Testimonials

“Nina Wise is like the Jules Pfeiffer dancer come to life. She says in public what I'm thinking and feeling but musn't reveal. After the audience experiences her performance art, we can't stop talking about her. We care about what she cares about. And we care about her.”
— Maxine Hong Kingston

“Nina is an empowering, joyful and celebratory guide to a fuller life.”
— Isabel Allende

“More than any performing artist I am aware of, Nina Wise joins great talent with spiritual understanding. No one else I know so intimately joins the sublime and the absurd, surface and depth, the high and the low. Sad and happy, mocking and loving, reassuring then unsettling, Wise produces a seemingly endless cast of characters during her performances, opening those who watch to new worlds of enchantment and adventure. I salute her generosity of spirit and the genius of her work.”
— Michael Murphy, author, founder of Esalen Institute

“Wherever I have seen Nina perform, in Europe or the United States, in an intimate setting or before an audience of thousands, invariably I have been thrilled—each time in a fresh and unexpected way. Once, performing for a group of Vietnam War veterans who had been invited to Esalen Institute, she had everyone rolling with laughter. But then before any of us noticed what she was doing, she went deeper, tracking head on the issue of peacemaking. Spellbinding I would have called it, yet Nina’s spell is freeing. Many a hardened face among those old soldiers relaxed into an almost childlike smile. At the end, the men rose to a standing ovation. ‘That wasn’t just funny, man’ one of them said, ‘that was for real!’”
— Brother David Steindl-Rast, author, monk

“Sometimes in your life, you meet a person who just makes you laugh, whose infectious spirit makes you want to get up and dance. For me, this person is Nina Wise. Nina brings a remarkable aliveness to her creative work. And she invites you to join her in opening to the same depth of joy and creativity in your own life.”
— Jack Kornfield

“Every so often an artist comes along and when watching her perform, you say to yourself, “I’m so lucky to be alive to witness this.” Nina Wise is that kind of artist.”
— Marianne Williamson

“Nina Wise is wildly wonderful, spontaneous and vibrant. She eats the present and makes it art. I can’t say enough about her. She is fluid, funny, deep, authentic, fresh and hot!”
— Natalie Goldberg, author

“I have been producing a series of benefits to bring water to villages in Africa. Nina Wise has concluded the evenings with one of her signature, startling and deeply moving performances. Each time I have seen her perform, I have been convinced that this is the best of her work and yet the next time, she surprises me again. It is the brilliant combination of art, spirit, text and movement that makes Nina’s work so unique and so powerful.”
— Roger Housden, producer Poetry for Water, and author

“She takes everyday events and lifts them into life-changing moments. She is so attuned to her audience that they are implicated and transported before they are even aware of what is happening. She does this all with a keen sense of humor and the beauty and grace of a well-trained performer. I have rarely been so entertained and moved by a solo performer.”
— Jessica Heidt, Associate Artistic Director, Magic Theater, San Francisco

“I felt like I was in the presence of a consummate artist. She is so deliciously funny and poignant that we are laughing and crying at ourselves as she weaves her narratives that somehow resonate into the center of our own most absurd and tender memories. The kind of skill it takes to achieve this immediacy to those of us who work in the theater profession. But Nina makes it all look quite effortless—and that’s the real test of an artist.”
— Martha Boesing, playwright, director, Founder of At the Foot of the Mountain

“The laughter that wells up in beholding Nina Wise perform refreshes deeply. This subtle, outrageous artist lets us see ourselves with more insight and affection than we are accustomed to. And that is good news indeed.”
— Joanna Macy, author, speaker.

“As both a film and Broadway producer, I have seen a lot of theater. Ms. Wise’s artistic quality and unselfish pursuit of the art of theater is profound. I have seen Ms. Wise perform on a number of occasions and have always been delighted by her unique and honest art. Her unique style, observant humor and revelatory approach sets Ms. Wise apart from other performance artists. She represents the best in American theater.”
— Thomas Mount, producer

“I have had the privilege of watching Nina Wise perform and teach in a wide variety of venues, day and night, at home and abroad. There is nothing I can say about the work that is less than superlative. It is my honest opinion that Nina is among the most brilliant theater artists working today. Her fluidity of movement and depth of expression leave the audience breathless. Many performance artists are able to provide an hour of entertainment on stage; what sets Nina’s work apart is her extraordinary honesty, spirituality and humor. Her monologues, whether improvised or scripted, convey a view of humanity so rich and optimistic that I stagger away glowing and satisfied.”
— Jeff Greenwald, writer, performer

“Nina Wise rises about the common herd of performance artists because her work stimulates the mind as well as the emotions. Wise always has something to say, and she says it with wit and flash and consummate performance skills.”
— Wes Nisker, performer, author, Buddhist teacher

“Nina Wise has demonstrated an impressive commitment to excellence and her works show professionalism at its finest. She is doing a great job in enhancing the quality of San Francisco’s theater life.”
— Dianne Feinstein, Senator

“Nina Wise articulates feeling that most of us never whisper to our closest friends. Her performances make you laugh out loud, allow you to touch your broken heart, and encourage you to reflect on the inner strength that gets you through the night.”
— Catherine Ingram, author, dharma teacher

See more testimonials here.