The Magdalene Laundries

A wee update and success on the Magdalene Laundries. I've been writing, researching, meeting folks who've put me in touch with contacts from Ireland, the NYC solo show community and companies that are interested in pursuing theatre work about women who've been/continue to be oppressed all over the world. I will be doing a 20 minute staged performance of Magdalene at a solo show production space in NYC as part of a showcase of new work, which I'm super excited about! More to come....

If you want to learn more about the Magdalene Laundries, you can download a video for free through google called "Sex In A Cold Climate" with interviews of four of the Magdalene survivors. It's a pretty gruesome portrait of the Catholic Church too so beware.

Solo Show

I'm currently writing a one woman show based on personal narrative and the stories, fictionalized and true, of the women of The Magdelene Laundries in Ireland in the early 20th century. Stay tuned for updates on how it's going....

Some of the reviews from 2008

The Weird Sisters with East Third Ensemble:
"As Rhoswen, a wild, childlike young woman with the power to channel spirits, Erin Layton is captivating, frighteningly vivid in her possession and in each of the characters she takes on, from old woman to ruthless warrior"
- Ronni Reich, Backstage, December 2008

"Christine Verleny (Muriel) and Erin Layton (Rhoswen) do not always resist the temptation to push their characters over the top, but they create compelling women worthy of the play's title"
- Martin Denton, nytheatre.com, December 2008

The Pearl Merchant with Threads Theater Company:

"Layton's performance as Hannah is thoughtful and shows Layton's considerable potential"
- Ronni Reich, Backstage, November 2008

Merce Cunningham

Before I even considered moving to New York to pursue acting, I was obsessed with modern dance. I was a painting major but I would audit modern dance classes at the university I attended. I was drawn to the abstract expression of dance, how it engaged my body on levels that painting never really could. I was in a class of all dance majors and stuck out like a sore thumb, attempting pathetic leaps into the air, tripping all over my feet, forgetting the choreography within seconds of learning it. The whole experience was embarrassing but it felt good to look foolish, to be a student of something unfamiliar, to fail. After I graduated college, I started performing in shows again. I hadn't touched theater in years, not since I was 16 years old. And then, at 21, with a painting degree that felt useless, I was excited about using my body again, exploring physical space, finding a different artistic expression that's three dimensional, that exists as sound and word and movement. Well, I quickly became disillusioned with theater. The shows I would perform in were static and stiff. They were more about where to stand on the stage when you say that line instead of addressing the bigger question of why, why speak and why stand there when you deliver that line? On the afternoon of one of the last shows I vowed to work on before I took a long respite from the theater, a guy, an audience member, asked if I had a background in dance or movement. And then I remembered, how much I loved modern dance - how alive I felt in the trips and falls, the twisted leaps. He invited me to a workshop for a new play that altered the course of my life and how I saw myself as an artist, as an actor. My story with the guy and the work that we did in a small studio at Fontbonne University is far too long for this post but it was with him that I discovered what I loved about movement, dance, abstraction, collaboration, sound, space, relationship to other people in the room. Through all of this life altering experience I happened upon Merce Cunningham. I rented and studied his videos from the library. I showed them to my straight laced christian friends while I tried desperately to explain to them that his choreography is the reason why I'm an artist. They looked at me like I was nuts! One night, after watching a Merce Cunningham video, one of my dear friends turned to me and said "Erin, you are passionate about things that just don't happen here in St. Louis. You need to move to New York".
All this to post, thank you Mr. Cunningham. You will forever remain in my heart a pioneer, a revolutionary, a hero. You will be greatly missed.