GOA Theater Kills Monsters - In Person!

By Rachel Max ‘24
After more than a year since its last live performance, “The Drowsy Chaperone,” Golda Och Academy’s theater department has put on its first in-person show since the start of the pandemic.

This year’s fall play, “She Kills Monsters (Young Adventurers’ Edition”), was an action-packed comedy.
This was the first year for both sophomore and freshman participation in a live high school production. Sophomore Hannah Weisz, who played Tilly Evans, said: “I am very excited to get back to live productions after lockdown; I finally get to experience this school's theater department at its best.” 
The show centers around Agnes Evans, a high school senior deeply ashamed of her freshman sister, Tilly, until the younger sibling dies in a car accident.
Desperate for a connection with her sister, Agnes plays a Dungeons and Dragons module Tilly created with the help of her sister’s old friends. Throughout the play, Agnes learns about Tilly’s life and the many hardships she experienced. Underneath the complicated Dungeons and Dragons lingo lies the emotional tale of an older sibling coming to terms with their younger sister’s premature death.
After a long wait, the entire cast, filled with both new and returning members, shared this sentiment and were ecstatic to be a part of the performance.
This year the STEM department also got involved in the show. Juniors in the STEM course assisted the stage crew, building many of the fantasy props and costumes. They designed everything from an elf’s color-changing staff to the costume for a five-headed dragon, and with the show boasting more than a dozen other monsters, the cast and crew greatly appreciated their help. 
Although the show, in its concept and execution, was strange and sometimes off putting,  those cast and crew members involved had loads of fun.
Junior Daniel Shapiro, the in-show leader of the D&D game, admits that the play and its unique comedy are not his “brand.” However, he adds that “it’s still really fun to play the D.M. (Dungeon Master) and get to talk about D&D monsters in a school setting.” 
The  play was a chance for the cast to learn about Dungeons and Dragons, from its monsters to alignment charts. Following the show, the cast got a chance to enjoy the game unscripted, led by Shapiro.
The actors and stage crew put in a lot of work to make this comeback show one to remember.