By Rachel Matthews – Contributor

On Sunday, March 12, Bishop’s University’s drama department concluded the four-show run of their winter production of Qui Nguyen’s She Kills Monsters, directed by Nathania Bernabe and Jackie T. Hanlin. The combat-oriented, adrenaline-filled play opened on March 9 to an audience of 120 in Centennial Theatre, located on Bishop’s campus. The performances included monsters right out of a Dungeons and Dragons adventure, spectacular melee fights complete with swords and axes galore, show-stopping dance numbers, and heart-pumping 90s music to underscore it all. Not to mention, the student-built set inspired by the dice used in a Dungeons and Dragons campaign and designed by Kimira Reddy, along with Chengyan Boon’s lighting and projection design, and Elisabeth de Medeiros’s costume design, brought the show to life.

Auditions for the show began in November of 2022, with callbacks for actors being held several days after students had returned to campus from the holiday break. Since then, they’ve rehearsed five days a week for six weeks, during which the cast has remained hard at work mastering stage combat techniques and building the stamina demanded by the show. The directors commented on their approach to physical theatre and expressed their belief in “empowerment through movement and being proud of the body you are given.”

On top of all that, drama students had fifteen hours of technical work they needed to fulfill for this production, which they could do by assisting with costumes, set building, lighting, sound, prop building, and more. This is true of all Bishop’s drama productions in order to provide students with practical experience in the technical aspects of theatre rather than only the performative side. Bernabe and Hanlin praised the program for its emphasis on “the importance of a well-rounded theatre education” that provides “an understanding of all aspects of theatre.”

Going forward, the two will be embarking on their first duo show for the Edmonton International Fringe Festival in August 2023 and will be aiding with the National Stage Combat Workshop with Fight Directors Canada, which will be happening in Vancouver this upcoming June. Currently, they are involved in a skill exchange with DynamO Théâtre, a local theatre company based in Montreal, where they are participating in thirty hours of acrobatic research in exchange for thirty hours of stage combat training.

It was thanks to the Nancy and John Gallop Creative Arts Fund that Bernabe and Hanlin were able to travel to Bishop’s from their home base in Vancouver and take up the mantle of co-directing She Kills Monsters. The Gallops are alumni of Bishop’s, with John having graduated in 1957 and Nancy doing so the following year. John contributed $1 million to establish the fund shortly after the passing of his wife in order to make a positive contribution to the arts at Bishop’s. His generous donation allowed for the drama program to take on Bernabe and Hanlin as artists-in-residence for this production and give the students such a unique and empowering experience.