#50 - Nina West: Drag Race ASMR

“As multi-hyphenates, we are living boldly and loudly. We’re
putting a lot on the line, right? In a world that’s full of
judgement -- you’re allowing a lot of people in a lot of different
ways to be like, “I wonder how this turns out.” Andrew Levitt
attributes his lengthy stay at Drag Race to the many years he’s
dedicated to building his career. He always knew he was a creative
person -- but at the age of 16, Levitt started to come to terms
with his sexuality and used the theatre to connect with other men
like him. The hysterical Andrew Levitt, has always been well versed
in pop culture because of his early exposure to shows like Murder
She Wrote and Laugh In.  Levitt, who as Nina West has entered
the hearts of millions across the world after winning Miss
Congeniality on RuPaul’s Drag Race is now about to enter theatres
all across the nation as Edna in the upcoming national tour of
Hairspray.  As a multi-hyphenate, Levitt identifies as a drag
queen - actor - writer - producer - podcaster - self made everyman
- brother - son. It’s always so interesting when artists include
their family roles in their hyphens, but Andrew says that it’s
informed every step of his career.  “My dream was worthy and
valuable,” he says. “They needed to be guided a little bit. I can’t
fault them for that. My multi-hyphenate is almost almost always in
regard to the evolution and the belief that I am capable of more
than just.” Andrew gets to define himself through his art in a very
personal way -- which leads to an evolution, something that every
multi-hyphenate artist experiences. Multi-hyphenation is all about
evolving and claiming one’s own power. “I think it’s okay to say I
want the world,” says Levitt. “And I think it’s okay to say I have
the world. I can be a badass drag queen. I can go act. I can go
write a book. I can release music. I can also produce a television
show and consult on a musical. Look at what I can do.” This episode
is full of gay humor, Drag Race dish, multi-hyphenate inspiration,
stories of past lives, and Levitt’s experience auditioning for the
upcoming national tour of Hairspray!  Nina West is an American
drag queen, actor and singer/songwriter based in Columbus, Ohio
played by Andrew Levitt and is the most Googled Drag Queen In The
World from 2020-2021 with over 7.8 billion unique searches. She
rose to national prominence in 2019 with her appearance on VH1’s
Emmy winning show RuPaul's Drag Race Season 11, where she placed
sixth and won Miss Congeniality. In 2021 she returned to the show
and was anointed “America’s Sweetheart” by RuPaul herself. She has
released 3 EP’s. In 2021, she partnered with Nickelodeon and
Blues’s Clues for a series of Pride videos that went viral with
over 2million views. On June 27th 2021, Nina Hosted the First Ever
DISNEY PLUS PRIDE Celebration Spectacular, a celebration of the
LGBTQ Community with Disney classics reinterprutted by LGBTQ
artists like Hayley Kioyoko, Todrick Hall and Alex
Newell. West has been performing in central Ohio and around
the United States for the last 18 years, doing regional theater and
of course, drag. As Nina West, she has produced over 35 main stage
production shows. West writes/hosts/directs/performs in the annual
sold out "Heels of Horror" show at Axis Nightclub. In 2008, she won
the Entertainer of the Year award, and was included in Columbus
Business First's "40 Under 40" list in 2018 and2019. Nina is a
LGBTQ advocate and has raised over $4million for charitable causes
in the last decade alone, through her charitable foundation The
Nina West Foundation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
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