Frannie Sheridan: Comedian, Author, Actress, Playwright
Introduction to Frannie Sheridan. 2:31 min. Interview: Raymond Elman. Post-production: Lee Skye. Music: Carmen Cicero. Recorded via Zoom, 5/12/2022. Palm Beach.
FRANNIE SHERIDAN is the daughter of Jewish Holocaust survivors but was brought up as a Catholic in Canada to protect her from imagined antisemitism. Her father was a successful ophthalmologist with three practices but was tormented by his experiences during the Holocaust. She has had careers as a successful playwright, comedian, author, and actress. Her award-winning play “The Waltonsteins” has been performed widely in Canada and the US and has been aired on NPR, PBS and JLTV. Sheridan is the subject of a full-length article in Lilith Magazine. She is one of the three subjects of a forthcoming documentary entitle “Endurance: Untold Survival Stories of WWII” (https:// www.imdb.com/title/tt7293960). She is in demand as a speaker and covers such topics as Humor, Stress Management, and Diversity. She has her own TV program. And, much more (see www.franniesheridan. com).
The videos below were recorded via Zoom, are organized by success factor, and run between 30 seconds and 15 minutes. Click on any video. You must be connected to the Internet to view the videos.
INSIGHT & INSPIRATION: 1:31 min.
Where did you grow up and what was your first awareness of art of any discipline?
INSIGHT & INSPIRATION: 5:40 min.
When did you become aware that you could make people laugh, and how did you use that gift when you were young?
OVERCOMES CHALLENGES TO SUCCEED: 4:17 min.
You have a big personality. Is that something that you expressed growing up? Or is that something you developed as you got older and explored who you really are?
OVERCOMES CHALLENGES TO SUCCEED: 4:23 min.
Before you learned that you were Jewish, not Catholic, what was your attitude toward Jews?
EMPATHY: 0:52 sec.
Your father was born and raised in Vienna. Did he speak German or Yiddish?
PERSEVERANCE FURTHERS: 14:47 min.
Where did you go to school, and what did you learn that still informs you today?
EMPATHY: 1:49 min.
Catholics and ultra-orthodox Jews tend to have large families. Your parents had seven kids. Do you think they were compelled by wanting to appear Catholic or because of their orthodox Jewish heritage?
EXPOSURE TO BROAD INFLUENCES: 0:24 sec.
Have you read a lot of Holocaust literature?
CRITICAL THINKING: 2:58 min.
Are Holocaust movies, like Steven Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List” and Barry Levinson’s “The Survivor,” triggers for you?
CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND: 3:04 min.
You said that in the beginning of your performing career you would freeze on stage. But you also have the talent to communicate through your writing. Why wasn’t writing enough for you?
CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND: 6:32 min.
The opening chapter of your autobiography has you standing in the wings, about to go on stage for the first time as a stripper. Were you trying to shock yourself into a new persona?
RESILIENCE: 3:56 min.
Do your siblings continue to live as Catholics?
BREAKS THE RULES: 9:20 min.
Performing as a stripper for the first time must have been like walking off a cliff — from the perspective that you had no idea how you would feel.
INSIGHT & INSPIRATION: 1:20 min.
You seem to have some Jewish characteristics in your persona. Did you consciously develop a Jewish role for yourself to inhabit?
EMPATHY: 2:22 min.
Why did your father move back to Vienna in his old age?
