Since earning her degree in Religious Studies and the Aesthetics of Movement, Nina Wise has devoted her career to developing theater and writing stories that address the complex relationship between body, intellect, and spirit. Her original works, performed in prestigious venues in the United States, South America, Europe and Asia have won awards for playwriting, innovative design, and new theater including three NEA fellowships and seven Bay Area Theater Critics Awards. Her book, A Big New Free Happy Unusual Life, was published by Broadway Books and her stories and articles have appeared in numerous anthologies and journals.
Wise’s immersive theater piece The Kepler Story, created in collaboration with California Academy of Sciences Morrison Planetarium, is the first theater piece ever created about an astronomer for domes. The production played to sold out crowds at Morrison Planetarium in San Francisco and the Fiske Planetarium, UC Boulder and is currently in development for a world tour.
The founder of Motion Theater®, an original form of autobiographical improvisation, Nina offers performances and trainings in this unique form of authentic self-expression. She has performed custom-designed improvised works at theaters, think tanks, conferences, medical institutions, and political events around the world.
As an artist and teacher who specializes in innovation, she has coached numerous individuals and teams in creativity, the cultivation of presence, stress reduction, communication and leadership. In addition, authorized to teach by Jack Kornfield, Wise teaches Buddhist practice at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and other spiritual centers worldwide.