Spotlight: Aurora Browne
iPhoto caption: Aurora Browne for Intermission Magazine. Photo by Dahlia Katz.
Aurora Browne has been talking about perimenopause since before it was cool.
When Baroness Von Sketch Show debuted on CBC in 2016, it was one of the only shows on television where viewers could tune in to see women being women. From hot flashes to mom jeans to the “white wine generation,” the show spotlighted and poked knowing fun at female experiences that had not previously been mainstream comic fodder. Audiences shared some of the bite-sized sketches on social media, and a movement began to form. Baroness Von Sketch quickly became a cult classic — a hilarious beacon for women approaching middle age.
In the years since Baroness Von Sketch Show went off the air, the show’s memory has lingered over Canadian media, and admiration has only continued to grow for the bevy of funny, funny women who created it, including Browne. She’s known throughout the industry for her warmth as a collaborator, and for the originality of her ideas.
“As soon as I got on set with Aurora I felt at ease, because I knew I was working with a performer who was always ready to perform,” shared fellow improviser Andrew Phung via email. Browne played a recurring role on Phung’s fan-favourite CBC comedy series Run the Burbs. “It was just a joy to create comedy with her. [She’s] a constant reminder that good people exist. I’m such a fan of her as a performer, and it’s such a relief when you find out the person behind the scenes is collaborative, hard-working, and kind.”
Given Browne’s extraordinary onscreen success with the Baronesses and beyond, it’s remarkable that, growing up in Thunder Bay, being in the business of funny wasn’t initially on her radar. She always knew she wanted to be an actor, she told me on a Zoom call, and had family support to go into the arts. “But at the time, I didn’t think of comedy,” she recalled.
Aurora is a constant reminder that good people exist.
Fortunately, comedy found her. After receiving a BFA in acting from York University in 1995, she launched her professional career at Toronto’s Second City, which led to roles in TV series, on film, and onstage, and the momentum continued and then skyrocketed with the success of Baroness Von Sketch Show.
This fall, Browne returns to theatre in the world premiere of The Bidding War, a dramedy that takes place across 12 hours in the Toronto real estate market. Written by Michael Ross Albert and directed by Paolo Santalucia, the production boasts a stacked cast and timely narrative (to say the least). Just as excitingly, the show has also given Browne the chance to shape a character who’s nothing if not polarizing: A real estate agent named Blayne, who hinges her worth on winning the house for her clients.
“If there’s an antagonist in the show, it’s her, because she’s predatory,” Browne explained. “She has this drive to profit, and this drive to not really give a shit about other people. But really the market is the antagonist. Everything is so, so fucking cutthroat because they want this house so much.”
But it’s Browne’s innate ability to see the big picture that promises to make Blayne a complicated person, rather than an easy-to-root-against villain.
“I think she’s looking for a place to not only have value, but [an identity] that’s also her own,” she continued. “There’s something about having a house, and I’ve given her a backstory. I think she was very traumatized as a child. I think that she’s learned early, ‘Nobody’s going to look out for me, and I have to look out for myself.’ And she wants this house.”
“She’s super different from me,” she added. “Although I’m a very cynical person, I do love other people.”
Although I’m a very cynical person, I do love other people.
It was surprising to hear in our conversation that Browne almost didn’t pursue a career in performance at all. After York, she took some distance from acting, but found her way back after catching a friend’s student showcase at a certain Toronto improv institution.
“I was watching [and] I thought, ‘Oh my God, that looks like fun. That doesn’t look pretentious at all,” she recalled. “Instead, I thought, ‘That looks kind of awesome!’”
Inspired, Browne soon signed up for classes.
“Those courses were the highlight of my week — I hadn’t even seen Second City, it wasn’t even on my radar,” she continued. “I think the part of me that [played] pretend with my friends was still accessible to me.”
Browne joined the Second City cast in 2000 and was immediately plunged into a world that necessitated quick thinking, razor-sharp wit, and a surplus of creativity. She lacked none of those, but there were still growing pains.
The Second City experience really does bring all of you out — the parts you don’t like, and the parts you really like. It’s a real crucible in that way. It’s a peak experience.
“When I got hired, I felt horribly underprepared,” she told me. “I somehow got through. Each scene is so scary at the beginning because you’re just throwing yourself in. And sometimes it’s great; scenes would just happen, and there were enough little successes that you’re like, ‘Okay, maybe there’s something to this.’
“It’s hard, because you’re trying to get your stuff onstage,” she continued. “And there’s no more insecure person [than] someone in the middle of writing a show at Second City. But by the time I was in my last show, I’d embraced it. The whole experience really does bring all of you out — the parts you don’t like, and the parts you really like. It’s a real crucible in that way. It’s a peak experience.”
Browne’s efforts didn’t go unrecognized. In 2007, after she co-produced and starred as Alvira in Plan 9! From Outer Space for the Toronto Fringe Festival, the production earned a Canadian Comedy Award for Best Comedic Play. The next year, she picked up her own trophy for Best Female Improvisor. Baroness von Sketch Show brought more accolades for Browne and her co-creators and close friends Carolyn Taylor, Meredith MacNeill, and Jennifer Whalen: In 2017, 2018, and 2019, Baroness earned Canadian Screen Awards for Best Sketch Comedy Program or Series.
I love working. I love theatre. I love the whole process. I love being at the read. I love the coffee and the rehearsal. I love the smell of the theatre. I love the feeling of opening night.
But as much as Browne loves sketch comedy, she’s still a theatre person at heart.
“It’s a joy just to be in the room with a bunch of people,” said Browne. “I love working. I love theatre. I love the whole process. I love being at the read. I love the coffee and the rehearsal. I love the smell of the theatre. I love the feeling of opening night.”
Browne’s collaborative spirit is as palpable as her talent. In an email, Albert shared that she participated in each stage of his script’s development, “intrinsically” weaving her voice into Blayne’s DNA. For him, it was another testament to Browne’s passion and commitment — as well as the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
“Getting to know Aurora personally and professionally has been a real gift,” he shared. “She’s one of the funniest performers in the country, hands down. We share artistic and social values and we both find a way to try and reorder the chaos through humour — and that’s been the basis of a very fulfilling collaboration.
I just hope I get to do this kind of stuff ‘till I drop, because I love doing it.
“For a CanCon comedy nerd like me, getting to hear her insights, getting to collaborate with someone I’ve admired for so long, it’s pretty much as cool as it gets.”
Unsurprisingly, Browne feels the same way about her experience on The Bidding War.
“I’m a happier human being when I’m working,” she told me. “The thought of going into a rehearsal with a bunch of delightful people? It feels like I’m about to embark on a six-week sleepover party.
“I’m super grateful,” she added. “I’m really lucky I’m doing what I should be doing, and people keep asking me to do it. I just hope I get to do this kind of stuff ‘till I drop, because I love doing it.”
Anne T. Donahue
Anne T. Donahue is a writer and person from Cambridge, Ontario. In 2018 she released her first book, Nobody Cares. Her second book, Small Tornadoes, will be out in 2026.
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Dahlia Katz
Dahlia Katz is a professional photographer who specializes in portraits, promotion, lifestyle, events, weddings, and the performing arts. She is also a director, dramaturg, and puppeteer.
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