Six Elements is excited to announce that we'll be producing as part of the 2023 Minnesota Fringe Festival. "Kill B: The Epilogue", a satirical sequel to Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill" duology, focuses on generational trauma, the manipulation of men, and the desire to be known and loved. Driven by a women-led cast and excellent stage combat, "Kill B" will ride the cycle of violence to either vengeance or redemption.

Performance Dates

August 4th
August 5th
August 7th
August 10th
August 12th

Tickets

https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2023/kill-b-the-epilogue

Venue

Augsburg Mainstage
Located in the Foss Lobeck Miles Center on Augsburg University's Campus.
625 22nd Ave S, Minneapolis

Parking and Transit Info

https://minnesotafringe.org/venues/2023/augsburg-mainstage

Special Thanks

Northern Edge Armory (prop weapons) - https://www.northernedgearmory.com/
Lance Krohn (fight choreography support)

Playwright Note, Merit Burgett
In 2003, Quentin Tarantino released “Kill Bill: Volume 1”, our first look into the vengeance of Beatrix Kiddo, whose life was shattered because she tried to end the cycle of abuse and trauma and escape the clutches of the eponymous Bill. It’s a story that most of us can understand, and there is a visceral sense of catharsis in seeing Beatrix get her revenge and disappear into the sunrise of possibilities.

The story is beautiful, impactful, and compelling; it’s not a story that Quentin Tarantino is qualified to tell. A story about trauma inflicted by manipulative men should not be told by a man who has- in multiple instances on multiple projects- put women in dangerous situations for the sake of his art with little to no personal impact. It’s easy to draw parallels between Tarantino and Bill, to wonder at how these men continue to pull people into their circle despite the damage they deal out, to look further and see the cycles they perpetuate beyond themselves.

Kill B: The Epilogue is my attempt to give this story the ending it deserves: not of revenge, but redemption, of reckoning. As a survivor of generational abuse and inherited violence, I want to show that it’s never too late to acknowledge that harm runs in the family, and decide that it’s time for that pain to run out.

Director Note, Jess Passaro
When Six Elements Company was talking about shows for 2023, playwright and company member Merit Burgett pitched their idea for a parody sequel to Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill duology, the general consensus was, "Yeah, that sounds like something we (Six Elements) would do for Fringe, let's do it!" A show based on movies chock full of badass fighting, with a crazy plot with unexpected beloved and hated characters back from the dead and/or the beyond? Nikki Green all grown up and looking for revenge? Yes, please. So we applied for Fringe, and we were equal parts elated and terrified when we were accepted. We hadn't produced a live, in-person show since before the pandemic, were low on funds, and Merit had 3 months to write a script. It's been a whirlwind, but here we are and I hope you have as much fun watching Kill B: the Epilogue as we did making it.

So, how does one go about paying homage to not one but two great cinematic masterpieces, while also acknowledging that it's been 20 years, and we don't live in the same world anymore? Also, how do our company's views (majority non-binary/ fem/ queer folk) of the Kill Bill story differ from that of the cis white men who told this story in 2003? Though Tarantino created great movies, not everything about the production of said movies was great. Uma Thurman suffered debilitating injuries in a stunt (driving a car that wasn't safe to drive) gone wrong on the set of Kill Bill. Which is unacceptable. And Bill? Contemplating the character of Bill in 2023, he is so much worse, and so much more problematic than I ever understood him to be in 2003. He is manipulative, and controlling, and clearly had unhealthy (abusive) sexual relationships with more than one of his proteges. That gets said in the script more or less, but I still think about it every time the ghost of Bill meanders by.

Directing is a collaborative process for me. It's about creating space so actors can do what they do best, act. It's not about my perspective but theirs, and the text from the playwright is the roadmap. It was a really fun roadmap, by the way. We worked to make sure that not only did our staged violence look cool, but that our actors were safe and felt safe while doing it. Fight Director Mike Lubke is a master at his craft. We didn't and don't care about how our actors did/colored their hair, what body type they have, or whether they looked like their movie counterparts. The story we wanted to tell is one of people overcoming their trauma, living beyond revenge, and finding love in the most unexpected places, with a dash of cheezy one-liners, and parody-worthy melodrama. The music, like the movies, is an homage to other loved movies including Kill Bill 1&2 (which has its own list of more than 77 homages including music for many movies), Scott Pilgrim, Toto le Héros, and composers such as Ennio Morricone, Aliceintheskies (Berserk soundtrack), Yuki Hayashi (Death Parade soundtrack), and bands including The Dead South, and The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet. You also might notice a few other movie homages lurking around our set, and costumes including Star Wars and The Mummy (1999). Kill Bill starts with a Klingon proverb- how could we not incorporate some of our own inspiration into our show?

