This weekend in the Village Black Box Theatre, Cast N’ Crew will transport audiences to a world of dungeons and dragons with an original take on playwright Qui Nguyen’s show, “She Kills Monsters.” The play follows the story of Agnes, a recent college graduate, who returns home after her family is killed in a car crash and stumbles upon her younger sister Tilly’s notebook, a Dungeon and Dragons module. The story explores the intersection of family and personal identity. Inside the notebook, Agnes finds Tilly’s own version of a dungeons and dragons quest, the workings of a role-playing game that Agnes decides to play in order to feel closer to her late sister. Despite her initial skepticism and disdain for geek culture, Agnes becomes fully invested—and even begins to find the real-life versions of the game’s characters through her job as a teacher at Tilly’s old school.

The show, which brings to life the many characters in Tilly’s fantasy world, has put has put Cast N’ Crews’ production and design capabilities to the test.

“In the past, we’ve done shows more grounded in reality; so we didn’t have to make ginormous costume, prop and set choices,” Sophie Veksler, a senior and the show’s costume designer, said. “As a costume designer, I’ve never had to fabricate big pieces; it was more about sewing things together—but for this show, it was totally different. We have huge monster pieces that the actors will wear and even a giant gelatinous cube.”

photo courtesy of Cast n’ Crew

Two members of Cast N’ Crew’s show “She Kills Monsters” enact a sword fight during a rehearsal for the show. The performance has four showings between Friday, April 7 and Sunday April 9.

“I think people will be impressed with the stage fights. We brought on a whole new production side for this show, with a fight director, too,” Lucas Marschke, a junior and the show’s director, said. “Even though no one who filled out their information at the audition said that they had stage combat experience, I don’t think that shows at all.”

But beyond the intense stage fights, the cool weapons and the elaborate costumes, the show strikes a chord that Cast N’ Crew president Harley Greene thinks will resonate with audience members of all kinds.

“This show is about how people connect with one another and how sometimes, there are people in our lives whom we take for granted,” Greene said.

The people who play Tilly’s game are able to let go of the inhibitions that they feel in the real world and find themselves reborn amidst the dungeons and dragons. Set against the current political climate, “She Kills Monsters” also takes on themes of girl power and strength, speaking to the ability of our relationships with others to pull us closer to the truest versions of ourselves.

Reflecting on the experience of serving as Cast N’ Crew president throughout the making of the show, Greene said, “I love the feeling of starting the semester with just the pages of a script and then fast forward a couple months, and we have lights, sound, actors, fighting, fog, monsters—it’s just amazing how that happens with a group of 18- to 21-year-olds.”

Cast N’ Crew will be donating half the proceeds from “She Kills Monsters” to Relay for Life because the show falls on the same weekend as the fundraising event for cancer research.

To be entered in a raffle for two free tickets to the show of your choosing, find a Cast N’ Crew member wearing “She Kills Monsters” shirt today, take a selfie and post the photo on Facebook with the tag #CnCKillsMonsters

“She Kills Monsters” will be performed in the Village Black Box Theatre Friday, April 7 at 8:00 p.m., Saturday April 8 at 2:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, April 9 at 2:00 p.m. The show is sold out but those wishing to attend can place their names on a waitlist 45 minutes before the doors open.

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story misidentified Harley Greene as the director of the show. We apologize for the error.