Winter Workshops is an annual set of plays put on entirely by student directors. This year Green Room Theatre Company put on three workshops: “The Yellow Wallpaper,” “We Can’t Talk About This,” and “A Monster Calls.” “A Monster Calls” was directed by Abby Siri and Lauren Johnson, both juniors majoring in Theatre Production and Performance. Winter Workshops are an opportunity for students to get hands-on experience directing and putting on a show.
“A Monster Calls” is set in Britain and revolves around a 14-year-old boy named Conor, whose mother is undergoing treatment for cancer. He is visited by a monster from a yew tree at night and this monster tells Conor three stories that dramatically reflect on parts of his life. After, the monster makes Conor confront his own truth about his feelings towards his mother’s condition. However, the monster is not a typical one.
“He’s more of a guiding, intimidating presence,” said Siri. “He’s fierce without being fear-inducing.”
The full running time for “A Monster Calls” was over the Winter Workshops’ allotted time. Siri described many calls with Johnson over the summer to decide what was most important to portray the story in the truest way given the time constraint. Siri talked about part of the show that was only audio recordings, but was important to the story. Rather than cutting the recordings, they played the audio during a transition to save time.
“Storytelling is about connecting to our humanity. I feel that grief and fear is such a big part of our humanity. It’s one of those things where it’s okay not to be okay, and you can’t skip grief. You have to experience this grief and heavy emotions but you cannot let them infect you.”
Abby Siri
Siri said one of her favorite parts about directing is seeing all the pieces come together. She mentioned one rehearsal where the cast and directors sat down to figure out their characters and their motivations through specific questions. The why and how behind how the characters know and interact with each other.
“Lauren, and I’ll be watching a scene. And I go, oh, they’ve just been sitting here for this whole scene. Okay. So I need you to get up and move over to this corner and, oh, grab your book bag here,” Siri said.
“Some of it, I just have to see in person. That’s been a little bit more of a transition, from directing in high school. But also, now I have to figure out lights. I’ve got to think about sound. I’ve got to think about costumes.”
A difficult part about student directing are the intense schedules. Directors have to schedule around each cast member’s daily lives, work, and school. Many of the cast are also involved in other extracurricular activities on campus. Everyone, including the directors, also have to make time for midterms.
“A Monster Calls” was performed on November 14 and 15, 2025, at Sims Educational Center.
