Let’s start with the play itself. Here’s the description on the Concord Theatricals (formerly Samuel French) webpage:
She Kills Monsters tells the story of Agnes Evans as she leaves her childhood home in Ohio following the death of her teenage sister, Tilly. When Agnes finds Tilly’s Dungeons & Dragons notebook, however, she finds herself catapulted into a journey of discovery and action-packed adventure in the imaginary world that was her sister’s refuge. In this high-octane dramatic comedy laden with homicidal fairies, nasty ogres, and 90s pop culture, acclaimed playwright Qui Nguyen offers a heart-pounding homage to the geek and warrior within us all.
Conspicuous by its absence in that description is the fact
that what Agnes learns from the D&D notebook is that Tilly was apparently involved
in a lesbian relationship. This
revelation, of course, accounts for both the controversy surrounding the play (this
isn’t the first time the show has been censored) and, in a different way, its
popularity, especially on high school and college campuses. Curmie wasn’t initially able to determine whether
the script that went into rehearsal at Copley was the original or the “Young Adventurers”
version, which tones down some of the sexuality and makes Agnes a high school
senior rather than the mid-20s English teacher of the original. According to a Facebook post by parent Tiffany (TJ) Jamison, however, the script in question was indeed the
YA version.
She Kills Monsters is, as noted above, extremely
popular, with an average of over 100 amateur productions, most of them in
educational environments, per year since it became available. As recently as four years ago, it was tied
for seventh in Playbill’s list of most-performed non-musicals in high schools.
Curmie has seen the show twice, both times at the collegiate level: a production
directed by one of his former directing students and featuring a number of
actors he’d previously directed, and a COVID era Zoomed production directed by
a dear friend at another university.
In many ways, Curmie is not the target audience: he’s not young or female or LGBTQ+, and he knows nothing about D&D beyond the fact that it exists, and that a couple of his friends enjoy it. But every has dealt with grief, sometimes mixed with guilt. And Curmie does remember struggling (like everyone else, presumably) with the transition from adolescence into adulthood, even if that process happened <mumblemumble> years ago. One’s earliest romantic and sexual relationships are always both exciting and terrifying, irrespective of one’s orientation. And whereas Curmie would never have self-described as a nerd or an outsider: let’s face it, that’s what he was.
So, whereas She Kills Monsters might resonate a little more with one demographic than with another, there’s enough connection to everyone’s life experience that we’re ready to follow along. The play, in Curmie’s opinion, is a good one: not brilliant, perhaps, but solid, with good opportunities for actors of different races, genders, body types, etc. It also can be done on a very small budget, or it can stand up to a more design and tech-heavy production without getting lost in the glitz. Its position as one of the most-produced plays in the current repertoire is not misplaced.
Ah, but those gay kids…
The Copley production of She Kills Monsters auditioned
on September 8,
went into rehearsal on the 14th, and was canceled on the 16th. If, as Superintendent Aimee Kirsch has
said, the show was canceled not because of its gay themes but because the
proper vetting procedure wasn't followed, the time to do that, or at least to
demand a review, was as soon as auditions were announced. If you’ve got a procedure that must be
followed, then yes, it’s the Superintendent’s responsibility to check things
out. But the likelihood that Howard
Sherman is correct in his assertion that “such approval process had not been
applied to previous Copley Thespian shows” hovers somewhere between “beyond reasonable
doubt” and “ontological certitude.”
Curmie suggested last time out that the Superintendent in Watertown, Wisconsin was “a liar as well as an
asshat.” And now, cue Herman’s Hermits: “Second
verse, same as the first.” <Sigh.>
Oh, ever-so-coincidentally, of course, Kirsch received an
email from the proverbial Concerned Parent.
The only difference this time from the plethora of previous cases is
that this is apparently the parent of someone in the show, as opposed to
someone who has literally no business exercising the heckler’s veto. However much Curmie may disagree with your
position, in a case like this, he supports your right to pull your kid from
the production, just not to shut down the show altogether. This person, of course, remains anonymous, but
if the play goes on, as now looks likely, then either the kid will participate
or the puritanical parent will be revealed.
