Sound and Sight: Skye Goulbourne

Skye Goulbourne: Dreams do come true

Skye Goulbourne loved performing as a child and into her late teens, but had to take an extended hiatus in pursuit of her higher education and career development. Her return to musical theatre, dance and singing was largely facilitated by her deep involvement with the Huntsville Theatre Company beginning in 2018.

For Goulbourne, this was a dream come true.

Her most recent role was as part of the ensemble players in Rent. The iconic, beloved musical, produced by the Monarch Performing Arts Studio and directed by Autumn Smith with an ensemble cast of local actors and leads from around Ontario, ran at Algonquin Theatre April 1 to April 9 to high acclaim and appreciative audiences.

Rent, one of the longest-running shows on Broadway—and perhaps one of the more successful—is without a doubt a challenging piece of musical art. Written by Jonathan Larson, based on Giacomo Puccini’s opera La Bohème, it tells the tale of several aspiring artists, friends, and lovers struggling to survive in New York City. A raucous, thrilling piece of theatre, Rent has become one of the most revered and followed shows in Broadway history.

Goulbourne was also cast to star in Sister Act as its central character, Deloris Van Cartier, in April 2020, but the production was cancelled due to the pandemic.

She works relentlessly to improve her abilities. Musical theatre demands a set of skills unique to musical performing: the artist must be able to dance, sing, and act throughout a single show.

Goulbourne has concentrated most of her efforts on dance and movement, taking courses available at the Monarch Performing Arts Studio in Huntsville. The ability to express emotion and dramatic intent through dance forces the dancer to use limbs and muscle groups independently, freeing the body to confidently fulfil the needs of the song or choreography.

In preparation for her role in Sister Act, Goulbourne also had to prepare her vocal reach. The part requires a singer to throw their voice, a technique which includes breath control and channelling sound from chest, throat and head voices to expand the volume that a vocalist might achieve. “It is a bit of both,” Goulbourne explains, how the voice opens up. “It is definitely a bigger voice, and it’s like a chest voice, but it’s above your breaking point. Normally your voice just kind of switches into your head voice, and so it’s like a higher chest voice, but it’s still powerful.”

All this training is meant to promote confidence, overcome timidity, and ultimately encourage the student to discover the talents required of professional stage actors.

“Skye is a born performer. She lights up the stage and it is so clear that she belongs there,” says Mallary Davenport, founder of Monarch Performing Arts Studio. “It was such an easy choice to cast her in the HfA [Huntsville Festival of the Arts] musicals after working with her in HTC productions as well as my own. Her first love may be teaching but she is an exceptional member of any cast. Her ability to connect with others and her generosity as a scene partner is a wonder to behold. I look forward to many more shows with her as her director, and having the great fortune of sharing the stage with her as a fellow performer.”

The Huntsville Theatre Company’s stated mission is to “foster creativity, community spirit, and honest support between people.” Goulbourne found her voice, so to speak, by being active within the theatre company as a performer, producer, and director. To date, Goulbourne has performed in twelve shows, produced two, and directed The Savannah Sipping Society in February 2019.

In October 2020 following the lockdown, Goulbourne also directed an online show, IGNITE. “It was a virtual celebration of representation in the arts and talking about the impact it had on different performers. I sought out different performers with some very frank designated groupings—people of colour, Latina, same-sex relationships, mental health, just a wide variety. Then finding songs, or pieces, or art experiences that resonated with them at that level of their identity. We were all over the world. There were local performers from Huntsville and then I had performers from Toronto, Brockville, New York.” Broadcast from the Monarch Performing Arts Studio, the project was an innovative and thrilling event.

Goulbourne describes herself as a “yes girl”, by which she means she is willing to train and do the work to fulfil any project attached to the theatre or musical theatre productions. Along with her lively and cheerful disposition, she is a can-do, will-do type of person.

Her next project will be Beauty and the Beast, in the title role of Belle, for the Huntsville Festival of the Arts which is awaiting a schedule confirmation. It’s a central role and exciting part, which Goulbourne is hoping will come to fruition. It is clearly a featured part she is meant to play.

Community theatre provides a level of experience for both artists and craftspersons involved in every production. Moreover, community theatre allows talent like Skye Goulbourne’s to be nurtured and find a place in our lives from which we all benefit and flourish.

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