Comedian Sociopolitical Pundette CBS Sunday Morning contributor, comedian, and actress delights TV audiences and theater fans alike with her social commentaries and solo performances. Giles acclaimed work on the Emmy Award-winning CBS Sunday Morning has provided the largest audience yet for her unique blend of common sense wisdom and laugh-out-loud humor. She is a funny, perceptive, and provocative observer of today s world. A veteran of Chicago s esteemed Second City improv troupe and winner of the Theater World Award for the off-broadway musical Mayor, Giles notably appeared for three seasons on the TV drama China Beach, and played a secretary in the movie Working Girl. She has made appearances on Law and Order, Spin City, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Her one-woman shows include Notes of a Negro Neurotic and Black Comedy: The Wacky Side of Racism, which the Village Voice called smart and unforgiving. Giles believes humor bridges what divides and can even stop people from shouting at each other. An accomplished voiceover and radio artist, Giles' credits include work for Office Depot, True Value, Tide, The New York Times, Yoplait, Avenue clothing stores, Lifetime, Food Network, ABC Daytime, PB&J Otter on the Disney Channel, and Nickelodeon s Mighty Bug 5. She won back-to-back Gracies from the Alliance for Women in Media for her CBS Radio show on WPHT-AM in Philadelphia. For more than 20 years, she has volunteered with The 52nd St. Project, helping at-risk kids take part in acting, playwriting, and poetry workshops, classes, and performances. She has offered her social and political perspectives to viewers of The Today Show, The Joy Behar Show, Up with Chris Hayes, and Hardball with Chris Matthews. In 2010, Giles performed in an off-broadway production of Love, Loss, and What I Wore written by Nora and Delia Ephron. On topics from politics and race to pop culture and body image, Giles says, I want to make people laugh and I want to entertain them, but I also want to provoke thought and discussion. had an amazing way of working our company's culture and messaging into her opening speaking points. She is a compelling storyteller adding humor, emotion, and seriousness with each point. When there is a line to talk to your speaker, not just shake her hand but actually speak with her, as the host you know you hit a home run. Marriott International
Suggested Topics My Wacky Adventures in a Post-Racial World The first African-American President of the United States, democratically elected twice. Racism is over, right? So why the 200% increase in hate groups? And how does it feel knowing that if someone decides I look threatening, I could be shot? At least the First Lady looks like me, and Afros are back. Giles tells true tales from the world of small parts, big feet, progressive colleges, bigoted TV-theme music, and what it's like to have a crush on the First Family. It's all part of her "black experience," then and now. We shall overcome, but it hasn't happened yet. Life in the 24-Hour News Cycle Remember the days when there were only three major networks, and TV news was reported by journalists? You had time to watch a story, take time to think about it, and draw your own conclusions. These days, "mulling" over an idea takes too long, and more airtime means a 24-hour mix of hysteria, talking heads, and split screens. It's more news, but it's the same news, before, during, and after it happens. All examined and analyzed for you. No thinking necessary. Giles' TV commentaries on CBS News Sunday Morning made her an "accidental pundette" with plenty of opportunities to fill (and kill) time. Shouting matches on Larry King. Dealing with hate (e)mail. It s all part of the job in these days. But is there any time left for thoughtful political conversation? All this and more on Life in the 24-Hour News Cycle with. Stories from the Work Front: From Working Girl to CBS Sunday Morning Mentoring: You Get What You Give A proud product of New York City's often maligned public school system, actress/writer shares her stories of the teachers who inspired her, her own volunteer work with kids, and the constant lessons learned from both. Mentors and mentoring have shown her the value of at-risk kids spending time with adults other than their parents - adults who are there to listen, to pay attention to them, to share their knowledge, etc. It also gives those young people a chance to see that people who grew up just like they do can have dreams and reach their goals, and not necessarily be "stuck" in the same cycle as what they might see around them.
Books and Other Works CBS Sunday Morning is writer and contributor for CBS Sunday Morning. The Further Adventures of the Accidental Pundette Writer and CBS Sunday Morning contributor recalls her real life media (mis)adventures in this expanded version of her Summer Shorts festival show. In her up-to-the-minute new show, Nancy explores her own bumpy trajectory from actress and writer to television essayist in the ongoing saga of the wild and wooly world of cable news panels. (Source: The New York Times)
Biography was born and raised in Queens, New York and is a proud product of the New York City public school system. She is a graduate of Oberlin College and started her professional acting career as a singing bag of garbage with the Paper Bag Players, followed by a short (no pun intended) stint as a Santa elf at Macy's on 34th Street in the heart of Manhattan. In Chicago she toured for three years with the famed Second City comedy troupe, and worked at the Goodman Theatre. In New York she worked at such theatres as Playwrights Horizons, Manhattan Theatre Club, Naked Angels, Ensemble Studio Theatre, All Seasons Theatre Company, and HB Playwrights Foundation. In September 2010 Nancy Glies performed in the Off-Broadway production of Love, Loss, and What I Wore written by Nora and Delia Ephron. She won a prestigious Theatre World Award for her off-broadway debut in the musical Mayor. On television, Nancy is thrilled to be a writer and contributor to the Emmy Award-winning CBS News Sunday Morning. This has provided the largest audience yet for her unique blend of laugh-out-loud humor and common sense wisdom. Whether she s recalling the first rapper she ever heard (Robert Preston doing Trouble in The Music Man), celebrating Black History Month (as a schoolgirl she only had Negro History Week, and her mother, Colored People Hour ) or decrying America s obsession with Botox and plastic surgery ( when I stop having visible signs of aging, that ll mean that I m dead, ) Giles brings vibrant energy and a hip alternative feel that helps distinguish the program from others. She is also currently a regular social commentator on MSNBC, where she dicusses a wide range of topics from video games to the 2008 race for the White House. She was previously the announcer and co-host of the alternative morning show Fox After Breakfast, was girl GI Frankie Bunsen for three seasons on the acclaimed drama China Beach, and was hostile waitress Connie on the comedy series Delta, starring Delta Burke (both shows on ABC-TV). She's guested on shows like The Jury, LA Law, Spin City, Law and Order, Dream On, and Fresh Prince. On film: crucial expositional roles in True Crime (Clint Eastwood), Angie, New York Stories (Woody Allen's Oedipus Wrecks), Working Girl, Big, Joshua and Superheroes; plus the indies Loverboy (Kevin Bacon) and Everything's Jake. On radio, she was Jay Thomas' sidekick on The Jay Thomas Morning Show on New York's Jammin' 105, and co-hosted Giles and Moriarty with CBS News
correspondent Erin Moriarty on WPHT in Philadelphia. Their show won back-toback American Women in Radio and Television Awards (Gracies) for Best Radio Talk Show for the two seasons it was on the air. You've also heard Nancy's voice on radio and television commercials pitching, as she puts it, everything from plus-size fashions to True Value Hardware. Nancy has written and performed the solo pieces Black Comedy:The Wacky Side of Racism and Notes of a Negro Neurotic, which were both developed with and directed by Ellie Covan at Dixon Place in New York City. She is adapting that material, her essays, and other autobiographical stories for a forthcoming book. She continues to develop new material at both Dixon Place and Passage Theatre in Trenton, New Jersey and at other venues where her friends are in charge.