Polymath Creative and “The Village!…” Writer, Nora Burns, Answers Six Questions

Nora Burns is a writer, performer, comedian, actress and archivist who has lived in New York City since 1979. She’s a founding member of the comedy groups Unitard and the Nellie Olesons. She’s performed at venues across the country including Joe’s Pub, La MaMa and Dixon Place in New York City,  Highways, Cavern Club and The HBO Workspace in Los Angeles, and the comedy festivals Just for Laughs in Montreal, We’re Funny That Way in Toronto and the Aspen Comedy Festival (now HBO Comedy Festival). Burns’ film appearances include Broken Hearts, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, Club, Boys Life 3 and the documentary Florent: Queen of the Meat Market. On TV, she’s been seen in Logo’s “Wisecrack” comedy show and “The Sandra Bernhard Experience.”

Burn’s solo show David’s Friend had an extended run at LaMama Theater where it received rave reviews and then toured various venues. In 2014, she started a storytelling series called New York Stories at the Stonewall Inn and her early 1990’s Manhattan Cable show, “Candied Camera,” is archived in the Fales Library at NYU. As a writer, Burns has contributed to PAPER Magazine, TimeOutNY and HX.

After a sold-out run last autumn, Dixon Place is bringing back Burns’ The Village! A Disco Daydream for four weekends starting on Thursday, February 2 at 7:30 PM and running through Friday, February 24. The show is a meta musical comedy filled with high jinx, low kinks and go-go boys, with a cast of ten diverse actors and dancers.
 
NiteLife Exchange (NLE) asks Nora Burns (NB) Six Questions:

 
NLE: What was it like to arrive in New York City in 1979? What was your first impression of a city that was then, in a financial crisis?

NB: Well, I was 17 and DYING to move to the city and it was everything I wanted it to be and you’re not thinking about financial crises at that age; it just felt like New York City. I assumed there’d always be crime and cockroaches.

NLE: You’ve built a remarkable career here in NYC (and elsewhere) since then; was it difficult to get a foothold in the creative scene here?

NB: Wow, I’ve never heard my hand to mouth piddling existence referred to that way before, thank you! I’m still looking for the foothold, where is it?

NLE: As a polymath—writer, performer, comedian, actress, archivist—comedy seems to anchor your work; are you a natural comedienne or did comedy call to you in some way?

NB: I’ve always loved comedy. As a kid my friend and I spent hours recreating “The Carol Burnett Show,” and since I’m not that pretty and can’t sing, comedy is kind of the perfect solution.

NLE: Pervasive in your work is purposeful storytelling—a creative impetus of humankind from “forever.” What is your approach to this art? Do you have a storytelling philosophy?

NB: No, my general philosophy is ‘What would I want to see?’ and if I’m talking about something: ‘What makes this interesting to others?’ I like things that are funny, gay, sexy, urban, and over in an hour so that’s what I try to do.  

NLE: Would you consider yourself a “downtown” artist? What is it about that creative ethos that calls to you?

NB: There’s a queer sensibility and you generally have a like-minded audience that will get fun, weird references, and no one makes any money.

NLE: You’re on record that your intention with The Village! A Disco Daydream is plain fun, a piece that should provide audiences with a good time—and it’s based on Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, among other cultural elements of the 1970s. What was the inspirational moment when you said to yourself, I must write this?

NB: I LOVE Our Town; it’s my favorite play in the world. I pick it up and by page 2 I’m in tears, but this play has NOTHING to do with Our Town! (I’m totally kidding; it’s completely based on Our Town, but the Thornton Wilder foundation tried to slap me with a gag order last time around so I have to say that). I actually don’t remember the moment, but I’d just done David’s Friend, the show about my friend, who is always fresh on my mind, and I just thought: I want to do something that combines all my favorite things: Our Town, David, disco and NYC …..and voila!

Photos of The Village! cast by Peter Yesley.