Thank you for coming and enjoy the many, many easter eggs.

Fight Director Note, Mike Lubke
Working in the homage/parody space is always a treat. It does present its own challenges, however, when the work we are creating an homage to is in and of itself an homage to a particular style of genre film. The Kill Bill duology is chock full of references to westerns, samurai films, and Hong Kong action cinema. Working on this production was an exercise in navigating the "photocopy of a photocopy" space, wherein sometimes it served us better to reach further back to our source material's source material than try and directly mimic a particular moment or style. The key guiding force in the rehearsal room was knowing what story we wanted to tell: live and in-person. Kill B comes to you without Yuen Wo Ping's legendary wire work, or ultralight swords we can just replace between takes if they break. Our story is in some ways just as deeply fantasy as its predecessors - with elements as far removed from our reality as Pai Mei and his five-point-palm exploding heart technique. We also get to see somewhat more grounded elements, like what happens when characters take up violence who haven't been training to be a Deadly Viper for years.

Support our Artists

This is our first show since the pandemic, and we want to provide better compensation to our artists (actors, designers, and production team). Please consider making a small donation by clicking on the donate button.

Cast

Alison Anderson is delighted to be making her debut with Six Elements Theatre Company! She has appeared in various shows with other local theaters including Theatre in the Round, Guthrie Theater, Cromulent Shakespeare Company, Freshwater Theatre, Shakespeare and Company, Lyric Arts, Theater Terra Firma, Stages Theater, many varied productions in the MN Fringe Festival, and others. She is a company member of both Fearless Comedy Productions and Smartmouth Comedy Company.

Faith Finn (she/her) is thrilled to be in her very first production in Minneapolis! She's previously done shows such as Failure: A love story and A Midsummer nights dream at Des Moines Area Community College. She's so grateful to be jumping into the Minneapolis acting scene. She hopes you enjoy the show!

Don is a Certified Teacher of Stage Combat with the Society of American Fight DIrectors. He is a former Renaissance Festival performer, having played Robin Hood for many years. He enjoys working behind the scenes, teaching and putting together the violence. He is looking forward to being onstage again.

Lolly (she/her/hers) is very excited to be a part of Kill B: The Epilogue with Six Elements Theatre Company. Most recently, she played Hannah Barberson in the short film The Karate Adult, submitted for the 2021 48 Hour Film Project in Minneapolis, MN. Lolly has studied Shaolin kung fu and taekwondo at World Martial Arts Center for twelve years, earning black belts in both arts, and continues to attend and teach classes at the traditional Korean school in South Minneapolis. Lolly has also completed two levels of improv classes at HUGE Theatre (2022 - 2023); the combination of these pursuits make Lolly feel the most like herself. For fun and emotional regulation, Lolly plays guitar, bass, drums, ukelele, and anything else she can get a good sound out of. She also loves reading, singing, embroidering sarcastic artwork, and occasionally roundkicks her way around a room in excitement. She'd like to thank her husband, Dustin, and her dog, Frankie, for their unwavering support in pursuing her creative goals. Her two cats show no interest in her career, but she'd like to thank them as well for their stoicism, beauty, and attention to aesthetic detail.

Elora is thrilled to be making her debut with Six Elements Theatre Co. at this year's MN Fringe Festival. She began taking stage combat classes this past year as a coming-out-of-pandemic-lockdown activity, and she couldn't be happier to bring her newfound skills to the stage in Kill Bill: The Epilogue. You can also see her delivering cryptozoological lectures (sans stage combat... probably) alongside Reverend Matt in The Very Model of a Modern Monster Scientist in the nearby Augsburg Studio. Her pre-Covid Fringe appearances were in Xena and Gabrielle Smash the Patriarchy and Reverend Matt's How to Come Back from the Dead, both in 2019. Her "post"-Covid theatrical appearances have been in SOFT by Paper Soul Productions, Dead Mountain by Third Floor Studio (as part of the 2022 Twin Cities Horror Festival), and The Second Annual Monster Science Awards. Her goal at the beginning of 2020 was to get back into live performance, and, well... We all know what happened in March. She's grateful to be making good on this promise to herself now. When not onstage, Elora also acts for the ever glamorous and alluring silver screen, where she's received multiple accolades for her work. In her spare time, she enjoys coffee dates with her partner, playing D&D and other TTRPGs with friends, and hanging out with her fancy feline familiar, Frida.

After a year of stage combat classes, Erica is excited to make her debut in Kill B: The Epilogue! When she's not learning how to (safely) play with weapons, she spends her time trying to keep up with her kiddo, baking, and solving problems one spreadsheet at a time.

