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She Kills Monsters

By Qui Nguyen Directed By Adam Noble Dramaturgy By Brien Bianchi, Faith Tenney, and Will Inman

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Table of Contents:

About the Play: 3 Qui Nguyen: Playwright : 5 State of the Gay: Gay Culture in the 90s: 7 Bestiary: 10 Character Alignments; Where do you fall?: 22

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About the Play:

Gary Gygax and his partners made their first release of Dungeons and Dragons in January

1974, as a means to provide tools to young and emerging game-makers with which to create a game and world all their own. That’s all that this game is, really - a bunch of rules and tools that depend entirely upon the imaginations and creativity of the players and Dungeon. As such, there is a definite aspect of wish fulfillment involved in the playing of this game and its descendants. Imagine the archetypical geek character, often small and weak, often clumsy, or unable to engage in athletic and “cool” activities. Within a game of D&D they might become eight-foot-tall barbarians, alien lizard people, or wizards whose lack of physical might is made up for by their ability to channel the power of their mind into physical forces of ice and fire. In the 42 years since its release the game has grown to suit the needs of a wide range of tastes. Expansions have been provided to take gamers outside of the realm of fantasy and into Outer Space, The Wild West, Post-Apocalyptic

Wastelands, Steam-Punk Landscapes, and more.

In the world of our play, Agnes gets to be reunited with her sister, Tilly enjoys a position in the majority instead of being marginalized as a geek, and Kelly is able to execute amazing acrobatic prowess. Characters fly through the air, fire off magical spells, and find love in a world where they make the rules (but must still follow them). This gives rise the idea of escapism; the fleeing, if only briefly, from the struggles that each of us face in our daily lives in the “real” world. Many who have been identified as “geeks” are scorned for this behavior and apparent lack of ability to function within the world into which they were born. J.R.R. Tolkien, in response to such attitudes, wrote in his essay On Faerie Stories that, “Why should a man be scorned, if, finding himself in prison, he tries to get out and go home? Or if, when he cannot do so, he thinks and talks about other topics ~ 4 ~ than jailers and prison-walls?” He further talks of the restorative aspects of escapist behavior.

How, through such activities of reading fantasy literature, playing games (both video and table-top), and imagining, one can restore themselves enough to return to the fight of daily real life. With the issues that the human race faces today such as racism, homophobia, illness, and hate, is it any wonder that there are those who would choose to seek out or create worlds in which they are powerful enough to make a difference and/or where opposition can always be overcome by whatever it is that they bring to the table.

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Qui Nguyen: Playwright Qui Nguyen (pronounced “Kwee Gwen”) was born in El Dorado, Arkansas on January 1st, 1976. He is a playwright, screenwriter, and an overall pioneer of “geek culture.” He and his most frequent collaborators, director Robert Ross Parker and designer Nick Francone founded the theatre company Vampire Cowboys in 2000 right out of graduate school. The OBIE award winning company describes itself as a, “geek theatre” company that creates and produces new works of theatre based in action/adventure and dark comedy with a comic book aesthetic. The company actively pursues the mating of different genres with varied theatrical styles to create an eclectic structure to tell its stories. The company aims to bridge the gap between mass media entertainment and the performing arts, exposing the community to challenging, thought-provoking live entertainment rooted in today’s pop-culture vernacular.” Each of the founders used their own skills to create something that had not been prevalent on the stage: “ninjas, kung-fu, girl fights,” as Nguyen explained it to The New York Observer in 2012. However, the Vampire Cowboys spent their first few years putting on theatre that generally went unnoticed. That changed when Abby Marcus, now Qui Nguyen’s wife, first saw a production at Vampire Cowboys in 2007 and became determined to find them an audience. She quickly arranged for them to perform a choreographed fight from their upcoming superhero play Men of Steel. After that, they began to draw in a fiercely loyal crowd. Apart from the company’s devotion to geek culture, many of its shows strive to feature women in empowered roles in which are figured in roles often considered to be masculine such as super heroes, fantasy warriors, and ninjas. Stage violence has always been close to Nguyen’s heart. Many of his graduate school teachers discouraged him from putting fight scenes on the stage, arguing that violence was best fit for film. This only fueled his drive to put action onstage. “I don’t think Shakespeare sat around and complained, ‘Well, I want to put in a sword fight, but that’s really a film technique,’” Nguyen said in the same interview with The New York Observer, “In film you’re constrained by realism, but I can just have five puppets and some smoke and it becomes a dragon.” He spent five years in New York as a fight director, then three years teaching stage combat at Columbia before he and his wife moved to Minneapolis in 2010. His scripts include: Vietgone (South Coast Rep, Oregon Shakespeare Company, Manhattan Theatre Club) She Kills Monsters (The Flea, Buzz Chicago/Steppenwolf, Company One) ~ 6 ~

