NO RESERVATION covers the journey of diverse global goddesses - African, Asian, Indigenous, and Middle Eastern - who crash a dinner party in celebration of false gods of present-day power and persuasion.

These goddesses have been underground for centuries but now rise up, sensing the urgency of their presence ‘at the table.’ This multidisciplinary performance piece was co-created with diverse women artists and moves forward from second wave feminist artists who took on the patriarchy through works like The Dinner Party, by Judy Chicago, Some Living American Women Artists/Last Supper by Mary Beth Edelson and the dinner scene in Top Girls by Caryl Churchill. 

NO RESERVATION speaks to the refusal to be confined and gives us a peek into a complex mosaic of global sisterhood. Will you join us at the table?

                    The Hess Collective is seeking your support to help us fund our Artists.

The talented artists of No Reservation have poured their hearts, creativity, and countless hours into bringing this story to life. At a time when arts funding is under threat, we’re fighting to ensure their dedication is recognized—not just with applause, but with fair compensation. 

Your donation directly supports the incredible ensemble in this production, like Ninoshka De Leon Gill, Schuylar Johns, Elizabeth Hess, Akiko Aizawa, Miriam Grill, Vivian Farahani, Maya Mays, Lucas Tahiruzzaman Syed, Cathy Shaw and Grayson Sepulveda. These artists have devoted their lives to mastering their craft and deserve to be fairly compensated for their artistry. No matter the amount, your gift makes a real difference. 

Together, we can champion the invaluable voices that No Reservation amplifies—voices that demand their rightful place at the table.

Thank you for helping us make this dream a reality.

                        Artistic Statement - Elizabeth Hess ( Conception, Writer, Director )

This cross-cultural collaboration breaks new ground by embracing diverse voices of the intersectional community of multidisciplinary women artists, including those with different identities pertaining to gender. The project engages my hybrid approach to Embodied Performance - a fusion of global performance practices. This particular work is informed by aspects of Butoh dance, Haida mask work, Egungun Masquerade, Persian Veil work, and Heightened Language - all in service of reframing the ancient art of oral storytelling. The project is inclusive, experimental, and elastic, embracing ensemble members authenticity in a dynamic exchange of ideas and impulses through a process called Biomythography (a term coined by Audre Lorde) which incorporates the diverse ensemble members’ personal experience with elements of history and myth.The project comes at a time when patriarchy is being threatened and false gods have resorted to a ‘meta’ universe to incite violence and suppression in unprecedented ways. NO RESERVATION offers the healing perspective of women-identified performers as they address the imbalance of power by resurrecting the lost feminine to give voice to all who have been discarded, silenced, and overlooked, while also restoring their dignity, self-expression, and autonomy. This collaborative work attests to the power of diverse women co-creating art that is non-hierarchical in nature - circular rather than pyramidal - and encourages the audience, of all gender identities, to equally question patriarchal norms and embrace their shared humanity through empathy and authentic engagement with otherness.

Below is a handy guide to where your money will be going!

AKIKO AIZAWA (Performer)

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Akiko Aizawa is a New York based theater actor and teacher. As a long-time member of the SITI Company she appeared in shows such as; The Bacchae (BAM), The Trojan Women (Getty Villa), Culture of Desire (NYTW), and Radio Macbeth (NYU Skirball Center), all directed by Anne Bogart. As a former member of the Suzuki Company of Toga she appeared in The Trojan Women, Dionysus, and Hatekon, among others. Other credits: Oedipus (dir. Ianthe Demos), Hanjo (dir. Leon Ingulsrud), Suicide Forest (dir. Aya Ogawa), and Sleep (dir. Rachel Dickstein). She is currently a member of One Year Lease Theater Company, SITI Emeritus Artists, and American Physical Theatre Company. Originally from Akita, Japan, she brings a rich cultural background to her work in the arts.

NINOSHKA DE LEON GILL (Performer)

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Ninoshka De Leon Gill is happy to be making her personal debut with The Hess Collective’s third co-pro with LaMaMa! What a gift to work with such an inspiring cast and crew.

Selected Credits include: NYC Stage: SPOILED (Dixon Place), Meshahnye (Polya, Theatre for a New City), Dracula (Lucy Westenra, Morris-Jumel Mansion), Cabaret (Lulu, The Secret Theatre), The Wishing Tree (Ayse, Signature Theatre). Regional: Dracula and the Theatre of Doom! (Van Helsing, Tarrytown Music Hall), Sleepy Hollow Meets the Headless Horseman (Katrina, Pancake Productions), The Music Man (Maud Dunlop, Sharon Playhouse). NYC Labs: The Wave (Ars Nova), Counting Sheep (3LD Art and Technology Center), Amelie (Lyric Theatre). Film/TV: SPOILED: The Film Project (La Mama online platform), Foreign Nationals (Cristina, Foreign Entertainment, LLC), Love My Roomie (Leslie, Yhá Wright Productions). Voiceover: Too Hot to Handle Germany (Laura, Netflix & IDC NY) Ithaca College B.S. Environmental Science, Dance

SCHUYLAR JOHNS (Performer)

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Schuylar Johns is a community-engaged artist from the DMV area. She is a graduate from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Drama and Applied Theatre. She has studied with Leseberg Tanzschule, through the Finest! Performance Troupe in Pinneberg, Germany, with the Experimental Theatre Wing and Atlantic Theater Company in New York City, and with the International Theatre Workshop in Amsterdam, Netherlands. As an artist, she challenges herself to be a part of something that is greater than the individual by engaging in and creating collaborative work that explores a variety of realities and identities. She uses her art to collaborate with communities whose voices are historically disenfranchised and help create a platform for people’s stories to be heard loudly and clearly. She strives to combine activism and art and take theater beyond the stage to see how it can change communities’ daily lives.

ELIZABETH HESS (Performer)

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Elizabeth Hess is a performer, playwright, director, Arts educator and Artistic Director of The Hess Collective - produced at La MaMa, Dixon Place, TheaterLab. She has developed multidisciplinary projects with The O’Neill Theater Center, NYU, The New Group and The Lark. Her book, ACTING & BEING: Explorations in Embodied Performance (Macmillan) is based on her approach to global performance practices honed over 20 years of teaching primarily at NYU and international workshops. Ms. Hess’ acclaimed solo work has been performed around the globe, in New York, Off-Broadway and at the UN Conference on Gender Violence. Other acting credits include work with The New Group, Women’s Project, Irish Rep, MTC and NYTW in New York, as well as extensive regional theaters. TV credits: Clarissa Explains It All; Law & Order; All My Children and Another World. Film credits: Handsome Harry; Italian Lessons; Buddy & Grace and Soldier’s Heart.

       Thank you so much for donating and please spread the word! —The Hess Collective
                   
                         
                 To Purchase Tickets visit- https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/1223398