What if you could change the world with just one piece? When Lin-Manuel Miranda got the idea for writing “Hamilton,” he didn’t set out to make a social activist piece. And yet, the result was a hugely successful game-changing musical whose cast reflected America’s diversity today - activism at its best. Sometimes you may set out to be an activist and sometimes you simply set out to work on something interesting to you and yet, the impact of that IS activism. In this episode, I chat with Stuttering Comedian, Nina G about “Is it Art or is it Activism?,” about disability, Inspiration Porn, how she learned to take up space, and why she loves to perform. This episode also includes a special advice section from me on “How to Be Onstage With a Show Hog and . . . How Not to Be One.”
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Nina G is the San Francisco Bay Area's favorite female stuttering stand up comedian (granted she is the only one). She is also a disability activist, storyteller, children's book author and educator. She brings her humor to help people confront and understand social justice issues such as disability, diversity, and equity. When she isn’t performing at comedy clubs like the San Francisco Punchline or the Laugh Factory, she is playing colleges and presenting as a keynote speaker to children with disabilities and training professionals. Nina is part of the comedy troupe, The Comedians with Disabilities Act, which brings laughter and awareness to audiences of all ages across the country. Nina's next book, “Stutterer Interrupted” is due to release in 2018. Learn more at https://www.ninagcomedian.com/.
About Your Host, Holly Shaw
Holly Shaw, CHT is a performance coach, creativity researcher and stand up comedian. Growing up in Indianapolis, IN she convinced her parents she needed to go to Chicago to get her own agent when she was 14 years old and has spent a lifetime in film, T.V. and on professional stages all over the world as an actor, dancer, and director.
Now she shares her passion for the problems that artists face as a Creativity Coach and a Certified Hypnotherapist and has helped hundreds of artists, from Emmy award winning and Grammy nominated artists to world class choreographers overcome their anxiety, stage fright, impostor syndrome, and creative blocks so that they can create original work and totally kill it onstage again and again without feeling like they're selling out or losing their sanity.
In 2016, Shaw wrote and released her book, The Creative Formula: Compose, Choreograph, and Capture Your Masterpiece which has become an Amazon bestseller. In 2018 she launched the Performers & Creators Lab podcast which was named one of 2019's most outstanding podcasts by Databird Research. She teaches regularly at the SAG/AFTRA offices in L.A. and SF and runs creative laboratory workshops like the Comedy Lab Open Mic once a month at Monaghan's on the Hill in Oakland. Follow her on Instagram @hollyshawspritely