UHCL Storytellers announce fifth production titled ‘Kill Mii’

UHCL Storytellers will be hosting their first entirely student-run performance titled “Kill Mii” this November. “Kill Mii” is the fifth Storytellers production at UHCL, and will take place Nov. 20, Nov. 21 and Nov. 22 at 7 p.m. in the Garden Room. Admission for the limited seating venue is free on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Storytellers, which originated with Lecturer of Communication Andrea Baldwin’s Storytelling course in 2016, is one of the few student organizations at UHCL focused entirely on student performance and expression.

While Baldwin has been involved in all former Storytellers productions, “Kill Mii” will be directed entirely by students from UHCL. The cast will include performers from UHCL, University of Houston and San Jacinto College.

“Kill Mii” was written and directed by UHCL students Andy Robb and McCade Fletcher and resonates personally with both.

“[This show] is an exploration of who we are on the inside, and how that changes over time as we grow on the outside,” said Andy Robb, UHCL Storytellers President and “Kill Mii” Co-Director/Writer. “We explore that theme using video game avatars.”

Robb described the relevancy of video game avatars, explaining that they are meant to resemble who we are as people, but do not change over time.

“We tend to create idealized versions of ourselves in the games we play, however, when time passes and our ideas of ourselves change, the avatars we already created do not change,” Robb said. “The show explores what happens when these avatars become self-aware of this.”

Robb explained that “Kill Mii” was a project that he had been working on periodically for about a year and half, and Fletcher joined him later on to finish writing the show.

“We were inspired by countless artists throughout our lifetimes to create this original production, thus followed countless writing sessions,” Fletcher said.

While previous Storytellers performances have found homes in the Bayou Theater or other venues, “Kill Mii” will take place in the Garden Room with intimacy in mind.

“We chose the Garden Room because we did not want a stage between the performers and the audience,” Robb said. “We wanted the performances to be very personal and close to the audience.”

The UHCL Storytellers have put on a variety of productions over years past and intend to do so in the future.

“We find those who are wanting to engage in performance, and give them the guidance, space and resources needed to create performances,” Robb said.

The organization hopes to continue to give students a space for expression and encourages anyone who may be interested to reach out to them.

“If anyone is wanting to be a part of a performance like [“Kill Mii”] or to make a show [it], contact UHCL Storytellers through social media,” Robb said. “Our goal is to keep the performing arts associated with our campus.

“Kill Mii” will begin its three-show run on Nov. 20 and is the only opportunity for the community to see the production.

“The show is incredibly unique and unorthodox for a live theatrical performance, making ‘Kill Mii’ a once-in-a-lifetime experience that you’ll never get the chance to have again,” Fletcher said.