirelessly as the actors and are equally as excited about the show.
LHS senior Annadea Mikula is a wing head during the LHS productions. The wing head directs the run crew and manages what is happening backstage, working with other people backstage to make sure the show runs smoothly.
Mikula shared her favorite part about being involved in tech.
“It’s very fun behind the scenes; we’re like a little secret the whole time,” Mikula said. “It’s also really cool to see each perspective on the actors and the work they put in for the show,” said Mikula.
Mikula loved seeing the show run this year and her experience being backstage working with the actors and other tech members.
Junior Allie Logue played the character of Agnes. Logue has been involved in other LHS productions including Shrek, Clue, and now, She Kills Monsters. Logue shared her biggest challenge in preparing for the role of Agnes Evans.
“I would say really making sure you know who that person is [is the hardest part of embracing a new role] because you only have the lines on the page to rely on throughout the show,”said Evans.
Logue’s favorite part about being in the fall play this year was being surrounded by good people, directors and having support from those around her.
Overall, “She Kills Monsters” took a lot of preparation, time and energy to put together, but the cast and crew were very satisfied with the result of the play.