Delvina Logeais (she/they) is a queer actor-deviser, director, and playwright with special interest in poor theater, political theater, and found space performance— and she is thrilled to be collaborating with Six Elements Theatre Co. for the first time! Recent credits include SHAUN: An Absurdist Comedy with Jackdonkey Productions (Playwright), Table with Sod House Theater (Deviser), and Much Ado About Nothing with The Past is Future Project (Verges). In recent years, Delvina has also collaborated with The Jungle Theater, Full Circle Theatre Co., and Daytrippers Dinner Theatre.

Shantelia "Shaun" Dunn is excited for her first show with Fringe! As well as her first role involving stage combat! Shantelia has brought life to such roles as 'Katrin' in I Remember Mama, an Ugly Step Sister 'Joy' in Cinderella, 'Alice Beineke' in The Addams Family, and most recently 'Anne' in Eden Prairie Players: Women+ One Acts production of Ashes to Dust. It is with so much love that Shantelia gives thanks to every director to cast her in a show, her friends for believing in her, and her family's unrelenting support.

Shantelia Dunn - “Mook”

Production Team

Merit Burgett - Playwright, Dramaturg, Set Builder

Jess Passaro (they/she), is a maker/performer, spouse, cat-parent and a company member for Six Elements Theatre. Past gigs include; Business Manager: CLIMB Theatre, Business Affairs Manager/ Associate Producer: Cardinal Theatricals, Director: Eden Prairie Players, Thought Bubble Prod. @ MN Fringe, Growing Stage Theatre Co., SI Shakespearean Theatre; Vocal Director: Merrill Arts Center; Assistant Director & Assistant Stage Manager: Pluto Productions/ The New End Theatre @ The Grace and The Kings Head Theatres, London; Stage Manager: Actors Theatre of Snug Harbor, Sundog Theatre, Kill-Her Entertainment, OLSS Theatre, SI Shakespearean Theatre; Run Crew: St. Louis Rep. Jess has a BFA in Music Theatre from Shenandoah U. and has performed at/with; Uprising Theatre Co, Festival Theatre, Six Elements, Walking Shadow, Cardinal Theatricals, CLIMB Theatre, in several MN Fringe shows, the webseries Legacy; Sundog Theater, Snug Harbor Theater, SI Shakespearean Theatre, Kill-Her Entertainment, and The Studio Theater in NYC; Signature Theatre and Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre in VA; and The Way-Off Broadway Theater in MD. Check out their visual art at unhingedartistry.com.

Debbie Bodell - Stage Manager

Mike Lubke is a fight choreographer, instructor, and performer based in St Paul. He is the founder of Art In Arms, LLC which produces year-round stage combat courses and independent workshops for performers and choreographers. Mike is a founding member, resident fight director, and artistic associate of Six Elements Theatre, where he serves as the co-coordinator for the Brawl of America regional stage combat workshop every May. He is also the Creator and World Fight Director for Combat Chess United. Theatre: over 70 productions including The Good Fight (Theatre Unbound),; The Beaux’ Stratagem (Theatre in the Round Players),; The Continuing Adventures of John Blade, Superspy (Six Elements),; Sherwood, Streetcar Named Desire, Misery (Yellow Tree Theatre). Film/TV: I Was There (History), Killer Next Door (FOX). Mike is a proud Certified Teacher and recognized Fight Director with the Society of American Fight Directors, where he serves as the Fight Director Representative on their governing body. www.ArtinArms.org

George Miller - Props Wrangler

Stephanie "George" Miller (They/Them) has been working in the theatre community in Minneapolis since 2003. George has worked with both small and large companies and in 2010 they co-founded Six Elements Theatre. Since then, they have fulfilled many roles for Six Elements including stage management for Twelfth Night, The Pillowman, Valhalla, Zastrozzi, and Human Combat Chess 2011, 2012, & 2013. George graduated in 2010 from the University of Minnesota with a BA in Theatre Arts. In addition to theatre, George enjoys playing the guitar, board games, and planning which crazy skills to introduce their son to first (sword fighting is currently winning).

Mason is a Certified Teacher, Theatrical Firearms Safety Instructor, and the Secretary for the Society of American Fight Directors. He is a lead teaching artist with The Guthrie and Children's Theatre Company, and teaches stage combat private and within institutions across the country. As a violence and intimacy director, Mason has worked with Journey North Opera Company, Fake Fighting Company, Art in Arms, GREAT Theatre, and numerous high schools and community groups. He is also a stunt performer and coordinator for music videos and short films in Minnesota. As a director and producer, he works with Six Elements Theatre and Red Dice Collective to foster imaginative and kinetically-driven theatre.