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>> Eric Goulem by AMY BARRATT In theatre circles, a "triple threat" used to mean somebody who could sing, dance and act. It may be time to trade in that definition for a new one: the playwright-director-actor. Lately, the theatre scene seems to be swarming with these young jacks and jills of all trades. While anybody can claim to do everything, some, like 29-year-old Eric Goulem, are building up a body of work to prove that they really can. Eric and older brother Alain have been acting since they were kids. "A friend of Al's was in a TV commercial," says Eric. "Al thought that was pretty cool, and asked my mother if he could do it too." Both boys were soon attending Miss Davis and Miss Walters' legendary Children's Theatre, and neither has looked back since.
Also in 1997, he co-produced and directed his own play, The Lonely Cowboy. The one-man show was originally created for actor Daniel Brochu, but Goulem has since donned the chaps and performed it himself. He thinks there's a good chance he'll be taking it on the road to Atlantic Canada this summer. Meanwhile, he has written a new play which he expects to stage in the coming year. The McQuigglesteins, a play with music, is about a family living above the projection booth in a cinema, almost never venturing out. "Everything they know about the world comes from movies and books," says the playwright. Goulem, who plays the bass and the violin (add musician to his list of credits) is also composing the score, which he says will be like "what tango would be if you had only read about it." Vamos, niños.
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Have chaps, will travel
Last summer the Goulems ruled Theatre Lac Brome in several productions, including the Groucho Marx revue in which Eric played the irresistible Harpo. He toured with Pigeons International in Savage Love, something of a dream come true for the actor, who had long admired the company's work and merely aspired "to audition for them someday."