About a year and a half ago, our friend Erin Myers passed away after a mighty battle against colorectal cancer. It is not extraordinary that her fight ended the way it did. It was extraordinary the way she fought so hard for so long. Just a month before she passed she was on stage in the middle of full-on battle scenes in Babes With Blades’ production of Titus Andronicus, and before that the whole Chicago theatre community saw her as Odd Job Alice in the Hypocrites’ 12-hour marathon All Our Tragic… all while undergoing treatment. Her disease took its toll, but it could not touch her talent, or her love for her art.
Fans of WildClaw will remember Erin from her role as the Mother in Carmilla, and from appearances in several Deathscribe pieces including 2011’s Bloody Axe Award winner, Alabama Mermaid.
On top of being a gifted actress and opera-trained singer, Erin was an exceptional writer. She chronicled her fight in her blog, The View From the 21st Floor. On Monday, December 5th, colleagues and classmates from Kent State University, where Erin earned her MFA in Acting, performed a selection of readings from Erin’s blog. The reading was to support the Erin Myers Memorial Scholarship, which was created to continue and celebrate Erin’s love of theatre and live performance, which was nurtured and refined at Kent State. It will provide recognition and financial support to students enrolling in the BA, BFA, or MFA program in any area of study at the School of Theatre and Dance.
As you consider your end-of-the-year giving, we at WildClaw ask that you remember the Erin Myers Memorial Scholarship. You can make your donation at ksu.convio.net/erinmyers. All donations are tax deductible.