We look to the past to shape our future. Who are you? Where are you going from here?

I’m me—a witty oddball named Erin who is eternally curious and whose thought-process is almost always just a little to the left of what you think it’s going to be. I was born in Ohio, then raised half-‘n-half between Pennsylvania and South Carolina. I graduated from Converse College with a double-major—a BA in both Musical Theatre and Spanish—and a love for technical theatre that was awakened late my senior year.

I would like to become strong in my craft so I can be proud and confident in my works. Given the chance, I would like to pursue my dream of being a lighting designer and eventually work my way into a grad program. I’ve been blessed with having wonderful professors—theatre and otherwise—who taught with so much love for their topic and their students that they caught everyone else up in their enthusiasm. I love that. I love that so much. If I could become a professor even half as good…I would be incredibly grateful.

What most excites you about being a part of TAM’s (R)evolutionary Redux Season?

Aside from the chance to work on such an amazing set of plays, getting to work with such a fabulous group of people! Even this early, seeing the ways in which they include even interns so much in the process gives me hope to grow in amazing ways under their influence. They truly do believe in fostering new artists and it is just utterly fabulous.

We’re all about making old things new and new things classic. Why are you drawn to Classic Theatre? How do you shake it up?

The humanity in it. People always say something is classic for a reason.   Something inside the heart of certain works just resonates so strongly that it carries over time. And because the heart is so strong, you can take the details of those tales and play with them—experiment with changing times or settings, adding new layers to characters, etc. That’s honestly one of the ways I like to shake it up. New possibilities in the old, no?

From what sources do you draw your inspiration?

Everywhere. From things I’ve already seen or things I’ve imagined, from nature, or the works of other people. The world is a teacher, if nothing else I try to be open.

You can have dinner with any three influential people. Who are your dream guests, why them, and what is the topic of conversation?

One, Shakespeare. This is going to sound silly, but I really want to hear his take on all our analyses on his works, and hear his take on what we make now. If this dinner was a dinner-theatre affair, the play would be one of his, just to see what he thinks of it.

Two, Julie Andrews. As an actor-singer whose career literally started in the Golden Age of musicals and has stretched into doing everything from film acting to voiceovers, she is a walking, talking book of history for the theatre and entertainment industry—and she probably has some of the best stories. I feel like I could ask her anything, honestly.

Three, an ancient Mesoamerican emperor. I know, weird, but hear me out: A lot of the histories we have are incomplete and whitewashed by the conquistadores—I would love to be able to get a more first-hand account of their culture and personal histories. It would fill in so many historical blanks!

What recent revolutionary acts are you most proud of?

 

Reaching out to friends in need, trying to keep a listening ear, even if all I can offer is silence and a cup of tea. Are these little things revolutionary? Not really. I just hope they impact someone in a positive way, and hopefully that will cause them to impact someone else positively, Like dominoes. And maybe that kindness will build toward the better tomorrow we want.

What’s your super power?

Finding four-leaf clovers! …At least, that’s my opinion. But to be really honest with you I would have to say being able to embrace the weird person I am, and use that trait to benefit those around me, if even just to brighten someone else’s day for just a moment. I’ll settle for that until I get super-speed or flying powers I suppose!