The Melissa Theatre program has started early production of their UIL One Act Play “A Monster Calls” directed by Megan Moore, Kyle Brenner and Molly Kennedy. The play tells the story of a young Conor O’Malley (Bailey Thornburg). Conor has many different struggles at home and school, but with the help of the Monster (Makenna Worsham-Bowen), she learns to find her truth through storytelling.

“Sharing Conor’s experience is crucial because when individuals try to protect themselves from suffering, they often end up living in denial,” junior Bailey Thornburg said. “Conor’s experience reveals aspects of mental illness that the audience can easily connect with. By telling this story, it encourages us to let out our feelings and accept the truth that will set us free.”

Both Conor and the Monster are originally played as male characters, but in this production, both will be played by females.

“The point of acting is to portray a character and illustrate a story to your audience,” senior Makenna Worsham-Bowen said. “As the world progresses, traditional standards of powerful characters being played only by men are breaking. We start to see the layers females can add to these roles making them more complex and engaging to the audience.”

The company will compete in several UIL competitions starting in early March, hopefully, advancing all the way to the state competition. Melissa has reached the state level three times in program history: 2018, 2019 and 2022, placing second on all three occasions. The group hopes to have the same success at the 5A level this year as they have in the past.