When high school worlds collide

Long before World of Warcraft, Harry Potter or video game roll-playing entered the cultural stratosphere, one fantasy world stood above all others — Dungeons & Dragons.

Referred to by most as D&D, the Dungeons & Dragons world dates back to 1974, when a pair of friends got together and put their tales of fantasy into a tabletop board game.

Since then, D&D developed into something of a cultural phenomenon, an outlet for young, imaginative minds, gamers and geeks alike to immerse themselves in the world of elf hunters, dragons and sword battles.

This marks the setting for the delightfully poignant, and occasionally powerful, Iola High School production of “She Kills Monsters: Young Adventurers Edition,” which runs tonight and Friday at the Bowlus Fine Arts Center.

Admission to the 7 p.m. shows costs $5 at the door. The production is geared for middle-schoolers and older, largely because of the sexuality and mortality themes the play explores.

(View a photo gallery of Wednesday’s performance here.)

MEET AGNES, a prototypically popular high-schooler. She’s a cheerleader, has a boyfriend on the football team, and a best friend who works at the Gap.

She doesn’t much connect with her younger sister, Tilly, who has found herself at the opposite end of the social spectrum. Awkward, shy, struggling to find her clique. She does so through the world of fantasy: Dungeons and Dragons. There she becomes a fierce warrior alongside her closest friends, Lilith, Kaliope and Orcus.

Their disconnect doesn’t much bother Agnes, who figures her sister’s gaming is just a phase. There’s plenty of time to connect once she matures.

Alas, that doesn’t happen. Tilly is killed in a car accident.

THE PLAY takes it from there, as Agnes, portrayed wonderfully by Lexie Vega, discovers her younger sister’s old D&D notebook, and takes it to whomever can help her learn more about her younger sister.

She does so at the local game shop, where she meets Chuck, as charismatic and macho as any geek around, who happily agrees to serve as Agnes’s Dungeon Master, or guide, through her sister’s writings.