As might be expected, students cast in the production and
their parents weren’t thrilled about the cancelation. They didn’t believe the show was shut down over
a procedural matter. The school’s most
famous alumna, Carrie Coon,
has a Critics Choice Award, three Primetime Emmy nominations and two Tony
nominations among other accolades. Here’s
her commentary: “I find it absurd and offensive. I just find that a wild abridgement of their
First Amendment rights.” She also contributed
$1000 to a GoFundMe to find another venue for the production. The goal of $800 raised well over twelve times that much in very short order.
Coon’s celebrity engagement certainly helped the cause, but
it was the folks on the ground who made the strongest case. Emily Neuheuser, the president of the school’s
Thespian Society, served on the committee that chose Alice in Wonderland
as a replacement show, but made it clear that she thought that process, with
categories like Community Alignment, was ripe for abuse by those with an agenda. She’s right, of course.
Howard Sherman writes that TJ Jamison led the charge for transparency
and accountability, demanding “1. A public explanation of what occurred, the
reasoning behind the decision, any identified mistakes and statements of
support, and, 2. Transparency regarding the origin of the complaint and the
process by which it was escalated so expeditiously.” She went on to ask for
“specific and tangible steps to address the harm caused to students, families
and the community.”
The big news, though, was that GoFundMe. The students were in the position to begin working
with the Millennial Theatre Project, a local theatre, to produce the show in their
space. But, as Howard Sherman reports, the venue they could offer has only about 5% of the seating capacity
of the school’s auditorium. Better than
nothing, but…
The October 20 board meeting opened with remarks by Kirsch in which
she said, “Recognizing how much the production of She Kills Monsters
means to so many of our student performers I have provided the director with
the facility rental paperwork so that an independent organization can lead our
students in rehearsals and performances of She Kills Monsters right here
on our stage, free of any facility rental charges.”
In other words, as long as the school can cravenly distance
itself from responsibility, all is well.
There were other speeches at that meeting, including from the students
including Neuheuser, four parents including Jamison, and an alumna, but the
sound quality of those recordings make it too difficult to understand what was
being said… so the quotations from Sherman on the second of his two pieces on
the kerfuffle are what we have to go on.
You’re encouraged to read Sherman’s entire account, but four
things stand out in Curmie’s mind. First
is student Chad Fortin’s comment that “If the administrator had simply told the
truth, the real reason of the show’s cancelation, I would at least respect its
integrity in being open about the conversations. We could have had a real
discussion about the issues involved. Maybe there would be no agreement, but at
least it would have led to a productive dialogue. Instead, the administration
chose a coward’s way out.”
Second is Neuheuser’s post-meeting recognition that mounting
the production, which will apparently be added in the spring, with rehearsals
overlapping with those of the musical, will require “jumping through a lot of
hoops.” The production will be headed by
its original director, Amber Coughlin, who will be working as a contract
employee, not a member of faculty, and who says “A lot of this will be done on
volunteer time by myself and a couple other individuals.”
Another significant observation comes from parent Megan
Stotter, who noted that the school’s Club America (linked to Turning Point USA)
affiliate had appeared at a forum for student organizations to promote their
programs. “If the Copley administration
is concerned with the community alignment of any club’s ideas, speech and
activities,” she said, “then they cannot cherry pick which group is policed.” Good point, that.
But the capstone, really, was delivered by another parent, Chad
Kirkbride. His summary: “Copley is
embarrassed, and our community recognizes that censoring the arts puts this
school district squarely on the wrong side of history.”
The folks on the front lines in Copley acquitted themselves admirably, in other words. But we’re going to close with the words of the playwright, Qui Nguyen:
One good thing that’s come out of these moments is that in the aftermath, I get to hear about young artists finding incredible ways to push back, finding clever, brave, sometimes hilarious ways to tell this story anyways. I’ve always said this play has taken on a life of its own. It’s more their play now than even mine… Ultimately it’s amazing to see what fortitude, tenacity, creativity, and community can do when they’re channeled towards something good…. Battling boring people is a never-ending struggle, so don’t give up. Keep killing monsters.
Sometimes the monsters are terrifyingly humanoid.
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