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She Kills Monsters

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Tiamat  (puppeteers Jessica Workman, Logan Holmes, Kyle Livingston, Hailey Cagle, and Harrison Jones) surrounds Agnes., played by Lilly Percifield Smith 
Photo credit: Grace Biltz

She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen ran November 12 - 21, 2021 at the Jesse H. and Mary Gibbs Jones Theatre at Southwestern University Sarofim School of Fine Art. In this tale an average woman, Agnes, plays Dungeons and Dragons in order to process her grief over the death of her sister, Tilly.

 

A number of puppets of all types were incorporated into the fantasy scenes. Starting out with shadow puppets they became more complex as the story went along and the fantasy world grew. Shadow, glove, finger, hand, ritual mask, Czech marionette, object, and pageant puppets were all explored leading up to the final battle with the five headed dragon puppet, Tiamat. I designed the puppets but it was a very collaborative process working closely with Glenda Wolfe (Costume Shop Manager), Patrick Crowley (Technical Director), the puppeteers, and shop students. Everyone came together to bring the concepts to life. 

Directing the puppetry was also extremely collaborative working with director Marcus McQuirter and Fight Choreographer Tobie Minor. Along with the fantastic student designers Rae Land (Scenic), Jaime Hotaling (Lighting), Jana Steen (Costume), Jo Garza (Sound) as well as with the stage manager Madalyn Lamb, the student actors and puppeteers, we all worked together to develop the scenes so that the puppets integrated seamlessly into the over all piece.

Below are some images by Carlos Charles, Grace Biltz and CB Goodman. More images and a look behind the scenes coming soon.

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