War is Fucking Awesome (developed in the Sundance Theatre Lab) Krunk Fu Battle Battle (East West Players) Bike Wreck (Ensemble Studio Theatre) Trial By Water (Ma-Yi Theater) Aliens Versus Cheerleaders (Keen Teens) Soul Samurai The Inexplicable Redemption of Agent G (Ma-Yi Theater & Vampire Cowboys) and the plays produced by his own Vampire Cowboys: Alice in Slasherland Fight Girl Battle World Men of Steel Living Dead in Denmark.

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“State of the Gay”: Gay culture in the 90’s

2016 is a wonderful time to be gay. Same-sex marriage has been legalized, there are gay celebrities everywhere you look, and there are informative, safe gay youth programs all over the country. If it feels like acceptance of homosexuality is skyrocketing, the 90’s was when it was beginning to crest. Before understanding being a gay, early 90’s teen on a personal level, we’ll look at the facts. There was quite a lot of political progress going on in this period. In 1990: the Federal Hate Crimes Statistics Act is passed- the first federal recognition of homosexuals. In this year Dale McCormick also became the first openly lesbian senator. In 1991: the first Pride celebration happened in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It was called the Unity Festival. 1993 gave us our first Dyke March in Washington, D.C.

That same year, Bill Clinton instituted “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”. Although by current standards this measure is draconic and discriminatory, by the standards of 1993 it was progressive and divisive. Before the policy was enacted, homosexuals were sniffed out and ~ 8 ~

dishonorably discharged from service. Bill Clinton announced that sex was none of the government’s business, which was a ballsy move and important to the LGBT movement. 1994 also had the American Medical Association opposing the “treatment” of homosexuality. Conversion therapy, as it was called, was a method of exposing same-sex oriented people (often teenagers) to members of the opposite sex until their homosexuality was “cured”. A flat denial from the AMA of homosexuality as a disease was a huge win for the gay community. As we edge closer to Tillie’s experience, we move into the world of popular culture. The first lesbian kiss on television was between Amanda Donohoe and Michele Greene on L.A. Law in 1991. It was undoubtedly a publicity stunt, but that fact hardly registered with the lesbian teens across the country who were exposed to it. Grammy-winner Melissa Etheridge came out in 1993 at the Triangle Ball, which was also the first inaugural ball held in honor of gays and lesbians. Perhaps most importantly was Pedro Zamora of The Real World San Francisco. The first positively-portrayed AIDs-positive man on television, he continued to do educational works for gay teens until his death in 1995. This leads us to the individual experience of the gay teenager. Today, when we think of gay issues, we think of marriage equality. In the early 90’s, homosexuality was immediately associated with violence and AIDs. In 2016, gay youth worry about bullying while their families worry about them not fitting in. In the 90’s, gay youth worried about beatings while their families worried about a terminal illness. Perhaps the hardest idea for modern teenagers to understand is the fear gay youth experienced in that time period. Sure, there is a little anxiety about coming out nowadays, but with all of the programs and online assistance available, it is hardly a life-threatening concern. While all of the things listed above make the 90’s seem like a gay paradise, it’s important to ~ 9 ~ keep in mind that those things were only happening at the top, while the normal towns in the flyover states were still being faced with a rock-solid wall of opposition. A 1992 Newsweek poll found that 45% of those asked considered gay rights "a threat to the American family and its values". The average American still needed quite a bit of convincing. While Bill Clinton, Ellen DeGeneres, and Will & Grace might have been a source of courage, coming out in high school was still nigh-unthinkable. Escaping to a fantasy world of acceptance might have been the only thing that made sense.

