←Recommendations of Erstwhile

The Queen of ERSTWHILE!!!
Floyd-Priskorn delivers a heartfelt, heart-wrenching masterpiece of simplicity. Every word here is underlined with love, and truth. Pure elegance, right down to the final word.

Almost everyone will go through this - the packing of belongings of a parent - whether they have passed or moving to a care home and at some point will relate to this family. There is a beauty in this piece (and a new word for beautiful) because this is a loving family so each memory, every object is infused with pain and joy. A scrabble game and little notes with “erstwhile” are so telling and personal, one wants to hug each character and give them light. You know them. You care for them.

03/27/2026 - A beautiful piece that is all too relatable to anyone who has had or currently has a loved one with dementia. The play focuses on memories while at the same time giving the audience a gripping drama of the present. Thought-provoking and very moving. Would love to see this staged!

ERSTWHILE, by Jacquelyn Floyd-Priskorn, is a how-to play - meant in the nicest way. Two daughters are moving their father's belongings to a memory care unit. Their mother, has returned from visiting him. All are on their best behavior at what can be an irrational time. This very real, very empathic family executes one of hardest things a family has to do. There is humor, there are questions, and they are all lucky to have each other. Audiences will certainly recognize themselves.

This is gorgeous, real, and has a sweet, through-line of humor and mystery. A great playwright with another great short play. Amazing work.

I had a hard time hearing this short play because it skated so close to what I've been through in the last few years, first with my father and then my mother. But that is the beauty of it: if it doesn't touch you, grab you, and hold you, then where is your heart, your feelings? It is done with delicacy, not mawkishness, and the notes, both literal and in the mind, are the ones that make the moment real. There is also a delicate touch of humor that I recognize and cherish. Thank you, Jacquie.

Anyone who's ever packed up their parents' belongings, be they fading or departed, with identify with sisters Daphne and Joy. Floyd-Priskorn captures the impending emptiness of rooms as the artifacts of a life are gathered for transport and/or disposal. Especially truthful is the relationship between siblings: there's always one who bears more of the burden while the other can never quite pick up the slack. Deeply personal and beautifully universal.

A gorgeous, relatable, mystery that fully and whole-heartedly embraces both the despair and bittersweet absurdity of loving someone with dementia or memory loss. The depth of the relationships is clear from the start, with dialogue that makes you laugh just as often as it makes you cry. I love the way the notes are tied into the narrative, giving audiences a fun mystery to track and a vocabulary lesson in one! This play is a stunning mirror - so many audiences will see themselves in this story.

As someone who is experiencing the dilemma of a loved one who has slipped into dementia, Jacquelyn Floyd-Priskorn's "Erstwhile" invaded my heart and my senses. There was not a single false note in this piece. And the ending will give you a wry laugh as well as tug at your beating heart. Beautifully done!

Both bitter and sweet, Jacquie Floyd-Priskorn gifts us a wonderful short story in Erstwhile. So relevant for those of us with family in memory care units. I really enjoyed the relationship and witty banter between sisters. And the ending was simply pulchritudinous. Great work.