Bronwen Smith and I have worked together for about 25 years. We have produced plays and comedy nights together, acted together, taught together, sold books together, created together. And almost from the beginning, I began attaching the hashtag #EveryoneNeedsABronwen to any references I made to or about her, both publicly and privately, because, separate and apart from our sibling-like dynamic of teasing, the fact remains that is just…true.
Bronwen’s multifaceted skill sets as an actor, teacher, coach and administrator are all borne out of her core approach to life: Be curious. And that approach elevates everything she does and everyone she collaborates with.
As an actor, her curiosity means that she leaves no aspect of the script unexplored. She mines the words not just for meaning but for context, emotion, motivation and opinion. Her curiosity about language means she can take any and every style of syntax and make the words sound like she has authentically just reacted to a moment in life with what was logically and spontaneously the next response to offer. Her 100-plus roles in film, television and theatre are a testament to the cannon of characters brought to life by her curiosity.
Bronwen Smith shares and ignites her love of words and passion for exploration with her many students and coaching clients along with her most important collaborator, fellow actor and her husband of 19 years, John Prowse.
I still maintain #EveryoneNeedsABronwen
Written by Catherine Lough Haggquist – actor, instructor, entrepreneur and bestie of decades
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Which neighbourhood are you in?
I live in the South Granville/Kits neighbourhood, but my acting work takes me all over the lower mainland.
What do you do?
I work as an actor in theatre, film, and television – which means I spend a lot of my time trying to get work! Since COVID began, that means auditioning from home by doing self-tapes. Luckily my husband, John Prowse, is also an actor so we’ve been able to help each other navigate this world of lighting, filming, and editing our auditions. I also do a number of other jobs: teaching acting at Vancouver Acting School, coaching actor clients for their auditions, working occasionally as a Standardized Patient for the UBC Medical Program, and admin work for both BizBooks.net and TheDramaClass.com.
What are you currently working on?
I’m in rehearsal for Ensemble Theatre’s production of the play Marjorie Prime by Jordan Harrison. I don’t want to give away too much, but here’s rough a sketch. I’m playing Tess, a woman whose mother Marjorie (played by Gai Brown) is no longer able to care for herself so has come to live with me and my husband Jon (Tariq Leslie). She also receives support from a visiting companion named Walter (Carlen Escarraga) to help her with her fading memory. It opens June 17th at the Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island and is directed by Shelby Bushell. It’s a beautiful piece that is very relatable and I think will resonate deeply for many.
Where can we find your work?
To find out more about the play and get tickets, go to Ensemble Theatre
Or you can turn on your TV!
For a listing of my film and television credits, check out IMDb.
You can follow me on Instagram and on Twitter.
