My Story

I fell in love with theatre as a kid. Back then, I was Erin Austin, and I adored acting, singing, and reading every play in the downtown Tampa public library.

My passion led me to Blake High School for the Arts. From there, I earned a BFA at the University of Miami.

After college, I immersed myself in New York’s theatre indie scene by writing, producing, and performing new work. I quickly learned:

You don't have to wait for permission to make art. You just go make it.

At Northwestern (MFA in Writing for Screen + Stage), I co-founded a site-inspired theatre collective, now Second Site. We made theatre in unconventional spaces—living rooms, furniture stores, art galleries. My work in Chicago taught me that transformative theatre doesn't require fancy venues or big budgets. Instead, it’s built from collaborative creativity and bravery. I also discovered a knack for helping others tell their stories: in classrooms, rehearsal rooms, community centers, and in the corporate world.

I'm passionate about storytelling: its mechanics, its endless variables, and how it shapes our collective understanding of past, present, and future. Here's what I've come to understand about dramatic structure (in plays and real life):

The most satisfying stories bring characters full circle.

When I became a parent, I wanted to raise my kids in the community that first inspired me. Now I'm back in Tampa, writing new plays, teaching theatre, and collaborating with communities and artists to build new theatre.