Photo Flash: First Look at Buzz22 Chicago's SHE KILLS MONSTERS in Steppenwolf's Garage Rep 2013

The Midwest premiere of She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen is directed by Scott Weinstein. The cast features Katherine Banks, Rinska Carrasco-Prestinary, Daeshawna Cook, Fred Geyer, Jessica London-Shields, Allie Long, Morgan Maher, Jose Nateras, Ellie Reed, Sara Sawicki and Richard Traub.

Agnes's life is turned upside down when she stumbles upon her late sister's Dungeons & Dragons notebook. As she embarks on an action-packed quest to save her sister's soul, Agnes comes face to face with homicidal fairies, raunchy ogres and blood thirsty cheerleaders, and discovers a side of herself she never knew existed. Qui Nguyen's touching comedy combines real life, fantasy and 90's pop culture in the search for the badass in us all.

The creative team for She Kills Monsters includes William Boles (scenic design), Rachel Goldberg (costume design), Lee Keenan (lighting design), Daniel Carlyon (sound design), Matt Deitchman (composer), Chuck Coyl (fight director) and Lori Buchanan (dance choreography). Additional credits include Colleen Werle (puppetry design), Sarah Fornace, Drew Dir and Julia Miller of Manual Cinema (shadow puppet design), Alex Tey (gore design, assistant fight director), Jamie Karas (properties master), Mary Hungerford (production manager) and Christopher Leck (stage manager).

Buzz22 Chicago (Scott Weinstein and Sara Sawicki, Co-Artistic Directors; Philip de Guzman, Managing Director) was founded by seven Northwestern University graduates in 2010. Since then, Buzz22 has staged four productions, including the Midwest premiere of Residue by Joel Sinensky and Quake by Melanie Marnich, performed in repertory at Royal George Theatre. The company seeks to provide a home for up-and-coming artists in the Chicago area. Buzz22 stages stories to explore the constant coming of age: the ever-occurring moments that challenge who we are and who we want to be. buzz22chicago.com.

Since the inaugural repertory in 2010, Garage Rep has brought the work of nine storefront theater companies in Chicago to the Steppenwolf stage, including: Hit the Wall by The Inconvenience, Oohrah! by LiveWire Chicago and He Who by Theatre Zarko in 2012; Heddatron by Sideshow Theatre Company, The Three Faces of Doctor Crippen by The Strange Tree Group and Sonnets for an Old Century by UrbanTheater Company in 2011; and The Twins Would Like To Say by Dog & Pony Theatre Company, punkplay by Pavement Group and Adore by XIII Pocket in 2010. Garage Rep 2013 marks the fourth annual series, adding Bailiwick Chicago, Buzz22 Chicago and Theatre Seven of Chicago to the distinguished list of Garage Rep participants.

Garage Rep 2013 also features The After Party, a line-up of late-night, cross-genre performances, every Thursday nights starting March 7. Curated by Steppenwolf Associate Producer Jacob Padrón, The After Party includes performances by Salonathon; experimental rock trio, Paper Mice; genre-bending classical musicians, Spektral Quartet; solo performer and spoken word artist Shannon Matesky; Route 66 Theatre Company; comedy-variety show, The City Life Supplement; and soul dance party, Windy City Soul Club.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company is America's longest standing, most distinguished ensemble theater, producing nearly 700 performances and events annually in its three Chicago theater spaces-the 515-seat Downstairs Theatre, the 299-seat Upstairs Theatre and the 80-seat Garage Theatre. Formed in 1976 by a collective of actors, Steppenwolf has grown into an ensemble of 43 actors, writers and directors. Artistic programming at Steppenwolf includes a five-play Subscription Season, a two-play Steppenwolf for Young Adults season and three repertory series: First Look Repertory of New Work, Garage Rep and Next Up. While firmly grounded in the Chicago community, nearly 40 original Steppenwolf productions have enjoyed success both nationally and internationally, including Off-Broadway, Broadway, London, Sydney and Dublin. Steppenwolf has the distinction of being the only theater to receive the National Medal of Arts, in addition to numerous other prestigious honors including an Illinois Arts Legend Award and nine Tony Awards. Martha Lavey is the Artistic Director and David Hawkanson is the Executive Director. Nora Daley is Chair of Steppenwolf's Board of Trustees. For additional information, visitsteppenwolf.org, facebook.com/steppenwolftheatre and twitter.com/steppenwolfthtr.