October 8-10, 2004
For centuries, humans have been singing, story telling, and making art as a way of invoking inner life and developing community.Unfortunately, many of us have been conditioned not to express ourselves freely and so have abandoned these practices. We long to reside in ease and yet have become frightened of the very practices that enhance our well-being. Fortunately, we can rediscover our innate capacity for self-expression easily and quickly. Unfettered self-expression brings both immediate and long-term rewards. As we develop the capacity to disable the editor of the censoring mind, we discover a freedom to say what we mean and what nurtures us.
Everyone has a story to tell, but few of us have the opportunity to tell it in a safe and supportive environment. This workshop will give you the physical and spiritual tools to translate your story into theater, song, storytelling, and art. We will introduce ourselves and each other to the private characters and inner realities that live in our subconscious and the cells of our bodies.
Nina offers a unique emphasis on the integration of body, mind, soul, and spirit. We will meditate, chant, move, sing, write, do theater games, and improvise. Expect to surprise yourself, to become more playful and at ease, and to leave with an enhanced sense of well-being in both your personal and creative life and expect to be dazzled by the beauty of Autumn.
Nina Wise is a writer, performance artist, and teacher renowned for her daring and unique form of autobiographical improvisation. Her works have garnered seven Bay Area Critics’ Circle Awards, and she’s been awarded three fellowships from the National Endowment of the Arts for Solo Performance. A long time seeker, Nina has devoted her life to exploring the relationship between spirit, body, and art. She specializes in Motion Theater, a blending of physical, spiritual, and theater practices and has taught and performed at Esalen, throughout the US, and in Europe, Asia, and South America. Her wonderful book A Big New Free Happy Unusual Life: Self Expression and Spiritual Practice for Those Who Have Time for Neither was a finalist for the Nautilus Prize and we hope you will welcome Nina on her first visit to Rowe.