SALT LAKE — As an editor and reviewer for Utah Theater Bloggers Association, I recently had the opportunity to sit down with James Naylor and Emily Tatum over Zoom to talk about their upcoming production, She Kills Monsters. Naylor is the director, and Tatum plays Agnes, the lead in the Dungeon cast. She Kills Monsters, written by Qui Nguyen, is the next show being produced by MadKing Productions. It is transcribed below and edited for length and clarity. The entire interview is available to watch on our Youtube channel, here:
UTBA: My name is Belle Menzie. I am a reviewer and editor for Utah Theater Bloggers Association, and I’m sitting here with James Naylor, and Emily Tatum. James is the director of She Kills Monsters at Mad King Productions and Emily Tatum is one of the main stars and one of the cast. Just to start off, for anyone who might not be familiar with the show, She Kills Monsters. Can you explain a little bit of what it entails?
Naylor: This show is about two sisters, Agnes and Tilly. The younger sister dies in a car accident along with their parents at the beginning of the show, and the rest of the show takes place where Agnes has found a Dungeons and Dragons module that her little sister wrote and is going to play the game in order to get to know her sister. It takes place in the real world, and it kind of jumps back and forth into the D&D world and they go on adventures and fight monsters, and they learn things about each other and, have a lot of like, heartfelt moments and learn things that they didn’t even know when they were alive.
UTBA: That’s awesome. Emily, do you have anything to add to that?
Tatum: Yeah, I think that’s I mean, that’s a fabulous summary of the show. I definitely think there is kind of something for everybody, like humanity speaking. There’s a lot of humor, but also a lot of really, really heartfelt moments. One thing that I think audiences can look forward to, for sure, is the stage combat. James kind of mentioned it, but it is action packed. There’s all sorts of fun mythical creatures and great, great stage choreography, for the combat and yeah, just loads of fun and puppets and puppets. Oh my goodness. And cool costumes.
UTBA: It sounds like it has everything! That’s super awesome. Emily, as an actress, you play Agnes. Can you talk a little bit about how you might have personally connected to the show, or find kind of yourself in the character a little bit?
Tatum: Yeah, absolutely. I think Agnes is a really easy character for me to connect with. I think we have a lot more similar qualities than we do different. One thing that I love about the show that to me is kind of the heart of the character for me, is the theme of sisterhood. I have two sisters myself, and so that was something that was just so easy right off the bat for me to connect with. Some of my favorite moments of the show are the ones with just like, very realistic, like sister banter and conversation. And that dynamic has just been really lovely to explore. And so that’s something that was super easy to connect with.
I think Agnes is also a lot bolder than maybe I am naturally. And so I think that’s been something from a different aspect that’s been fun to connect with is I feel like I’ve become more outspoken and like a little wittier, too. And she’s just like a lot of fun. So yeah, that’s what I love about the role.
UTBA: Yeah. That’s awesome, I love that. I love hearing how characters can kind of influence us as well. That’s super cool. James, can you talk a little bit about why MadKing productions chose to do this show and how it connects to your mission? You’re a co-founder of the production company as well as the Director of this show.
Naylor: Yeah, I definitely clocked this show because I’m a huge nerd and I love doing Dungeons and Dragons, and that’s what drew me to it. Then diving deeper into the script, it definitely reflected all of our core values at MadKing. You know, it’s a show about nerds and not just finding a place for them to be on stage, but putting the spotlight on them up front. And we at Mad King Productions, we really try to create a welcoming space for anyone.
You know, our casting process is open, and you don’t have to come prepared with anything. You just show up in a workshop style. We tell you what to do, and, you know, it’s a lot of fun. And we try to just create a space that feels welcoming for everybody. So, She Kills Monsters, is a show where people feel like misfits. It just kind of feels like it ties in with how maybe we are not the big, you know, Disney musical production company in town, we’re the little guy or the little nerds. But, you know, we have our own spotlight, too. Yeah, I love that.
UTBA: As a nerd myself, I really connect to that as well. And speaking of casting, I learned that you had more than 50 people come and audition for this show, and that resulted in you double casting. and you have two different casts of 13, and they don’t rehearse together at all. Can you talk about that process?
Naylor: Yeah, this has definitely been a learning process for us. We had so many great people show up. I mean, 50 may not be a lot for some, but it was a lot for us. And they were just all very high caliber actors. I just wanted to create more opportunities for more people to join the MadKing family. And so at the last minute we decided to make two casts. And my thoughts were, I don’t want any single person to have to play in both casts because one, I just don’t think it’s fair that they have to put in more work than anyone else. You know, like if you double cast the leads, then they have to go to less rehearsals than everybody else.
I wanted everyone to be able to put in the equal amount of work. And with it being separate, they all get to make their own choices as actors because we like to collaborate and we like to hear people’s voices. So when they’re on stage and feeling out the blocking, they can make their own decisions because they haven’t seen anyone else do it.
