Ashley Naomi Skye is the recipient of the 2026 Pauline McGibbon Award. This award is presented to an Ontario-resident professional artist in the early stages of their career who has contributed to the well-being of Ontario’s theatre community, displays unique talent, and has the potential for excellence.
About Ashley Naomi Skye
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- Ashley Naomi Skye (she/her) is a trans femme sound designer, theatre artist, actor/performer and musician. Her creative process uses a post-modern approach and is influenced by remix culture.
- Ashley completed a mentorship with Keshia Palm through the Black Theatre Workshop’s 2025-2026 Artist Mentorship Program and began training as a sound designer via the Paprika Festival’s Design Lab in 2022, under the guidance of 2020 McGibbon Award laureate Deanna H. Choi.
- Sound design credits include First Born Theatre (Gringas), Crow’s Theatre (The Veil), Guild Festival Theatre (Isle of Demons, The 39 Steps), Theatre Passe Muraille (The Little Prince), Aluna Theatre, Dandelion Theatre, and Shifting Ground Collective (The Drowsy Chaperone) in Toronto, and Centaur Theatre (The Healing), Montreal Fringe (Regarding Antigone), and upcoming remounts of The Veil for Stratford Meighen Forum and Vertigo Theatre nationally.
- Ashley has developed original plays digitrans // analogirl and Hip Hop 100 with the support of Tarragon Theatre’s Greenhouse Festival, Dead Name Theatre, SummerWorks, and Community One’s Rainbow Grant.
- As an actor, Ashley has performed at the Luminato Festival, Buddies in Bad Times’ Rhubarb Festival, and ACTRA Toronto’s inaugural “A Different Lens” initiative.
- As a live bassist, keyboardist and MC, Ashley has performed at Confluence Concerts, Femmepocalypse, and Exit Points. She has released two albums, Synesthesia and Moonlight Museum, independently via Bandcamp, and is currently co-organizing the ambient concert series Wave Pool with Sonia Leung and Yamen Mouhanna.