2024 Scholarship Recipient: Abby Rankin

Abby Rankin

Abby Rankin is from Hood River, Oregon, and a current senior at Columbia College Chicago majoring in Comedy Writing and Performance with a minor in Education. Her enjoyment of comedy bloomed into a passion during her high school years when she joined “Phoenix Theater,” a physical comedy performance troupe where she entertained her school district’s elementary students. Since her collegial studies began, Rankin has since gone back to her hometown and directed a two-day children’s comedy workshop through the local Parks and Recreation department. In Chicago, Rankin has written and performed in six on-campus productions, her most notable being: Crazy, Stupid Clown Love, a show in which she co-directed, that consisted of physical comedy and clowning. Not only does Rankin pursue comedic endeavors at Columbia College, but she also co-directs and performs in a sketch comedy/improv troupe off-campus, Asstricks*, where she has done two 60-minute sketch variety shows at the Bughouse Theater, and has opened twice on the Annoyance Mainstage. Rankin, now approaching the home stretch of her degree, and the end of her term at The Second City, hopes to utilize both of her interests in comedy and education to follow suit of her professors into a path of teaching. She would like to thank her loving parents, Dawn and Matt Rankin, for their endless support, as well as her comedy professors for allowing her to be a Sarah Siddons Scholarship recipient.