S
he gets up on stage, and
through movement-fused
storytelling conveys the
personal, political and social
events that have transpired
over the past 24 hours (or
less) with striking insight and
seemingly unlimited access.
Her performances are deeply
moving, utterly inspiring and
downright hilarious all at once.
You find yourself shaken and
stirred from the inside out and
the outside in. Rarely have I
encountered a more personal
artist extraordinaire.
Since the ‘80’s, Nina has made
appearances primarily as a solo
artist at theaters worldwide,
international conferences,
private think tanks, theatre
festivals, performance galleries,
living rooms, and spiritual
centers. She has performed
alongside spiritual visionaries,
writers, actors, musicians,
thought pioneers and activists
including Marianne Williamson,
Ram Das, Jack Kornfield, Jennifer
Berezan, Dave Eggers, Rupert
Sheldrake, Wes Nisker, Natalie
Goldberg, Jane Hirshfield,
Jane Siberry, and Maxine Hong
Kingston among others. And
Nina doesn’t steal the show; she
owns it!
In addition to performing
improvised works, Nina designs,
produces and directs scripted
pieces. In 2013, in collaboration
with the California Academy of
Sciences, she wrote, produced,
directed and eventually
starred in The Kepler Story, an
immersive theater piece about
Johannes Kepler designed
for planetarium domes. The
Kepler Story, the first ever piece
about an astronomer shown
in planetariums, played to
over 2100 audience members
at Morrison Planetarium in
San Francisco. (I went three
36
Marin Arts & Culture
times!). In 2016, The Kepler
Story was produced at the Fiske
Planetarium where over 1400
audience members attended
the work, the largest audience
ever to attend a show at
the planetarium in Boulder,
Colorado. book, A Big New Free Happy
Unusual Life: Self-Expression
and Spiritual Practice for Those
Who Have Time for Neither, was
published by Broadway Books,
while her stories and articles
have appeared in numerous
anthologies and journals.
Described as a blend of Lily
Tomlin, the Dalai Lama, and
Jules Feiffer, Wise is known for
her quirky humor, wisdom, and
startling physicality. With a body
language informed by her earlier
career with the Margaret Jenkins
Dance Company, an academic
degree in Religious Studies and
the Aesthetics of Movement,
Wise created Motion Theater®,
a form of autobiographical
improvisation which is both a
spiritual practice and an art form.
Rather than creating fictional
narratives, the performers tell
stories from their own lives
as they incorporate sound,
music, and movement into their
narratives. Besides being renowned as a
performance artist, Nina Wise is
a Dharma teacher at Spirit Rock
and beyond. She is a lifelong
meditation practitioner and
spends time each year in retreat.
Her art reflects her spiritual
practice, and it is in part because
of this that her work shakes your
soul, awakens your spirit, and
ignites your aliveness.
Nina offers classes and
workshops in Motion Theater
around the Bay Area and
beyond.
Nina has devoted her career
to developing theater and
writing stories that address the
complex relationship between
body, intellect, and spirit. Her
narratives delve into things
people are feeling but are too
timid to talk about, or what
they’re afraid of and want to
keep hidden.
Nina’s original works, some
highly scripted and designed,
others improvised, have been
produced in prestigious venues
worldwide and won awards
for playwriting, innovative
design, and new theater
including four NEA fellowships
and seven Bay Area Theater
Critics’ Circle Awards. Her
Nina will be heading the bill for
her fourth annual “SOUL-O”
evening at The Showcase Theater
at Marin Center on April 14 th .
“Wild Wisdom” will also feature
Dharma Punx co-founder, Vinny
Ferraro. Their performances
bring fresh takes on universal
truths and deliver unpredictable
and moving renditions about
what it is like to be human in
these times. They are likely to
help you laugh, feel, think and
see your life and the world
in new ways. For tickets and
more information about “Wild
Wisdom: Soul-O” please call the
Marin Box Office 415.473.6800 or
visit tickets.marincenter.org