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Bestiary

She Kills Monsters involves the character of Agnes Evans engaging in an elaborate D&D campaign designed by her late sister Tilly. As every good scout knows, it’s best to be prepared, a lesson that Agnes will need to learn the hard way before the play is through. A given party of adventurers can encounter any of a number of creatures throughout their quest, from Assassin Vines to Zombies. Game creators Gary Gygax and his company, TSR, have published several volumes called Monster Manuals filled with creatures for Dungeon Masters to fill the halls of their dungeons with in order to challenge the bold and punish the unwary adventurer. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your foes can often be the key to success in battle. Here are included just a few of the creatures that Agnes and Tilly might need to battle during the course of the play.

Beholder:

One glance at a beholder is enough to assess its foul and otherworldly nature. A beholder’s spheroid body is covered in chitinous plates, scales, or leathery flesh. Its great bulging eye sits above a wide, toothy maw, while the smaller eyestalks that crown its body twist and turn to keep its foes in sight. A beholder channels extraordinary levels of magical power. Its central eye emits a broad field of energy that can nullify the magic of its foes, while its eye stalks blast those foes with a host of powerful effects. A beholder’s central lair is typically large, spacious cavern with high ceilings, where it can attack without fear of closing to melee range. Some beholders manage to channel their pervasive xenophobic tendencies into a terrible despotism. Rather than live in isolation to avoid other creatures, the aptly named eye tyrants enslave those other creatures, founding and controlling vast evil empires. An eye tyrant sometimes carves out a domain within or under a major city, commanding networks of agents that operate on their master’s behalf. ~ 11 ~

Bug-Bear: Bugbears resemble hairy, feral goblins standing seven feet tall. They take their name from their noses and claws, which are similar to those of bears. Bugbears often armor and arm themselves with a variety of gear purloined from fallen enemies. Most often, this gear is second-rate and in poor repair. Bugbear eyes are greenish white with red pupils, and their wedge-shaped ears rise from the tops of their heads. Most bugbears have hides ranging from light yellow to yellow brown and their thick, coarse hair ranges from brown to brick red. The bugbears of the Land of Black Ice are known to have blue fur. Bugbears have exceptional sight and hearing, able to see in pitch darkness. They move with amazing stealth.

Dark-Elf: The Drow are an underground dwelling sub-race of Elves easily recognized by their obsidian skin, pale hair, and usually red eyes. They are almost always neutral evil in nature. Elves are closely tied to the realm of Faerie, or Feywild in D&D, it is this relationship that accounts for their aloof nature, though they are known to be curious in nature while in their youth. While their closeness to the Feywild makes them particularly adept magic users, they are also capable of becoming graceful warriors.

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Demon Lord: Also known as Abyssal lords, these are archfiends who gained great power and established a position of preeminence among demon-kind. Each demon lord had a unique appearance and set of abilities. Most controlled at least one layer of the Abyss. A demon lord, when slain in a plane other than the Abyss, was banished to the Abyss for a hundred years, whereas ordinary demons risked being reborn into a lesser form, or not all. A demon lord who had complete control over an entire layer of the abyss was known as a demon prince. Demon lord and demon prince were self-proclaimed titles; unlike the archdevils, the chaotic evil demon lords did not have a rigid hierarchy. Demon lords waged eternal war with each other, often seeking ways to expand their holdings into other layers and at the same time defend their personal domains from rival lords and scheming underlings. Demogorgon had, for many years, been the most powerful demon lord, and proclaimed himself Prince of Demons - a coveted status symbol since the Age before Ages granted by the Abyss itself to the most powerful, ruthless, cunning demon in the plane. Miska the Wolf Spider was the first to hold it, followed by Obox-ob, and now Demogorgon. Orcus and Graz'zt contested this title, while Obox-ob desires to regain it.

