EP. #86 – A CONVERSATION with NADYA GINSBURG

Dan Fisher (0:08)

Summer is officially over, but the Mahoning Drive-In Theatre is still showing retro classic movies, still serving up popcorn by the bucketful, and still making a night out at the movies something extra special. From now through Halloween night, you can expect all kinds of fun, spooky stuff, like a Nightmare Before Christmas, Nightmare on Elm Street Double Feature, and a New York Times. Let's go.

If you're a movie nerd like me, you should make the trip to lovely Lehighton, Pennsylvania for a movie experience you won't find anywhere else. For more information and to see what's coming up on the schedule, go to Mahoning D Visit. dith.com.

Some of the language that we use during our conversation might not be considered appropriate for all listeners. Discretion is advised.

Welcome to Let's Talk Ten. I'm Dan Fisher. I hadn't met actress and comedian Nadya Ginsburg until this conversation, but we got along right off the bat. Her career has spanned the stage, television, and the big screen with a global cult following for her dead on impressions of Madonna and Cher. She's also written jokes for comedy legend Joan Rivers, has appeared on shows like 2 Broke Girls and RuPaul's Drag Race, and she stole her scenes as Aunt Anna in the feature film Friendsgiving, which is streaming on Netflix right now. She's even been on the Today Show to talk about her Lady Gaga parody, Al Roker Face, for which Al Roker himself seemed utterly delighted. I was delighted too to talk with Nadya about the many artists and pop cultural moments that have influenced her as a performer and as a person. And I'll be honest, many of her choices were not at all what I expected, which is a good thing, because after all, the unexpected can be really interesting and fun. I guess what I'm trying to say is, Nadya Ginsburg is really interesting and fun, and hilarious, and thoughtful, and provocative. And I think you're going to enjoy spending time with her just as much as I did. I don't know if I'll use this in the show or not, but I'm just curious. Do you know Sam Pancake by any chance?

Nadya Ginsburg (3:02)

Of course, he's a dear friend, yes.

Dan Fisher (3:05)

Sam is a dear friend of mine too. We studied acting together in West Virginia, WVU.

Nadya Ginsburg (3:10)

Yes, I just saw his recent show Self-Absorbed Man, and he came to my show Trauma Queen recently. We both perform at the same place, Casita del Campo.

Dan Fisher (3:21)

Really?

Nadya Ginsburg (3:21)

It's a very small world, you know, the comedy world, the acting comedy world is pretty small.

Dan Fisher (3:27)

It seems like LA has a really vibrant comedy world, and improv work, especially.

Nadya Ginsburg (3:32)

Stand-up, improv, sketch comedy, and they all have their own separate sort of encampments.

Dan Fisher (3:39)

Yeah, and there's like Dynastie typewriter, there's places there you can go and sort of work out the material in public, which is, I think, the best way to do it, right?

Nadya Ginsburg (3:46)

Yes, absolutely. And Casita del Campo, which is a... Do you know about Casita?

Dan Fisher (3:52)

I do not.

Nadya Ginsburg (3:52)

Okay, well, Robert del Campo is a Mexican-American, and he became a dancer. He started his career when he was like 24 or 3 He's like, I want to be a dancer. That's like, I want to be a point guard when I'm 23, right? And not only did he succeed, he ended up in a lot of Broadway shows. He worked with Bob Fosse, and he was in West Side Story. And when he decided to retire in the 60s, he bought this place. And I first thought he was gay and his wife was a beard, but no, he wanted to create environment for all of his gay actor, dancer friends. And so he created sort of the first gay Mexican restaurant that also has a performance space. Rock Hudson used to go there, and now his son owns it. And it's primarily drag. And though I'm straight, I'm considered like a gay adjacent because of my act.

Dan Fisher (4:44)

You got on my radar really when I was watching my friend Glenn Gaylord's short film, If We Took a Holiday. And so you were doing your Madonna impression. You were doing a character doing the Madonna impression in that film. And I was like, she's really got it. She's got the little mannerisms and every once in a while, slipping into fake British accents as as match would occasionally do.

Nadya Ginsburg (5:06)

Yes, as we all do, like zealag-like, if you know the film Zealag. Yes. Yeah.