“It’s a simple black-box theater, but he did amazing things in that little space,” said Rosina Whitfield, the youth theater director at City Arts, the visual and performing arts arm of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department.

The Greensboro Playwrights’ Forum hopes for a big turnout there this weekend at its “Evening of Short Plays,” which it will dedicate to Hyers.

“I just wish we could give back so much more for everything he has done for the community,” said Jini Zlatniski of the playwrights’ group, which Hyers started to give writers a chance to see their plays on stage.

Ashley Hyers, his wife of 22 years, said she has been amazed and touched by the kindness.

When she heard about the renaming of the studio, “I was just floored,” she said. “I think he would be blown away if he were able to comment on that.”

Stephen has spent recent days sleeping and resting comfortably but is too weak to speak, she said.

From 1996 to 2008, he underwent four surgeries to remove the tumor, called an oligodendroglioma. A post-operative complication followed his last surgery in 2008, paralyzing his left side.