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Demon Queen: Numerous accounts in Folklore speak of Lilith as the first Demon Queen. Initially created as the first wife of Adam (of Judeo Christian fame) out of the same Earth as her husband. When she refused to submit to Adam’s dominance on the grounds that they had been equally created from the same materials, she abandoned Adam and is recorded to have instead taken up with the demon king Asmodeus. Thereby becoming not only the first demon queen, but also the mother of the Nephilim, earthly celestial beings that are said to have interbred with humans to create a race of giants and were part of the reasoning behind God’s flooding the Earth. Lilith is thereby viewed as a symbol of not only female independence, but of female sexuality and the feminine power to procreate. Lilith is also connected with the Succubi, likely in relation to her position as a being in possession of her own sexual power and identity, but she is also noted to be a devourer of infants.

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Doppelganger: Doppelgangers are strange beings that are able to take on the shapes of those they encounter. In its natural form, the creature looks more or less humanoid, but slender and frail, with gangly limbs and half-formed features. The flesh is pale and hairless. Its large, bulging eyes are yellow with slitted pupils. A doppelganger’s appearance is deceiving even when it’s in its true form. A doppelganger is hardy, with a natural agility not in keeping with its frail appearance. Doppelgangers make excellent use of their natural mimicry to stage ambushes, bait traps, and infiltrate humanoid society. Although not usually evil, they are interested only in themselves and regard all others as playthings to be manipulated and deceived. In its natural form a doppelganger is about 5½ feet tall and weighs about 150 pounds.

Elves: “Elf” serves an over-arching term for a large number of differing nearly immortal, slender, pointy-eared, sylvan humanoids. From the ethereal High-Elves (Sub-sects of which are the Sun and Moon elves), the wild and playful wood-elves, the noble and arrogant Grey-Elves, and the hateful and reclusive Drow, each variant has its own cultural rules, stigmas, and qualities. Official D&D materials have this to say regarding them, ~ 15 ~

They are more often amused than excited, and more likely to be curious than greedy. They tend to remain aloof and unfazed by petty happenstance. When pursuing a goal, however, whether adventuring on a mission or learning a new skill or art, elves can be focused and relentless. They are slow to make friends and enemies, and even slower to forget them. They reply to petty insults with disdain and to serious insults with vengeance. Elves take up adventuring out of wanderlust. Since they are so long-lived, they can enjoy centuries of exploration and discovery. They dislike the pace of human society, which is both regimented from day to day but constantly changes over decades, so they find careers that let them travel freely and set their own pace. Elves also enjoy exercising their martial prowess or gaining greater magical power, and adventuring allows them to do so. Some might join with rebels fighting against oppression, and others might become champions of just causes.

The High-elves, with their closeness to the Feywild have learned the ability to phase out of the “Prime” world, as they call it, and pass through the Fey to reappear in another place in the Prime. Thus creating a variant on a teleport ability. Drow, having survived in the harsh underdark for so long, have acquired the ability to see in near total darkness as well as spell-like abilities to either surround a target in a soft “Faerie Light” to prevent concealment or to in a cloud of darkness to conceal a target as well as making them harder to hit with attacks. ~ 16 ~

Wood-Elves are more heavily built than their brethren, and approach magic and its users with a certain level of distrust. They favor the ranger class and are most at home in their forest realm homes. Fairy:

“What care I for human hearts? Soft and spiritless as porridge. A faerie’s heart beats fierce and free…You Mortal, you! I could Vex You!” Do not make the mistake of confusing the Fairy with classically beautiful, diminutive creatures of modern children’s entertainment who go about granting wishes and aiding fair maidens in finding their prince. The pixie, which is the closest approximation to the physical description given by fairy tales, is a spiteful and mischievous creature who is more likely to lead you off a cliff in a fog just for the fun of it, than to grant you a wish. J.M Barrie comments that most faeries are so small that they can only hold one emotion at a time, therefore an angry faerie will only know anger at that moment, or jealously, or spite. Shakespeare imagined these creatures ruled by the Demi-gods Titantia and Oberon, whose influence over nature was so potent that without meaning to, they upset the natural forces simply by not sharing a marriage bed. Also mentioned in Shakespeare, and throughout folklore, is the ruling power of Queen Mab, who is at times regarded as a faerie herself, and at others as a dark pagan goddess who rules over the realm of the Fey (also commonly referred to as Faerie). These creatures are mostly chaotic neutral, choosing to do what interests them most at any given moment. As such they can often appear child-like in both attitude and appearance. Helping one person while hindering the other, and often times both behaviors are done just because they believe it to be fun or entertaining. Modern high fantasy fiction has also brought into the mind of the reader/player the concept of the summer and winter courts of the Fae, but this has little bearing on our endeavors and need only be delved into if desired. What is best to keep in mind is that the Faerie is wild, fickle, and above all, free.

