Many newcomers joined the weathered veterans in the audition process of the winter play. The resulting cast and crew of She Kills Monsters: Young Adventurers Edition has been a melting pot of characters both old and new.

“It was shocking for me at least … the [most] terrifying in the audition process was probably just like callbacks,” Grant Burns, sophomore, said, “[Still] I’d say that this is definitely one of the more enriching experiences I’ve had in my entire life.”

Burns plays Miles, the main character of the show’s boyfriend. This is his first show in the program and he was majorly surprised to have gotten a main supporting role.             

Another striking lead is Dice Huffman, a freshman, who plays Tilly.

“It feels really scary. Like, I was not confident in myself at all. When I saw the cast list get posted on the Band App, it was just really exciting,” Huffman said.

This year, the play’s production time has been expedited from the usual two and a half, three months to just over two months of work.

 “Lines have been a lot. I am on almost every single page, so it’s a lot of sitting at my house with my dad reading me lines and just studying like it’s a test,” Laney Privat, junior, said. 

Laney plays the lead role of Agnes, Tilly’s older sister. 

“Blocking has not been that bad, especially because a lot of blocking is trying to make it look natural. So once you are in your correct location, I feel like I can relax a little bit more and just do whatever is natural, it looks the best,” Privat said.

Noah Treace, the head stage manager, had a few things to say about the way things are going from the leadership aspect.

 “I think it’s going really well for all the new people that are here. I think we’re making progress, and even if it’s just a little bit of progress a day, it’s still progress,” Treace said.

Makayla Brown, a sophomore playing Vera, is a supportive best friend role to Agnes. This new environment can be difficult for people with social anxiety, but Brown works through it.

“Sometimes I feel a little awkward because I’m awkward and I’m doing this to help overcome social anxiety,” Brown said.

 In contrast, Huffman had a different view on the matter.

“Interaction with the other castmates. Yeah. It’s fun getting to talk and laugh with them whenever we’re trying to be serious during a scene,” Huffman said.

   Another piece of this show that sets it apart from past productions is that it has introduced stage combat to the theatre program. 

“Combat is really fun. It’s a good level between what looks good and realistic and what is actually safe to do,” Privat said, “But it’s definitely been a learning experience. I’ve had a lot of fun getting to know how to do that.”

Burns agreed that the stage combat has taken everyone back to square one of learning.

“I was a little happy that this isn’t just the first for me, but also for everyone else,” Burns said. He also said he found it more interesting than expected because of the importance of defense versus offense.