User:Dtorr135/sandbox

Plot
Agnes Evans is a completely average woman who strives to be nothing but average until the day she wishes her life was a little less boring. Her wish unfortunately comes true when her family, including her younger sister Tilly, dies in a car crash. Agnes was never close to Tilly due to the fact they were interested in completely different things; Agnes loved everything average and she eventually grew up to teach English at the school she had attended, while Tilly had a passion for everything classified as nerdy or geeky and a special love for the Dungeons and Dragons game. As Agnes is cleaning and packing Tilly’s room in order to move everything to her new house, she finds a module Tilly had written for D&D. In order to get closer to the sister she never really knew, Agnes embarks on her own adventure with the help of Chuck, a Dungeon Master, to play the game as Tilly designed. In the game, Agnes is introduced to a part of her sister's life and personality she'd never seen before, as well as to her party. Tilly, alias Paladin Tillius a very brave and renowned soldier, is joined in her quest to retrieve her soul from The Tiamat (a five-headed evil dragon) by Kaliope, the Dark Elf, and Lilith, the Demon Queen. They are also joined by the Underworld overlord Orcus, who traded Tilly's soul to the Tiamat in the first place. Though noncommittal at first, eventually Agnes gets into the game and starts playing it correctly, discovering details about the way her sister was all the while. Back in real life, Miles, Agnes' boyfriend, walks in on one of Agnes' and Chuck's Dungeons & Dragons rolephays, and misunderstands their relationship, becoming convinced that Agnes is cheating on him with a high-schooler. Agnes is oblivious to his conclusion so she continues with the game. In it, Agnes discovers Tilly's avatar kissing Lilith, and she is shocked to learn that her sister had made every character in the game gay, including her own. This stuns Agnes because she had never suspected that her sister might be gay, and it highlights how little she knew of her sister while she was alive. On their quest Tilly's party encounters several villains, including Farrah, the mean faerie and Evil Gabbi and Tina, the succubi. The succubi, represented as evil-looking cheerleaders, are very verbally and physically abusive towards Tilly, and for the first time Agnes notices that her sister doesn't act as heroic as she has up until now. After the succubi leave, Tilly confesses that they were based on girls from her school who bullied her about her sexuality. Back in real life, Agnes encounters a student who looks like Lilith in her best friend's Vera's office. She approaches her and the girl introduces herself as Lilly, and Agnes asks her about being gay and dating her sister, which Lily denies saying that she's not gay. When Agnes presses on the subject, Lilly becomes upset and defensive until Vera walks in and interrupts them, stopping Agnes from accosting the student and telling her she can't expect to just out someone if it is true that she's gay. In the game, Agnes becomes really invested in spending time with her sister, and Chuck reminds her that she's not there and it's him roleplaying the characters, and he gives her a letter that Tilly left for Lilly. Miles confronts Vera about Agnes allegedly cheating on him and Vera tells him the truth about Chuck. As Agnes starts to realize how some of the villains in the game as based on real people, they encounter another who is based on her boyfriend Miles, who she must fight. This is how Agnes discovers how neglected her sister felt and how she secretly craved Agnes' attention while Agnes was busy hanging out with her friends and boyfriend. In real life, Agnes encounters the cheerleaders whom the succubi were based on, as they approach her faking sympathy for Tilly's death to sell yearbook ads, which infuriates Agnes. After, Miles approaches Agnes again and tries to get her to leave the game and go home with him, but when it doesn't work Chuck offers to participate in the game with them, where he is immediately killed by the succubi. Tilly is unable to fight against the succubi, so Lilith jumps in the way and dies. Agnes, Orcus and Kaliope step in and kill the succubi, after which they unsuccessfully try to get Lilith back. Tilly's character mourns for Lilith and Agnes can't handle seeing her like that and becomes upset, forgetting it's just a game. When she comes to her senses she realizes how unfruitful it all is because her sister is dead anyway, so she stops playing, heartbroken that she didn't get to know her sister when she had the chance. Chuck comes back to see her at the school and takes her to meet Tilly's friends who are the inspiration for the characters in the game. Ronnie, alias Orcus, is a socially awkward kid whose sister Kelly, alias Kaliope, is in a wheelchair. Agnes realizes that the game was a way for the entire group of friends to escape their reality and fulfill their wishes: Kelly gets to walk, Ronnie gets to be cool and strong, and Tilly gets the girl. Back at the school, Agnes run into Lily again, who confesses to have been close to Tilly and having their first kiss together. Agnes gives Lily Tilly's letter and decides to finish the game. Agnes finishes the quest and defeats the Tiamat, on the way finding the closure she needed to move one with her life and remember her sister fondly.

Productions
She Kills Monsters received its Off-Off-Broadway debut at The Flea Theater in New York City on November 4, 2011 and it ran until December 23. Directed by Robert Ross Parker, the production was performed by the resident company of actors of The Flea Theater called The Bats. The original production featured the following cast:


 * Agnes Evans - Satomi Blair
 * Tilly Evans - Allison Buck
 * Chuck - Jack Corcoran
 * Steve - Edgar Eguia
 * Orcus - Raul Sigmund Julia
 * Miles - Bruce A. Lemon
 * Kalliope - Megha Nabe
 * Lillith - Margaret Odette
 * Vera/Succubus - Brett Ashley Robinson
 * Farrah/Narrator/Succubus - Nicky Schmidlein

The play was presented later at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago from February 15 to April 21, 2013. It was directed by Scott Weinstein and it featured the Buzz22 Chicago Company as the cast:


 * Agnes Evans - Katherine Banks
 * Tilly Evans - Jessica London-Shields
 * Chuck - Richard Traub
 * Steve - Jose Nateras
 * Orcus - Morgan Maher
 * Miles - Fred Geyer
 * Kalliope - Rinska Carrasco-Prestinary
 * Lilith - Sara Sawicki
 * Vera - Daeshawna Cook
 * Evil Tina/Farrah - Allie Long
 * Evil Gabbi/Narrator - Ellie Reed

The play reprised at the Company One Theatre from April 13 to May 11, 2013 directed by Shira Milikowsky with the following cast:


 * Agnes Evans - Paige Clark Perkinson
 * Tilly Evans - Jordan Clark
 * Chuck - Mike Handelman
 * Steve - Noam Ash
 * Orcus - Stewart Evan Smith
 * Miles - Jordan Sobel
 * Kalliope - Adobuere Ebiama
 * Lilith - Meredith Saran
 * Vera - Jamianne Devlin
 * Evil Tina/Farrah - Kaitee Tredway
 * Evil Gabbi/Narrator - Jacqui Baker

She Kills Monsters was presented at the Rorschach Theatre in Washington, DC in two different productions, both directed by Randy Baker. A 2014 production ran from August to September 14, and it was revived in 2019 running from October 18 to November 10.

Awards and Nominations
Designer Jessica Pabst was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design for the play's 2012 production.

The play received a nomination at the 2012 GLAAD Media Award in the category of Outstanding New York Theater: Off-Off Broadway. It additionally received the 2012 ITBA Patrick Lee Award for "Outstanding Off-Off Broadway Play" and the AATE Distinguished Play Award in 2013.