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Gelatinous Cube: The gelatinous cube is endowed with an insatiable hunger. These creatures scour dungeon passages, consuming living tissue while leaving bones and other materials undissolved. Creatures that fall victim to a gelatinous cube rarely see it coming. Its protoplasmic form is all but transparent. By the time a creature makes contact with an unseen cube, it is too late to run. A cube that is well fed can be easier to spot, since its victims’ bones, coins, and other objects can be seen suspended inside the creature.

Kobold: Kobolds inhabit dragons’ lairs when they can but more commonly infest dungeons, gathering treasures and trinkets to add to their own tiny hoards. As egg-laying creatures, the kobolds’ birth rate is higher than any other humanoid race. They mature quickly, and can live to be “great wyrms” more than a century old. Despite the abundant numbers of their young, many kobolds perish before they reach the end of their first decade. Physically weak, they are easy prey for competent predators in the dark and dangerous realms where they reside. This vulnerability underlies their cowardice and forces them to band together. Their superior numbers can win battles against powerful adversaries, but often with massive casualties on the kobold side. Kobolds make up for their physical ineptitude with a cleverness for trap making and tunneling. Their lairs consist of low tunnels through which ~ 18 ~ they move easily, but which make it difficult for larger humanoids to maneuver. Rather than face the claws, teeth, and blades of their enemies head-on, kobolds riddle their lairs with rock falls, nets, concealed pits, and other traps designed to eliminate or ensnare their foes before they get close. These lairs are efficient and orderly places where the strong rule over the weak, whether by competence or cruelty.

Lich: A lich is an undead spellcaster, usually a wizard or sorcerer but sometimes a cleric or other spellcaster, who has used its magical powers to unnaturally extend its life. A lich is a gaunt and skeletal humanoid with withered flesh stretched tight across horribly visible bones. Its eyes have long ago been lost to decay, but bright pinpoints of crimson light burn on in the empty sockets. An integral part of becoming a lich is creating a magic phylactery in which the character stores its life force. As a rule, the only way to get rid of a lich for sure is to destroy its phylactery. Unless its phylactery is located and destroyed, a lich reappears 1d10 days after its apparent death.

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Mind Flayers:

Based on the titular creature of H.P. Lovecraft’s Call of Cthulu, the mind flayer, also called Illithid, is a parasitic creature that devours the brain of its host and assumes control over the body. The octopus-like head has four tentacles with which is penetrates the skull of its victims to remove the brain. The Illithid share a consciousness that is focused on the hive leader call the elder brain. Mind flayers most potent weapon is a variety of psionic powers, but some sects have been known to dabble in the arcane arts, making wizard their favored class. Most share a tall and slim physiology, and are relatively weak in physical combat, although they possess a tough, leathery skin.

OGRE: Ogres appeared as giant humanoids with very muscular bodies and large heads. They stood between 9 and 10 feet tall and could weigh 600 to 650 lbs. They tended to be lazy and brutish, preferring to rely on ambush and overwhelming numbers in battle. Ogres often worked as mercenaries, hoping for easy plunder.

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Succubus: Vampiric female demons who are known to attack men as they sleep. In folklore they are always connected with the sexual, in fact, folklore attributes them as being responsible for wet dreams; coming to a man in his sleep and causing him to spill his seed while unconscious. Lilith, the wife of Asmodeus the demon lord, is held to have been among the first succubus. What is important to note regarding the succubus is her portrayal as a vampiric character, while not always sanguine (blood seeking) the succubus must always feed upon the energy of others. Whether they are drinkers of life- giving blood, energy, life-force, or even a person’s soul they are always in search of that which enlivens, or animates their victims. In D&D they avoid battle, preferring to turn foes on each other, and manipulate them. Their male equivalent is the incubus, who were used in folklore to explain mysterious pregnancies.

