By Renato Arteaga and Megan Evans

Fighting, dance routines, monsters, fairies, knights and demons all take center stage at this year’s annual fall play, “She Kills Monsters.”

Set in the 1990s, the play revolves around the main character, Agnes, playing a popular fantasy role-playing game, “Dungeons and Dragons,” but with a twist.

Popularized in the show “Stranger Things,” Dungeons and Dragons is a fantasy game that has been around since 1974. According to dnd.wizards.com, this role-playing game entices players to create their own story where they endure life-changing journeys, quests for treasure, and battles against enemies.

Throughout the play, using the game, the protagonist attempts to search for answers to her past, and to find out how her younger sister, Tilly, mysteriously died in a car crash.

“It’s mostly set in ‘Dungeons & Dragons,’ which is gloriously nerdy,” said Meacham, the play’s director. “You have a knight, a fairy who is vicious, then you have a demon queen and a slacker demon.”

Meacham said that a large amount of time and money will be put into the play. The department is planning to hire a professional fight and dance choreographer to help cast members better prepare for their roles.

The department is working on obtaining a multitude of props and accessories for the characters, Meacham said.

“A real steel axe costs $300; to get a foam quality one is at least $185, if it doesn’t look terribly fake,” Meacham said. “Every character will have a sword. Every character will have wings, and there’s some special effect things.”

This summer, the cast members for the play were tasked with reviewing their lines in preparation for their first rehearsal on the first day of school, something Meacham knows can be quite the task.

“I am an active learner when memorizing, but that doesn’t work for everyone,” she said. “The biggest thing with actors is learning which way works best for them.”

Angelina Rosas, Div. 990, who is the stage manager for the play, said the play showcases a multitude of powerful women.

“The play showcases strong women being leaders within their quest, and shows a close up of the struggles that come along with being a gay teenager in high school,” Rosas said.

Patrick Thomas, Div. 974, has been a part of Lane’s annual productions every year since his freshman year. In this year’s fall play, Thomas will be portraying Chuck, the comic relief.

He described the play as being different from the previous plays he has worked on because of its more modern vibe.

“It is more relatable to students than the last few plays,” Thomas said. “The comedy is more relatable and [is] funnier for the modern student.”

Patrick Berger, Div. 177, joined Lane’s theatre program last year after he was convinced to audition for a role in last year’s winter musical, “Fiddler on the Roof.”

Berger described the musical as an amazing experience that inspired him to continue performing in future plays.

This summer, he is preparing for his role as Miles, Agnes’s boyfriend. Berger took creative measures to prepare himself to give the best performance possible.

“I like to try to get in the headspace of the character I am playing,” Berger said. “I would make a Spotify playlist using music from the time period, and even use some songs that are planning on being used in our upcoming play.”

Another cast member, Simran Katyal, Div. 980, will be portraying the role of Kaliope. Katyal described the cast members’ summer as being a more difficult time to practice.

“Whenever I practice my lines with people, it makes it much easier, so over the summer, I am unable to do that,” Katyal said. “I like to write out my lines and get to know my character by practicing their movements and activity, something [Ms. Meacham] taught us.”

Meacham is excited about this year’s play and think it will be a hit.  

“It’s comedic, but it’s about grief, and it’s about dungeons and dragons, and there are sword fights, and puppetry,” said Meacham.

This year’s fall play is set to premiere at 3:45 p.m. on Nov. 7 and 8, and at 7:00 p.m. on Nov. 9 and 10.

Contributing: Khalem Caldwell