Photo via Nō Studios
Nō Studios
Nō Studios
When Lisa Caesar and her brother, Oscar-winning screenwriter John Ridley (12 Years a Slave), launched Nō Studios, they thought it would be a club for artists, something like New York’s Soho House. She describes their idea as “a place for convening likeminded people, all involved in the arts, in any category, to support each other and generate support from patrons.”
Photo courtesy of Lisa Caesar
Lisa Caesar - Nō Studios
Lisa Caesar
Since opening in 2018, Nō Studios (1037 W. McKinley Ave.) has “evolved organically,” Caesar continues. The beautifully refurbished building in the Brewery Neighborhood is now an events space, and occasionally an event organizer, sponsoring Dance Fest 2025 at the Marcus Center Peck Pavilion on Aug. 2.
The Nō building houses a screening room and a performance stage, a café bar and adjacent gallery, even a rooftop lounge and deck.
Nō’s location at the cusp of Downtown and the Central City symbolized the siblings’ intentions to bring Milwaukee together, “an evergreen investment in a socially conscious company,” Caesar says. The Covid shutdown altered the project’s trajectory and gave the Ridley’s an opportunity to assist the community where they grew up. During the pandemic, the Nō Studios Artist Grant Program gave $100,000 to Milwaukee artists in grants that ranged from a few hundred dollars to $8,000. “There were no strings attached,” Caesar explains. “Covid was traumatic. John was distressed by its impact on the arts and wanted to do something tangible. The money was given to individual artists, not arts groups,” with decisions made by panels of judges from out of town to avoid any perception of favoritism.
This year’s dance event will be the fourth sponsored by Nō Studios and will feature New York’s acclaimed Ailey II and respected companies from Chicago, Columbia, MO and Madison as well as Milwaukee’s Danceworks and Water Street Dance. “The emphasis is on eclectic performances with a variety of styles,” Caesar says.
Aside from his work as writer and director, John Ridley co-hosts (with Deadline’s Matt Carey) the Nō Studios podcast “Doc Talk,” a weekly interview series focused on documentary filmmakers. He lives in Los Angeles and New York, Caesar works in the finance industry and jets between New York and their parents Mequon home. Their sister, Beth Ridley, lives in the Milwaukee area and helps with Nō’s community outreach.
“John gets to use his platform in positive ways for the benefit of the local community and emerging filmmakers, and for me, it brings together my personal and professional life at a really satisfying level,” Caesar says.
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For more on Nō Studios and Dance Fest 2025, visit https://www.nostudios.com/.
