University Theatre season closes with 'She Kills Monsters'

L-R: Lynn Twarowski, Janae Dunn, Lindsey Parodi, Julia Utter. Photo by Bridget Vacha.
L-R: Lynn Twarowski, Janae Dunn, Lindsey Parodi, Julia Utter. Photo by Bridget Vacha.

University Theatre season closes with 'She Kills Monsters'

calendar icon24 Mar 2016    

Lincoln, Neb.--The Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film closes its 2015-2016 season with SHE KILLS MONSTERS by Qui Nguyen, an action-packed and comedic romp into the world of fantasy role-playing games.

Directed by UNL Assistant Professor of Practice Wesley Broulik, performances are April 7-9 and 12-16 at 7:30 p.m. and April 17 at 2 p.m. in the Studio Theatre, first floor of the Temple Building at 12th & R streets. Tickets are $18, $16 faculty/staff and senior citizens, and $12 students with ID, and are available at the Lied Center Ticket Office, 301 N. 12th Street, or by telephone using Visa or MasterCard at 402-472-4747 or 800-432-3231 from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and one hour prior to performances in the Temple Building lobby. Seating in the Studio Theatre is limited, so reservations are recommended. Tickets are available online at https://go.unl.edu/theatretix. More information is available at https://carsonschool.unl.edu.

SHE KILLS MONSTERS focuses on Agnes Evans (sophomore theatre major Lindsey Parodi) who leaves her childhood home following the death of her fifteen-year-old sister Tilly (Janae Dunn, senior theatre major). When Agnes finds her sister’s Dungeons and Dragons notebook, she decides to play the module Tilly had written. Through it, Agnes discovers a great deal not only about her sister but herself as well.

According to Broulik, the journey is metaphorical. Amidst the stunts and stage combat, the rock and roll spectacle and hip-hop dancing are characters learning to battle their own monsters and scale the mountains before them. It is a “high-octane comedy laden with homicidal fairies, nasty ogres, and 90s pop culture…Nguyen offers a heart-pounding homage to the geek and warrior within us all.” The play contains some adult themes and incidents of violence and is not appropriate for all.

Graduate student Sheric Hull designs lighting, with undergraduates Megan Cudd and Dani Mader designing costumes and scenery respectively. Professional Miles Polaski designs sound. Undergraduate Shannon Hanson stage manages. Associate Professor Ian Borden choreographs the stage combat.

Additional cast members include: Emmalee Allen, Sabrina Barton, Simon Gissler, Kasey Halverson, Nick Howard, Sam Maxwell, Luke Morken, Madison Nichols, Candace Nelson, Austin Potter, Nick Prior, Karen Richards, Lynn Twarowski, Julia Utter, and Logan Young.

SHE KILLS MONSTERS premiered at the Flea Theater in New York City on November 4, 2011.
 
Playwright, Qui Nguyen
Qui Nguyen is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter, and Co-Founder/Co-Artistic Director of the OBIE Award winning Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company of New York City.  His plays include She Kills Monsters (published by Samuel French); Soul Samurai; The Inexplicable Redemption of Agent G; Alice in Slasherland; Fight Girl Battle World; Men of Steel; Living Dead in Denmark; Krunk Fu Battle Battle; Trial By Water; Bike Wreck; and Aliens Versus Cheerleaders. Honors include 2012 & 2009 GLAAD Media Award nominations (She Kills Monsters and Soul Samurai); 2008 & 2006 NY Innovative Theatre Award noms for Best Production (Fight Girl Battle World and Living Dead in Denmark); 2012 ITBA Patrick Lee Award for Outstanding Off-Off Broadway Show & 2010 nom in the same category (She Kills Monsters and Alice In Slasherland); named a 2012 TCG Young Leader of Color; 2007 Comiccritique.com citation for Best Adaptation of Comics into other Media (Men of Steel); 2004 NYTheatre.com's People of the Year; and cited as a “Downtown Playwright to Watch” by TIME OUT NEW YORK. He is a proud resident artist at New Dramatists, a core member of The Playwrights’ Center, an alumnus of Youngblood, and a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre, and The Ma-Yi Writers Lab. His company, Vampire Cowboys, is the only theatre organization to be officially sponsored by NY Comic Con. (courtesy Samuel French, Inc.)
 
Director, Wesley Broulik
Wesley Broulik is an actor, director, writer, and improviser. He currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Practice in Acting & Directing at The Johnny Carson School of Theatre & Film. He previously taught at Rutgers University, University at Albany, and Virginia Commonwealth University. His work as an artist has been seen off-Broadway, off-off Broadway, major regional theatres, Shakespeare festivals, network & cable television, film, commercials, voice-overs, new media, and as an improviser at Upright Citizen’s Brigade Theatre. He holds an MFA from Rutgers University, is a certified teaching candidate of The Michael Chekhov Technique with The National Michael Chekhov Association, and is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association, SAG-AFTRA, Stage Directors & Choreographers Society, and The Dramatist’s Guild.