While still a student, Béatrice René-Décarie is already racking up items to add to her resumé. The bilingual performer and 2024 Charter Women’s Award winner will appear in Le Malentendu, Albert Camus’ drama at Théâtre Français de Toronto in early November.
Born in Gatineau, Québec, the eldest of five girls, Béatrice was enrolled in a special musical theatre program called ‘L’Artishow’ at her high school. “In the morning, we took regular credits and in the afternoon we had singing, acting, and dancing lessons.”
She comes from a family where music was always present. Her mother had been a music teacher and both she and her mother played violin. Although Béatrice took lessons for years, she decided the violin was not her instrument, instead leaning toward musical theatre. When she was younger her favourite musical was Heathers. Today, it is Cabaret. “I fell in love with Cabaret and hope to audition for it,” she said.
Before coming to Sheridan College, Béatrice attended a CEGEP theatre school in Ste. Therese near Montreal for two years. When she transferred to the Oakville-based program, she had to repeat all her musical theatre credits except one. Being fluent in both English and French is a boon, although she faces an unique challenge: “I have to be able to do an excellent English accent to get English-speaking parts,” she said. “And I’m working on it with the help of a dialect coach.”
Béatrice spent last summer working at seven different jobs, including getting her professional motorboat license, being a professional pirate, singing at a wedding, workshopping two new shows and appearing in a commercial for Tinder.
In her third year at Sheridan, she will be part of a production of Kevin Wong’s In Real Life in addition to specializing in her chosen stream – writing. “I’ve been writing a show and would love to put it on in the Fringe festival next summer,” she said. “It’s a musical story of an Irish dad who keeps telling selkie stories to his daughter. His daughter dies and the man then finds a girl by the beach. He takes the girl, believing her to be his reincarnated daughter. He’s told he must let go of the girl to get closure on the death of his daughter.”
What does Béatrice have planned after finishing her program? “I want to keep performing, keep auditioning and see where it takes me,” she said. “I would work anywhere. My goal would be to work on a cruise ship.” Surely a natural choice for a multi-lingual, former pirate with a boating license who can sing, dance and act!
(photo credit: Martine Clairoux)