Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Vancouver,\u201d said Carmel Tanaka, executive director of JQT Vancouver, noting that the shows are being sponsored in both cities by Goethe-Institut Toronto, which is part of a global network that works to foster understanding of Germany\u2019s cultural diversity.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe content of her show addresses the challenges of Jewish queer trans seniors, which is a very near and dear topic to JQT,\u201d Tanaka said of Nana\u2019s Florida! Ya Kill Me!<\/i> \u201cWe hope that, through drag and comedy, we will be able to raise awareness of the work our JQT Seniors Initiative is doing to create safer long-term care homes and spaces, so our\u00a0aging JQT community members can proudly celebrate all their identities into their twilight years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Florida! Ya Kill Me!\u00a0<\/i>is a theatrical retelling of Nana\u2019s 2021 trip to Florida in search of a final resting place, Nana told the Independent<\/i>. The character is a feisty 96 years old.<\/p>\n
\u201cJosh and I traveled up and down the state in search of retirement paradise, visiting every bingo hall, craft fair and 55-and-up pool we could find along the way,\u201d she explained. \u201cWe met some incredible seniors who really opened up to me about their experiences with aging, finding love, losing love, accepting change and finding joy. I have the privilege to share these words through both my own retelling, and some filmed interviews we took. You\u2019ll meet Josie, the 109-year-old bingo master. You\u2019ll meet Doris, born and raised in Berlin (my current home) who lives in Florida\u2019s largest retirement\u00a0city (with over 100,000 residents). You\u2019ll even meet my dead Cuban grandmother!<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ability to tell these often-overlooked stories and cement the legacies of some of my favourite friends is my favourite thing about what this show is,\u201d said Nana. \u201cIt\u2019s a love letter to aging, but also a wakeup call to its effects. The systems in place around aging are crumbling quickly while our average life expectancy is getting higher and higher. I don\u2019t want us to have to sacrifice our quality of life as we age, and this show is a call to action to make that happen!\u201d<\/p>\n
The name Nana Schewitz was inspired by Manischewitz, perhaps after a few glasses of its sweet kosher wine. The 96-year-old \u2013 who doesn\u2019t \u201clook a day over 69\u201d \u2013 was brought to life by almost-30-something Bryan Schall, who studied at Philadelphia University of the Arts and graduated in performance design and production.<\/p>\n
She emerged as an entity \u201cout of a little hole-in-the-wall disco in Philadelphia. She stayed dormant for awhile, as her \u2018style\u2019 didn\u2019t really fit in my idea of what drag in the US was. When I got to Berlin, however, I said, \u2018Ooooohhh!!! Nana totally could work here!\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cThe drag scene of Berlin was very different,\u201d explained Nana. \u201cIt was quirky, brash, silly \u2013 all the things I wanted out of a drag performer. And I found myself really missing this very specific branch of Ashkenazi-Americana Judaism that I took for granted at home. I didn\u2019t realize how much I missed it until moving to Berlin.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing Nana really allowed for space to connect with my Judaism, while also allowing me to rewrite Judaic tradition in a way that serves queer people,\u201d she added. \u201cI\u2019ve hosted Passover seders, Hanukkah shows, Rosh Hashanah events and more in Berlin, and it\u2019s been a beautiful connective tissue to bring the Jews of Germany (yes, we\u2019re here!) together in a meaningful and unexpected way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nana moved to Berlin in 2016 and says she hasn\u2019t looked back.<\/p>\n
\u201cI grew up in South Florida, and just could not do one more winter of beautiful, it was just getting to be unbearable,\u201d she said. \u201cI couldn\u2019t take the beaches and the sunshine of Florida anymore. Call me a masochist, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n
Berlin has her heart, Nana said, \u201cBut all cities change, and the Berlin I moved to looks very different than the city I currently live in. I\u2019ve learned here how precious community is, but it is something that requires maintenance and care, and cannot be taken for granted. I\u2019m able to live my most authentic life here, but that is not a forever guarantee\u2026. I worry about the future of this city, especially as a Jew. Your life can be taken very quickly if you stop paying attention and take things for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Describing herself as \u201c50% lighting designer and 50% drag queen,\u201d Nana said, \u201cI studied lighting design and do it professionally, but doing drag gives me the outlet and access to say and do the things that are really meaningful to me. The lighting design definitely pays for the drag, but I love to light up a room nonetheless. I actually just came off tour doing lights for Canadian-Jewish icon Peaches around the US and Canada! It was a blast, but I really feel the most myself when I\u2019m dressed up as a 96-year-old Jewish grandmother, singing sexually perverse parodies of Barbra Streisand songs in a dark smelly bar.\u201d<\/p>\n
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