Tara Sky is a dynamic theatre artist, advocate, and passionate cat lover known for bringing mischievous playfulness to their work. With a deep commitment to storytelling, Tara strives to make theatre accessible and inclusive, ensuring diverse voices are represented across Canadian stages. As a bold advocate for equality, Tara champions underrepresented perspectives in our theatre canon.
A graduate of the prestigious acting program at the National Theatre School, Tara has honed her craft through diverse professional experiences, including three seasons at the Stratford Festival. Notable theatre highlights include her performances in Reasonable Doubt at Persephone Theatre and Where the Blood Mixes at Soulpepper Theatre. With a reputation for pushing boundaries and creating thought-provoking performances, Tara’s work resonates with audiences on multiple levels.
Looking ahead, Tara can soon be seen starring in the Governor General’s Award-winner There is Violence and There is Righteous Violence and There is Death or, The Born-Again Crow at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. Beyond the stage, Tara remains deeply committed to advocating for the arts and supporting the next generation of theatre makers.
-Written by Cynthia Jimenez-Hicks
A park that I cross through before getting to the subway. The play structure has changed since the last time I lived in this neighbourhood, so it’s a strangely new and nostalgic sight. In the spring/summer/fall months, the sun rises in the direction of the subway and sets in the direction of coming home. It’s always nice to feel the sun on my face, if not blinding. It’s always the main thing I miss during wintertime.This is the Daniel Spectrum building near River and Dundas st. East. It houses Native Earth Performing Arts rehearsal and theatre space. Since Born-Again Crow is a co-production between Buddies in Bad Times and Native Earth Performing Arts, this is where we are rehearsing. We will move over to the Buddies space during Tech.The Daniel Spectrum building has a little area with tables and couches and it’s a very comfy place to set up and do planning/script work. I arrived early to rehearsal and had a moment to myself to schedule my week. I always found it easier to do my work at work.They sell some food in the building as well and this is the sign above the cash register. I set myself up to do my planning/script work while looking at this sign, and I find it quite welcoming to look at for some reason. I’m not sure I can articulate why.Our first day of rehearsals and this was the space we walked into. It surprised me, having a collage wall isn’t a usual sight for theatre, but I’m finding it a very accessible and creative process. Sometimes words are hard for me (haha why did I get into theatre, and why do I want to write?) I generally substitute words for sounds or gestures, but having pictures to add to my substitutes has been quite enlightening. Thank you Jess Carmichael (director of Born-Again Crow) for your wisdom and teaching me new things about the possibilities of process.A space I could warm up in before a rehearsal day. Warming up before rehearsals and shows is very important to me. I’ve worked in really large theatres before and I found it quite intimidating to try and reach the entirety of the space and all of the audience. I luckily had wonderful voice coaches who helped me develop a practice and routine for myself.My favourite part of this work is witnessing human behaviour. I love watching people, I love observing relationships, and listening into conversations. This was one of those moments for me. It was snowing outside the subway which means wet boots. And wet boots allowed us (me) to have a visual representation of which side of the stairs people prefer sticking to. I found this to be amusing and fascinating.End of my day. It always ends at my desk. Either responding to emails, looking at my script, journaling, or checking my planner. I’m someone who really struggled in high school, I hated doing work, I didn’t see any point in it. So now I really try treating work as something cozy to do, I’ve got tea, a snack, a heating blanket, a weighted plushie (life changer!!), and all the work I need to do. This particular night it was personalizing my script.
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Which ’hood are you in?
I live in the east end! Near Danforth. I grew up around there, so it’s honestly been really nice to go back to my roots, see all the nostalgia. It’s also pretty close to a subway station so I get a nice walk in the snow every morning. Which has been surprisingly fun?
What do you do?
I’m an actor! Aspiring artist? Something like that. My roots are definitely in acting, as I went to the National Theatre School of Canada for acting, however, it’s hard to just stay in one discipline when money is so tight and you love the work so much. I think the next step might be writing? Just because I’ve been doing that on my time off.
What are you currently working on?
The Toronto premiere of There is Violence and There is Righteous Violence and There is Death or, The Born-Again Crow, by Caleigh Crow, which runs March 9 to 29 at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. I’m honestly very excited about it. A lot of the show is similar to my thoughts and feelings about the world and about myself. I think I’m a little more polite than my character though.
Where can we find your work?
Oh my! Um, some of it you’ll just have to believe I do. I’ve spent three seasons at Stratford and eventually hope to make my way back there. I’ve also done a few audiobooks, (which are so unbelievably fun to do!) I haven’t quite made my way into the film and TV industry but I’m auditioning. My passion and my roots are theatre though, and theatre can be so fleeting.
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