Carol Androski Piersol
October 3, 1951 – May 9, 2023
On Tuesday, May 9, 2023, Carol Androski Piersol, loving wife, mother, and grandmother passed away at age seventy-one.
A titan of the Richmond theatre community, Carol was the founding artistic director of both the Firehouse Theatre Project and, later, the 5th Wall Theatre. During her combined tenure these two companies were the recipients of 35 Richmond Theater Critic’s Circle Awards, consistently producing cutting-edge American theatre over the course of her three-decade career in Richmond.
Carol was born in Brooklyn, NY, and grew up in Tyrone, PA, as one of seven siblings. As a young woman, she joined a theatre company that traveled around the United States and Europe performing on army bases, before moving to New York City to study theatre at the Neighborhood Playhouse under Sanford Meisner. There she met and fell in love with her husband Morrie, and the two of them spent many years involved in the New York theatre world and sailing throughout the northeast coast. In 1985 they moved to Richmond along with their one-year-old son, where they continued to grow their family and develop a large, tight-knit network of close friends within and beyond their Fan neighborhood.
Carol will be remembered for her kindness and compassion, which she gave boundlessly, seeking nothing in return. In her theatre work, she celebrated the limitless power of the imagination and had a gift for recognizing and fostering the creative potential in others.
As a wife and mother, she nurtured an environment wherein joy, a love of nature, and a celebration of humanity were a basic part of daily life.
She is survived by her husband, Morrie, her children, John (Rebecca), Trevor (Jenna), and Susannah (Eric), her grandchildren, Afton, Noemi, Olive, and Hazel, and her siblings Mike (Marietta), Patti (late Bob), Betsy (Bob), Bret, Bart, and Alan (Christy).
She will be interred at Hollywood cemetery on Saturday in a private ceremony, and plans for a memorial service will be announced in the near future.
My oldest sister will be greatly missed. So many fond memories of growing up with her. She always had time for her younger siblings. I’m lucky I got to spend some time with her this past winter – the 3 sisters together watching the Steelers football game! She is with Mom & Dad now…..
So very sorry Betsy. My sincere condolences to you and your family.
She was a beautiful woman with talent. Saw her for the first time in 50 years at high school reunion and was impressed by her work.
I am sorry to be so late to send my condolences. My family was going through a similar trial over the past few months, but I want the family to know how much I admired Carol. Not only did I get to plan a play at your kitchen table, but I got to REHEARSE it in Susannah’s bedroom! (Sure, it’s weird, but it was functional , given it was for the two-hander, Gidion’s Knot , with Laine Satterfield and Katrinah Carol Lewis). Carol truly was a visionary–and a cool-as-a-cucumber one at that. I should’ve taken lessons from her!
She was the quiet thunder behind the Firehouse for many years, and Richmond is poorer for her loss.
And today’s service was perfect–in every way. What a tremendous legacy she leaves. (June 28, 2023)
Susannah, John, Trevor,
So sorry I wasn’t able to speak to you at your mom’s memorial service. I know she was so proud of the wonderful adults you have become. And each of you will continue her legacy through your lives and your children’s. May she continue to bring smiles to your faces and strength to your hearts.