Today we’d like to introduce you to Nadya Ginsburg.
Nadya, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started my comedy career in the late 90’s in New York City doing standup, but back then it was a very straight, white, male-dominated industry so I found my home with the freaks in the alternative comedy scene on The Lower East Side where there was more freedom of expression, mostly at a place called Surf Reality.
While finding my voice as a comedian I worked as a waitress, coat check girl, bartender, dog walking dispatcher, and receptionist. I got my big break in 2000 when I booked a series regular role on national television on a show called “Hype” which brought me out West to manifest my showbiz dreams in the city of silicone and saline angels. I love living in the most multicultural city in the country and every day this place of constant becoming inspires me.
Since coming to LA, I have continued to work in TV as an actor on national television and independent and feature film and have lent my voice to everything from Anime cartoons to national radio spots. I developed a solo show that I have done in LA and all over the US and have worked as a comedy writer for the late great Joan Rivers and Roseanne Barr, before she lost her mind.
When performing in LA, I call my home away from home The Cavern Club Celebrity Theater at Casita Del Campo, opened by famed Mexican American Dancer Rudy Del Campo in the 1950s and I treasure my LA family of artists that also call it home.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Being a woman is a challenge in every industry and showbiz is no exception. I love what I do, but love is no romance, and anytime art and commerce collide there is friction. What keeps me going is to always remember to come from a place of love, because no one can steal that. Success and the trappings that come with it are great but I read an interview with Quincy Jones and he said about making music (art) that “God walks out of the room when you’re thinking about money.”
I have had to take side jobs when showbiz jobs haven’t come in as fast and as furious as I would like, and sometimes it hasn’t been a picnic, but there have been gifts. For instance, it led me to substitute teach in the LAUSD public school system, K to 5, mostly in Boyle Heights and South Central, which provides a lot of material for my act and inspires me in all kinds of ways. I enjoy having something in my life completely separate from showbiz, but teaching is a lot like standup comedy.
If anyone reading this is feeling uninspired by a day job, I can’t stress enough that it is the most honorable thing in the world to do whatever it takes to serve your true love. So many people I have met working day jobs have become family, and so many experiences have informed my work. Writer Sara Benincasa wrote a book called “Real Artists Have Day Jobs” and truer words couldn’t have been spoken.
Ironically, besides being judged or ultimately chosen for things beyond your control, like your race or sex or age, some of my most difficult struggles have been getting in my own way comparing my path to others or assuming that my path should be linear rather than cyclical.
When you can accept that your ride is uniquely yours and embrace the obstacles that introduce you to yourself, great gifts await. It’s taken me many years to learn to embrace the less than delightful bumps in the road, but looking back I can see how they have shaped me for the better.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
Because I am adept at creating original characters and doing impressions, I found that a Gay Audience enjoyed my Madonna and Cher impressions, so kind of by accident I developed a Gay Following.
I am always honored to entertain anyone, but I especially love and appreciate a Gay crowd, because, as I have said before, no one parties like the oppressed. When you understand what it means to be misunderstood, marginalized and shamed, you understand irony and attune your thirst for joy, which is the basis for all comedy, and all great Soul Train line dance routines.
I am currently taking my solo show “Anxious and Dangerous” (a combination of standup, original characters and impressions) all over the country and am very excited to be arranging the details of doing my show in London, on my first trip there ever.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
It has mostly been The Gays who have championed, loved and protected me and to whom I owe so much. Terry Sweeney (SNL’s first openly gay castmate) and his partner Lanier Laney cast me on “Hype,” and my last two TV appearances on national TV: “Two Broke Girls” and “Partners,” were because of Michael Patrick King and the team behind Will & Grace, Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. For the record, David Kohan is straight.
Because RuPaul became a fan, I got to be on Season 5 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” as a Comedy Judge and I landed my gig writing for Joan Rivers because the head writer saw me performing in a comedy show as Cher at the LGBT benefit.
Drag Legend Jackie Beat who was a writer on “Hype” became one of my dearest friends and supporters and also as previously mentioned, I have to thank my Gay Audience. The messages I have received from fans who tell me that I made them laugh during difficult times are some of my most prized accomplishments.
Around five years after “Hype” was canceled I was working in a clothing store feeling very discouraged with showbiz to the point where I was considering quitting completely, and an acquaintance of mine, photographer and filmmaker Austin Young told me he had a dream about Cher, Madonna, Britney Spears, and a Giant Worm. Having seen the work I did on “Hype” he asked me if I wanted to play all the roles in a Youtube video series called “The Worm” and I said yes. We filmed it in the backroom of Pull My Daisy, the clothing store I was working at in Silverlake and Perez Hilton posted it. We got a huge response and I gained fans from all around the world. That series is was what clued me into honing in on my audience and I do Madonna and Cher in my act to this day, so I owe Austin Young a huge thank you.
Whoever he, she, them or they choose to love, and however they pee (hope that covers everyone) credit also goes to everyone who comes to my shows or watches my videos. A final big up to Brooklyn to my friends and family who pick me up when I can’t and give me the courage to keep on lovin.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.nadyaginsburg.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nadyaginsburg/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nadya.ginsburg
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/nadyaginsburg
Image Credit:
Teddy Bear – Ryan Stanford, Madonna and Cher – Still from my web series Directed by Chris Coats, Supermarket – Max Bussell, Cher – Austin Young, Madonna – Dusty Cunningham, White Coat – Robyn Von Swank, Laughing on Stoop – Michael Rababy, HAIR PHOTO – Matteo Trisolini, Black and White on Stage – Devin Delano
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