Erika Squires

Erika Squires is a neurodivergent queer creator and storyteller from Ktaqmkuk, Newfoundland, in her final year of training at the National Theatre School of Canada (NTS). She has a degree in English Literature specializing in Theatre, Drama, and Religious Studies, with a diploma in Performance and Communications Media from Memorial University of Newfoundland, for which she was honored to receive the Dick Buehler Award for Theatre upon graduation.

For Perchance Theatre, Erika has appeared as Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Ariel in The Tempest, Horatio in Hamlet, Soothsayer in Julius Caesar (directed by Danielle Irvine); Bridge/Josephine/Tish in High Steel: The Musical (directed by Mary Walsh); Sorel Bliss in Hay Fever (directed by Michael Waller); and Lebeau/Hymen in As You Like It (directed by Todd Hennessey). For GroupHug Productions, Erika played Cliff in Sun in an Empty Room (directed by Azal Dosanjh), and they directed Never Swim Alone.

At NTS, Erika had the privilege of learning from some of Canada’s greatest theatre artists, including Nancy Benjamin, Tim Welham, Jessica B. Hill, Brian Dooley, Rose Plotek, Quincy Armorer, Rebecca Harper, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Alisa Palmer, and Thomas Morgan Jones. At school, she has had the opportunity to play Lady Anne in Richard III, directed by Danielle Irvine; Stage Manager in Deadline directed by Cherissa Richards; Anna/Ivanova in The Government Inspector directed by Krista Jackson; and will play Helen/Bessie in Jane Eyre directed by Jillian Keiley.

Erika is an emerging playwright, having written Hush for Persistence Theatre and Baby (self-produced with support from ArtsNL and the CCA), and she currently has two other plays in development.

Erika is passionate about remounting classical texts and loves being in any dramaturgical space. They are interested in devising, adapting, and creating multidisciplinary forms of theater making.