UNC Asheville to Host "CBS Sunday Morning" Commentator, Actress Nancy Giles

UNC Asheville will welcome Nancy Giles to the Lipinsky Auditorium stage at 12:15 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, as the second presenter in the University’s new Distinguished Speaker Series. Best known as giving insightful social commentaries on “CBS Sunday Morning,” Giles is also an acclaimed actress and performer. General admission tickets are $10 or $5 for local students and teachers with school I.D.

Born in Queens, N.Y., Giles graduated from Oberlin College and then spent three years with Chicago’s esteemed Second City comedic improv troupe. Giles appeared for three seasons as Frankie in the TV drama “China Beach” and as Connie the waitress on the sitcom “Delta.” She has also guest starred on such programs as “Spin City,” “Law & Order,” and “Fresh Prince.” Her movie credits include “Big,” “New York Stories” and “Working Girl,” while her stage credits include winning the Theatre World Award for the off-Broadway musical “Mayor.”

A self-described “six-foot, one-inch black woman who’s not model-thin,” Giles has made her hallmark dismantling misconceptions about race, feminism and sexism on TV, radio and stage. She is the writer and performer of the one-woman shows “Notes of a Negro Neurotic” and “Black Comedy: The Wacky Side of Racism,” which the Village Voice called “smart and unforgiving.”

“I want to make people laugh and I want to entertain them, but I also want to provoke thought and discussion,” said Giles. The Times of Trenton says that she succeeds: “Giles manages to hold just about every absurd attitude regarding racial bias up to the clear light of reason, with hilarious results.”

For more information or charge tickets by phone, call UNC Asheville’s Highsmith University Union Box Office at 828/232-5000. For information about group tickets, call UNC Asheville’s Cultural & Special Events Office at 828/251-6227. For information about this event or others in UNC Asheville’s Cultural & Special Events season, click on www.unca.edu/culturalarts/.

Media Contacts:

• Barbara Halton-Subkis, UNC Asheville Cultural & Special Events Director, 828/251-6674
• Jill Yarnall, UNC Asheville Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526