Auditions were held for “She Kills Monsters,” on Feb. 24 through the 26 at Texas A&M University- Kingsville (TAMUK) Little Theatre to determine the cast for the hit play. Written by Qui Nguyen, this dark comedy play is to be directed by TAMUK’s Robin Machuca.
“It’s a little surreal. This is my first time getting back in the directing seat for a very, very long time,” Machuca said.
“She Kills Monsters,” follows the story of a girl named Agnes who loses her younger sister Tilly in a tragic accident. Soon after, Agnes discovers the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) campaign that her sister had created before she passed and through it, she discovers that she didn’t really know her sister at all.
“Once you get past the auditions, rehearsals, all that good stuff, once you finally reach the performance time… that’s really my favorite part is actually when it comes to life,” Gage Roberts, TAMUK alumni, said.
Even the most experienced actors get nervous when auditioning. Going on stage and reading different lines for each of the characters in front of everyone is part of the casting process. All the while, Machuca sits in the audience taking notes and critiquing performances to make sure each character is perfectly cast.
“I do get nervous to audition but more excited. My first audition I was super nervous and intimidated because I had no experience, but I feel like this time it’s a little easier,” Sarah Hinojosa, communications journalism major at TAMUK, said.
This production of “She Kills Monsters,” will also be collaborating with the art department to design some of the set and props that will be seen on stage.
“People generally don’t notice the ensembles – they don’t notice the small characters, they don’t notice the work and the time that goes into the lighting, the sound, the spacing, the set and this has a lot like this giant puppet we have to make… the art department is helping with that,” Sarah Beth Urbanovsky, art major at TAMUK, said.
Through this play, the cast hopes to convey a message of inclusivity and humanity.
“Even though this play is set in ’95, even in the ’90s and ’80s, gay bashing, sadly, was a big thing that happened a lot more often then, but it’s now starting to happen all over again. Especially for people who are trans. This play is to show that, look, these people have existed and they will always exist and they will never go away, so they are people…,” Machuca said.
“She Kills Monsters,” is set to raise the curtain April 24 through the 27 at the TAMUK Little Theatre.
