She Kills Monsters debuted Off-Off(-Off) Broadway in 2011. Its breezy script, witty dialogue, and girl-centered action has made the play an attractive choice for high schools and colleges. She Kills Monsters is a celebration of unabashed geekery, coupled to the nostalgia-with-an-edge of a John Hughes movie, set to the best (and worst) music of the turn of the millennium; the ultimate 90s-kid meme of a play.
She Kills Monsters explores the power of imagination as escapism, wish-fulfillment, self-affirmation, and a salve for despair. This reflects the famous tabletop game at the heart of the play. In its early days, Dungeons and Dragons offered nerds a place of their own; a way to geek-out with each other without fear of judgment or reproach; a pre-internet refuge from a world that wasn’t kind to dorks.
The dorks had reason to fear. Dungeons and Dragons itself was the target of a serious moral panic in the 80s and 90s. The game was alleged to encourage occult practices, suicide, and murder. It was not alone. This period saw moral crusades against rap, hip-hop, heavy metal, video games, homosexuality, and witchcraft. Some of these matters became the subjects of hearings in the United States Congress. How silly we were. How ironic too, since everything I mentioned above is today either wildly popular or relatively uncontroversial. None of the many predicted social catastrophes came to pass. It was all made up.
But therein lies the power of imagination. Make-believe can be used for foolishness, divisiveness, and misery too. I wonder if the moral panics du jour will someday be looked upon with the same collective eyeroll as we look upon those from the 80s and 90s. History and common sense say they will.
She Kills Monsters is a story about storytelling, and storytellers are obliged to use their imaginations for good. The talented young storytellers onstage and backstage tonight are a testament to the power and magic of theater and fantasy. Everything I do is for them, and everything they do is for you. Enjoy the show!
Morgan Knight
Director