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Tiamat: The Queen of Evil Dragons is a five-headed dragon of enormous size. Each of her five heads matches that of a chromatic dragon, and each head has its own brain and its own intelligence. The five heads do not argue, and they all share the same goals. The only goal of immediate interest to Tiamat is finding a way to escape imprisonment in the Nine Hells. Tiamat is the patron goddess of chromatic dragons and the embodiment of greed and envy. She takes the form of a five-headed dragon, and each head is a different color. She gave birth to the five primary species of chromatic dragon, each taking the form of one of her heads. Tiamat combines the powers of all of the chromatic dragons. Confined to the Nine Hells by the power of the greater gods, Tiamat longs to escape and wreak havoc upon the world.

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Character Alignments: Where Do You Fall?:

While the rules of Dungeons and Dragons provide a great deal of freedom in how a character is played and makes decisions, the choice of alignment is vital in informing how a character will react in a given situation, or how a creature or NPC (non-player-character) will act based on the actions of the players. When making her D&D character in the play, Agnes is asked what her alignment is. Below is a listing of the nine basic alignments chosen by players during their pre-game character creation. Based on this information, what alignment are you? Lawful Good: A lawful good character typically acts with compassion and always with honor and a sense of duty. Such characters include righteous knights, paladins, and most dwarves. Lawful good creatures include the noble golden dragons. Neutral Good: A neutral good character typically acts altruistically, without regard for or against lawful precepts such as rules or tradition. A neutral good character has no problems with co-operating with lawful officials, but does not feel beholden to them. In the event that doing the right thing requires the bending or breaking of rules, they do not suffer the same inner conflict that a lawful good character would.

Chaotic Good: A chaotic good character does what's necessary to bring about change for the better, disdains bureaucratic organizations that get in the way of social improvement, and places a high value on personal freedom, not only for oneself, but for others as well. Chaotic good characters usually intend to do the right thing, but their methods are generally disorganized and often out of sync with the rest of society.

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Lawful Neutral: A lawful neutral character typically believes strongly in lawful concepts such as honor, order, rules, and tradition, and often follows a personal code. Examples of lawful neutral characters include a soldier who always follows orders, a judge or enforcer that adheres mercilessly to the word of the law, and a disciplined monk.

Neutral: A neutral character (a.k.a. true neutral) is neutral on both axes and tends not to feel strongly towards any alignment, or actively seeks their balance. Druids frequently follow this dedication to balance, and under Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules, were required to be this alignment. In an example given in the 2nd Edition Player's Handbook, a typical druid might fight against a band of marauding gnolls, only to switch sides to save the gnolls' clan from being totally exterminated.

Chaotic Neutral: A chaotic neutral character is an individualist who follows their own heart and generally shirks rules and traditions. Although chaotic neutral characters promote the ideals of freedom, it is their own freedom that comes first; good and evil come second to their need to be free.

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Lawful Evil: A lawful evil character sees a well- ordered system as being easier to exploit and shows a combination of desirable and undesirable traits. Examples of this alignment include tyrants, devils, and undiscriminating mercenary types who have a strict code of conduct.

Neutral Evil: A neutral evil character is typically selfish and has no qualms about turning on its allies- of-the-moment, and usually makes allies primarily to further their own goals. A neutral evil character has no compunctions about harming others to get what they want, but neither will they go out of their way to cause carnage or mayhem when they see no direct benefit for themselves. Another valid interpretation of neutral evil holds up evil as an ideal, doing evil for evil's sake and trying to spread its influence. Examples of the first type are an assassin who has little regard for formal laws but does not needlessly kill, a henchman who plots behind their superior's back, or a mercenary who switches sides if made a better offer. An example of the second type would be a masked killer who strikes only for the sake of causing fear and distrust in the community.

Chaotic Evil: A chaotic evil character tends to have no respect for rules, other people's lives, or anything but their own desires, which are typically selfish and cruel. They set a high value on personal freedom, but do not have much regard for the lives or freedom of other people. Chaotic evil characters do not work well in groups because they resent being given orders and do not usually behave themselves unless there is no alternative