Lauren Ash had a head start on voicing the role of Diane Dunbrowski on “Chicago Party Aunt,” a new adult animated comedy series on Netflix.
“I actually worked in the Chicago Second City [improv troupe] on the mainstage for a few years and at the time I was informed I apparently had a Canadian accent,” said Ash, 38, born in Ontario. “In trying to mask that, to avoid the ribbing and teasing, I kind of adopted this weird half-Chicago accent for a few years while I was performing there.
“When this show came up I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve been doing this voice before without even knowing it!’ It was really fun 10 years later to get the opportunity to use what I practiced in Chicago.”
Ash, who played brusque, tough-talking martinet Dina Fox on NBC’s “Superstore” (2015-21), does a complete 360 with Chicago native Diane, a hard-partying woman of a certain age who lives in Wrigleyville, works in a hair salon and hasn’t quite outgrown her ’80s-era ways. She’s all-about Da Bears and Da Cubs and having a good time with her family and friends, all of whom she loves dearly — particularly her nephew, Daniel (Rory O’Malley), who’s just graduated from high school and with whom she shares a close bond.
Lauren Ash plays hard partying Diane Dunbrowski in the animated Netflix series “Chicago Party Aunt.”Courtesy of NETFLIXThe series is based on Chris Witaske’s gag twitter account.
“Even though the show is obviously Chicago-centric … the archetype of Diane exists everywhere,” Ash said. “First of all, if you spend any time in Chicago, and go to a Cubs game, you’re gonna see a lot of Dianes with that specific haircut she’s got and a lot of that look. Anywhere there’s women of a certain age whose kids are out of the house and they’re just ready to party — not that they ever really stopped, even when their kids were young.
“But they’re just having fun. While [Diane] is obviously a hard partier and loves a good time, she’s also, and I think this is true of this kind of archetype, extremely loyal and loves her family and friends and is driven from a place of positivity, of heart … She’s a lady who likes her Chicago sports and likes to start her day with maybe a little something in her coffee to get her going. Those are the kinds of themes that go into any ‘party aunt,’ no matter where she’s from.”
The eight-episode first season introduces the people in Diane’s orbit including her sister, Bonnie (Jill Talley); her ex-husband (two times over), Kurt (Witaske); their gargantuan son, Mikey (Jon Barinholtz); Gideon (RuPaul), her boss at the hair salon; and her friends and co-workers Tina (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) and Zuzana (Katie Rich).
Diane and her lug-of-a-son, Mikey, played by Jon Barinholtz.Courtesy of NETFLIX“I think what’s interesting about ‘Chicago Party Aunt’ is that obviously it’s an animated cartoon and is definitely raunchy with out-there situations … but we’re also following the story of Diane’s nephew, Daniel, who’s just graduated from high school and gotten into Stanford, which is a huge deal,” Ash said. “It feels like he doesn’t know his place in the world yet and while the two of them could not be more different, we start to see in the first episode that they’re going through similar themes: what is my place in the world and am I doing what I should be doing? Can I go against the status-quo?
“It’s cool to get to see them team up as this odd couple that teaches each other in their own special way.”
Mark McKinney, Lauren Ash and America Ferrera in a scene from the NBC sitcom “Superstore.”Greg Gayne/NBCThis isn’t Ash’s first animated rodeo; she played Scorpia for five seasons on “She-Ra and the Princesses of Power” and did a lot of voice work back in Canada.
“Voice acting is completely different challenge, in my opinion, and requires the use of different skills,” she said. “You can’t really rely on your face or the movement of the camera, and the way I’m talking to you now might sound like I’m energetic, but if you put this [voice] behind a cartoon that’s brightly colored with characters moving around it would probably sound very flat.
“It’s about learning how to use your voice in a way that’s dynamic and interesting and sounds realistic inside the cartoon-y world.”
Ash sums up Diane as the kind of person “who thinks you’re awesome and loves you more than anything else and she just wants the best for you.
“That’s a lovely person to have in your corner.”