So the audience members are going to be the ones to come in and see if they come and see it twice. You can see it done. Done twice. I mean differently depending on the actor. The bare bones of it is all the same, but there’s a lot of differences. You know, especially when it comes to intimacy, like intimacy direction, that is very much a personal thing.
I can’t just come in and block that, you know, which, by the way, we always have Liz Whitaker come in and do our intimacy directing and she’s great. But each individual actor makes different choices, especially in those scenes. And so that’s where it differs from show to show, because what one person would choose is different from what another would choose.
UTBA: That’s great. Yeah. I really love that you can invite the audience to two different worlds of the same show. Really cool. Emily, do you have anything to add with that, maybe with your experience rehearsing?
Tatum: Yeah, I mean, it’s been a really cool process. I’ve actually never been in a show that’s been double cast before, so this is entirely new to me. But I think what’s so cool about it’s kind of just, I mean, it has literally multiplied our team by two. And I’ve just been so, like, touched and kind of amazed by the blind support from cast to cast because like James mentioned we’re not seeing each other rehearse. I still haven’t seen much of the other cast.
So it’s going to be a surprise to me when I’m in the audience for them. But at the same time as we’re passing in between rehearsals, it’s nothing but hugs and legs and so much support and posting about each other on social media, and it’s just all love between the two casts.
And I think it will bleed onto the stage. And I think the audience will be able to like, feel that support because that’s I think that rings true for all of MadKing is that’s evident in all their work. So I think it’s just made with twice the love and it’s awesome.
UTBA: Yeah. That sounds like a great family that you guys have cultivated there. Going back to She Kills Monsters, for people who might not be into Dungeons and Dragons or haven’t played it before, I was wondering if you could talk to maybe other ways that they might be able to connect to the script. We can start with Emily. I see you’re nodding. Maybe you have ideas to start with that.
Naylor: Yeah, you’ve never played!
Tatum: I’m sure there are other people in the cast, but I feel like I’m the only person in the cast who’s never played D&D. I have not had any interaction with the game, really, until the show – and I love the show!
UTBA: Right.
Tatum: So if there’s an audience member who hasn’t interacted with the game, like me, they will have a similar experience to me. I will say there’s a lot of exposition in the playwriting. So you don’t have to have a lot of knowledge of the game and how it works in order to understand the play.
It’s explained pretty explicitly. Because my character also doesn’t know how to play, so they’re showing her the ropes as well. But I think despite the game, I think there are characters and archetypes and so much thematically that anyone can connect to. The essence of rooting for the underdog and feeling like you don’t belong and finding that community where you do belong.
I think that’s a very universal story. And that’s something, even if it’s not a D&D group, that has been that for you. I think everyone can kind of tie this story into their found family or their community. I think that’s what’s really special about it.
UTBA: That’s wonderful. James, do you have anything to add to that?.
Naylor: Yeah, I mean, even if you don’t like D&D, anyone that just likes adventure and fantasy and spectacle – if you’re here for the drama, or if you’re here for the comedy, or if you’re just here for the costumes of the fighting, like there’s something here for everyone, even if you don’t really understand Dungeons and Dragons per se. But Dungeons and Dragons is not just a niche anymore, it’s mainstream. We have Chris Pine in a Dungeons and Dragons movie. So I feel like it’s pretty widely accepted now.
UTBA: Yeah, definitely. Yeah. I’ve played at a family reunion. We played Dungeons and Dragons all together. It was super fun, and that actually leads into my final question for you guys. It’s very D&D related. If you had to choose between fighting a dragon or exploring a dungeon, which would you choose?
Tatum: Fighting a dragon. Not because I think I would win, but because I think it would be an awesome story to tell. Yeah, if I make it out.
UTBA: Yeah. Go down in glory.
Naylor: Yeah, it would be an awesome story if you were to fight a dragon. It’s like we should do a play about it. I’m choosing the opposite, because the dungeon crawling aspect is my vibe. I love exploring and leveling up and finding new trinkets.
UTBA: I’m with you. I would explore a dungeon as well. And yeah, hopefully stay away from dragons! With that, is there anything else that you guys would like to add to this interview that maybe I didn’t ask, or that you just want the audience to know?
Tatum: Just come see it. You’re going to have so much fun.
Naylor: It’s fun. Twice, you know, because twice there will be a different experience with each cast, for sure.
UTBA: She Kills Monsters opens on February 19th this week, and it goes until March 8th. It’s in MadKing’s Fellowship Theater in the Gateway Mall in Salt Lake. And personally, I’m going to go see it. I invite everyone to go see it. It sounds like a super awesome time.
Naylor: If you have a hard time finding us, we are right next to Tucanos and the Bruce. On the upper level, which is just down from the movie theater.
UTBA: You guys are wonderful. Thank you so, so much.
INFO: She Kills Monsters runs from February 19th until March 8th at MadKing’s Fellowship Theater, (the Gateway Mall, 167 S. Rio Grande, Salt Lake City, 84101). To learn more, visit their website here: https://madkingproductionslc.com/she-kills-monsters