Since the auditions for Fiddler on the Roof during her freshman year of high school, I was privileged enough to have the joy of working with, teaching, and directing Erin in school musicals and drama class. Though she was my student, I learned way more from Erin than she may have ever learned from me, about courage, commitment, positivity, optimism and finding joy in all you do- on the stage, in the classroom and in life. Having been able to get to know and love her and admire all the wonderful qualities Erin had – her passion for theatre and the arts and learning, her intellect, her artistry, her love of reading, her constant enthusiasm and positivity even when things were hard or she was disappointed, her compassion and kindness to all, her bright smile and excitement for all she did, her dedication to all she did- has made me a better teacher and person and saying goodbye to her is incredibly hard.
Erin was an avid reader. She loved to talk books with me and was so perceptive at identifying complex themes and making connections. She read a book a day! And BIG books! And always brought her reading to class where we most recently talked about The Lord of The Rings and The Tale of Edgar Sawtelle! Erin was a poet. She wrote beautiful poetry and would often stop by in the morning to drop off her latest poem for me to read. She even performed her own poetry at the school art gala! Erin loved singing, music, and musical theatre and loved to talk musicals, too! Her favorite, of course, was Phantom of the Opera, and she asked me often when we were going to do Phantom at NHHS and would then break into her beautiful soprano and start singing the songs- hitting those HIGH notes perfectly! Erin was an artist. She made beautiful, original artwork that became the poster and program designs for all three musicals of which she was a part.
Erin was passionate and so excited to be a part of the fall musical every year. Her enthusiasm and excitement to be involved in a show was unmatched and her commitment to the ensemble and the production was unrivaled. I had never met a student more excited to be at rehearsals! She was in the first row at 2 o clock before anyone else for every rehearsal and she was completely dedicated to every show and every ensemble of which she was a part. She was always thinking of everyone else and always so grateful to be involved. She performed all of her roles with gusto- from Fiddler where she loved the stage make up for Tevye’s dream sequence in her role as a daughter -to Footloose the following year when she was so excited to be able to roller skate on stage as a waitress at Bob’s Burger Place. This year- as one of our strongest singers, Erin joined friends and cast mates and lent her beautiful singing voice to the demanding role of one of our nuns, working for months to sing the glorious Latin hymns that were part of the nuns’ music. Her role as The New Postulant was special, too. Like everything she did- she put all she had into her role, embraced it, and in the end- loved it. Her role as Postulant required her only to walk across the stage in her beautiful blue dress and without speaking a word- kneel, cross herself, and exit as her character decides to join the abbey and dedicate her life to God. It is very poignant moment in what was the best production our school has ever produced and that moment seems even more so now. The show was incredible. The ensemble ethic of the students was the best it's ever been. Erin was terrific – a leader of the ensemble ethic that gave the show its magic, and her voice was pure and clear singing Latin hymms in complicated harmonies with her fellow nuns. The show will always have a special place in my heart for all of these reasons, and I am glad that Erin’s final musical could be such a memorable and beautiful show that she loved being a part of. I had a brief moment with Erin, her father, and my own son who was keeping her dad busy as he supervised the nuns and Austrians backstage during intermission- and we all agreed that the show was amazing and we were all having such fun! Erin was so happy about all of it!! She was beaming! The last day I saw her she gave me her 2nd quarter outside event review paper which I still have and am looking at now. She wrote about her experience in Sound of Music. In Erin’s words:
“Everyone had so much fun on and off the stage. The ensemble was like a family- we had each other’s backs. Offstage everyone was just silly and goofy. It was so funny when the nuns started to sing old girl scout songs backstage! Overall, the performance was great, the audience loved it, and it was fun to be involved and behind the scenes…this past weekend was terrific and reminded me why I love musicals. It’s the people that make it great- every little role on and off stage.”
It makes me smile to know that her last musical was such a happy one for her and that some of the last memories I have of Erin are such happy, meaningful ones for both of us. On her last day of drama class, Erin presented a complex project on thematic connections in art and literature. The theme she chose was loyalty. She analyzed literature and art and included the perfect selections that illustrated her chosen theme, performed a monologue with a great southern accent, and then she AMAZED us all as she sang Christine from Phantom for our class. It was to be her last performance in drama. The class loved it, and we were all so impressed with the insight and hard work of her project and especially with her signing---that she could sing so beautifully and hit all of those incredible high notes. It was an inspired, beautiful performance- and I am so happy, too, that I will have that memory of Erin impressing everyone as Christine the last time I saw her.
Erin was a remarkable, talented, beautiful, smart, funny, brave, amazing young woman. I miss her every day, and I am so grateful for the brief time we had together and the many life lessons she taught me and the joyful memories we shared. She is greatly missed by me and by the many, many lives she touched. I am just one person of the many who will “think of her softly” now -and always.
