Design, Inspiration, Essence

DESIGN CONCEPT STATEMENT

When Qui Nguyen conceived of She Kills Monsters, he drew upon fond memories of his tight-knit group of geeky outsiders, led by a DM named Chuck. In order to help Nguyen understand English and American culture, Chuck used the real-world bullies and crushes to inspire characters in their campaigns.

With that inspiration in mind (and other factors listed below), I chose not to pile on the fantasy makeup & prosthetics for the non-human characters like Lilith, Kaliope, Orcus, etc. Not only would it ease the practical challenges of quick-changing in and out of their fantasy alter-egos, but the audience could easily look past the “monster” and recognize the humanity of the real-life inspiration for each character. This made for more believable moments whenever Agnes recognized Lily at The Gap, seeing through Gabbi & Tina’s cloying scheme, or remarking to Chuck about Ronnie, “You really didn’t do much to make him different.” However the characters in the D&D adventure would have enough elements to suggest their respective identities.

Gone were the color-changing eyes, bloody fangs, and other special effects; instead, I chose easily removable horns, wings, and Elven ears over simple dark base costumes with a single bit of armor and their LARP weapons being the highlight. Agnes repeatedly mentions how little Lilith & Kaliope are wearing, so that made their costumes relatively simple.

I challenged students to look beyond the stage directions, as I explained that those are carried over from previous productions or sometimes the playwright’s “wishful thinking,” and She Kills Monsters is no exception, as Nguyen describes flying succubi, elaborate fight scenes, and more spectacle. Instead, I wanted my minimalist (by comparison) approach to encourage actors & audiences to use their imagination right along with Agnes as she embarks on her adventure.