Art Lab Brings Monsters to 42nd Street

Winter in New York City is cold and tough. Along with the darkness and snow, comes a barren calendar across the theatrical landscape. To combat this, (pun intended) why not toss a bone to the young and hungry? This Winter, Art Lab decided to collaborate with a newly formed Dungeons & Dragons group, Roll 2 Explode, as they mounted an Off-Broadway production of Qui Nguyen’s She Kills Monsters.

Roll 2 Explode is an adventuring party consisting of six actors who happen to love playing D&D. The group, Casey Johnson, Tony Russo, Jess Kirschner, Chandler Reid Evans, Jake Bryan Guthrie, & Megan Chacalos, first came up with the idea to mount the show the night before an open EPA for the Les Mis national tour. As they sat around the D&D table- dreading the 4am wakeup, they decided to forgo the morning's audition if they promised to somehow produce a show of their own. Enter She Kills Monsters. Enter Art Lab.

Nguyen’s show held a deeper meaning to the group, not only for its subject matter, but due to its involvement in the group’s past. Chacalos had been in the show once, years earlier, and when Johnson saw that very same production it stemmed his initial fascination with Dungeons & Dragons leading up to his expertise as a Dungeon Master today.

The show was housed at Theatre Row on 42nd street and throughout its limited run, the seats were packed performance after performance. Not only were audiences complimentative to the actor’s performances and the realistic stage combat; but also, for the home grown feel of the production as a whole.

“This was brilliant. The whole make believe world, the nature of it was so funny and kitschy, but also, all the actors were so committed to that as reality. Those two things at once, playing against each other? It was fantastic.” - Maria Mileaf (Broadway Director)

Audiences were also quick to comment on the camaraderie that emulated from the actors being friends in real life. The chemistry ran so naturally deep, that it felt like audiences were watching something extremely special and uniquely genuine.

This was great news for the Roll 2 Explode team seeing that they used the event to announce that they are currently in pre-production for their very own online show. They have been busy filming their own Dungeons & Dragons campaign which will be launching in Fall 2024.

The whole adventure was made possible through Art Lab and these adventurers are eternally grateful.