Welcome, friends, to the final theatre department production in the Ula Love Carousel Theatre. This beloved building has been the home to thousands of performances by hundreds of thousands of Knoxvillians, students, and guest artists, dating back to 1951, and I am honored to direct her swan song.
She Kills Monsters is the perfect show to cap off the Carousel’s illustrious history. It celebrates the very essence of what we do in the theatre – role play! It tells the story of what can happen when people choose to inhabit an imaginary world together. The result is laughter, joy, companionship, healing, and understanding.
We hope this show brings you, our audience, some laughter, companionship, and understanding. And we look forward to seeing you again in the new patron-friendly and state-of-the-art Jenny Boyd Carousel Theatre in the Spring of 2025.
Casey Sams
(Director) is the Interim Department Head and a Professor of Theatre specializing in movement. She teaches movement, acting, period dance and musical theatre to both undergraduate and graduate students. She received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Penn State and completed the Certification in Laban Movement Analysis at the Laban/ Bartenieff Institute for Movement Studies. Prior to arriving in Tennessee, Casey served as the Education Director for Virginia Stage Company, where she created programming for students from pre-k to post-graduate. She has worked as a Director, Choreographer, Movement Coach, and Intimacy Choreographer at theatres across the country including The Clarence Brown Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, The Roundhouse Theatre, St. Louis Repertory Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory, North Carolina Stage Company, PlayMakers Repertory, Virginia Stage Company, Pennsylvania Musical Theatre, The Knoxville Opera Company, and Vermont Stage Company. She is also a certified meditation instructor with The American Meditation Society and Koru Mindfulness.