We had the good fortune of connecting with EMILY BROWNING and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi EMILY, we’d love to hear more about your end-goal, professionally.
“My end goal?” Emily says as she sets down her La Columbe cold brew. “It’s half draft latte,” she says.

“I think, I know, my end goal is to be a clown forever. A character that exists for you to know that I am always there, whether on your favorite TV show or selling tickets on Eventbrite at a theatre near you; my fans will be raising their children and setting money aside for retirement and a credit card commercial will come on and there I will be, ‘Spend your money like Emily- Like there’s an unlimited supply.” And as their toddler puts their toy block in the whole for the first time at the foot of the holographic television, I will be with you in that moment and for many moments throughout their life.

“So what you’re saying is, your goal in life is grow old with your fans?”
“No… because I will never be old. I will simply be me forever and then I will die.”

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I think what sets me apart is that my skill set exists in my personality. I’m not saying my personality is amazing, I’m saying my skill set exists in my bones. The way I move, how much I blink, the timing of my words or how much I hate your outfit. My art is me and like Miley Cyrus said, “I can’t be Framed.” I think I’m getting that quote wrong.

How did I get to where I am? I followed my obsession. I worked to make the anxiety go away. I followed the tasks that kept me awake at night so I could sleep and enjoy a cup of coffee without hating myself for not doing what I thought was important.

Was is easy? No. And yes. It was easy to go to ballet classes when I was four because my Italian mother, Annette, drove me there. When I was 10, it was easy to audition for Bridge to Terabithia with a Jessica Simpson song because I thought it was really a good idea. It was easy to make the improv team in college because I wanted, so badly, to be friends with the funny guys and it was easy to run to open mics every night to share my stand up jokes because I wanted everyone to listen to me for 5 minutes, as I’d never had that before.

It was hard to grow up and get insecure. Hard to keep going. It’s hard to not become jaded and to keep loving the people that paid to see you. It’s hard to confuse family members that you’re not married with children but you have a new clown sketch show at The Elysian Theatre in Los Angeles and they can come if they use the promo code EMILYMATTERS20.

A lesson I have learned is that when you start (or when I started at least being a performer), you are driven to be seen because you need the audience to love you. But when you heal yourself and you no longer NEED the love of strangers, you suddenly have the opportunity to really give the crowd something and that’s when they start to need you. And now suddenly, it’s a relationship instead of me just doing the me show so it’s a giving of back and forth.

I think that’s why people love my videos because it’s me and a stranger listening to each other with an equal amount of respect for each other. They need me to entertain them, I need them to say something interesting. I’m smiling just thinking about it. It’s kind of magical isn’t it?

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’d take them to the Largo. See Patton Oswald and friends, we’d check in and then we’d walk next door to Charlie Chaplin’s old speak easy, The Roger Room. Charlie is questionable but I like an old speak easy.

Maybe after, if I wasn’t feeling like a grandma, I’d take them dancing at The Abby and if we don’t get roofied we’d come back to my place on the east side and we’d eat the left over pasta we had before.

We’d wake up and go the Atwater Farmer’s Market and walk with a coffee. After we’d head to the Malibu pools in Malibu park, a little hike and dip. Then hop on over to a private beach in Malibu, lay out some blankets in front of someone’s house like we own the place.

Then we’d go back, put comfies on and cook together. Cooking for friends using the NYT Recipe App is my obsession right now… so I’m following it.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to dedicate this article to my dear friend and director, Rachel Shimko, who works harder than anyone I know and lights up any project with her electrifying creativity and her abundant determination to follow through. Also shout out to the book, Sapiens, by Yuval Noah Harari. I’d like to thank Noah for making me sound smart at dinner parties.

Website: https://linktr.ee/emilybrowntown

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilybrowntown/

Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@emilybrowntown My Short Film: https://www.instagram.com/murdershewanted/

Image Credits
cover balloon dress photo by @wynnhirsh on Instagram by Oliver Singer Skimz Models show poster by @skarlettredd show photos by @justoffthesix @originaldavidjackson and David Gomez

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