Vision-Into-Art
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Sensorium Ex is an ambitious new opera by librettist Brenda Shaughnessy and acclaimed composer Paola Prestini, co-directed by Jerron Herman and Jay Scheib, music directed by Elizabeth Askren, that synthesizes artificial intelligence, disability, and the arts in a groundbreaking and innovative artistic work. The visionary production pushes the boundaries of what it means to have a voice, paving the way for future artists with disabilities. Sensorium Ex delves deep into the essence of voice, transcending the limits of language to profoundly reimagine what it can be. WORLD PREMIERE May 22 – 25, 2025
Redefining what it means to have a voice.
Operating at the intersection of AI, disability, and the arts, Sensorium Ex explores the fundamental question of what it means to have voice, and the nature of voice beyond language. Paola Prestini’s expansive, multi-modal work tells a dystopian tale centered on a mother and her a nonverbal, nonambulatory child with multiple disabilities, as they resist a villainous corporate entity's attempts to destroy what it means to be human.
Blurring the lines between art and technology, the opera will feature a new set of AI tools developed in partnership with NYU’s Ability Lab that will expand the possibilities for voice and expression in people with disordered, impaired, or limited speech. With a cast of predominantly disabled performers, the project seeks to devise new artistic practices which center disability equity and access throughout all steps in the process. Sensorium Ex is composed by Paola Prestini, co-produced by VisionIntoArt and Beth Morrison Projects, directed by Jerron Herman and Jay Scheib, and features a libretto by poet Brenda Shaughnessy. Premiering for the first time at Omaha’s Common Senses Festival 2025, Sensorium Ex creates an entirely new operatic world – one that redefines who gets to have a voice.
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Collaborators:
Paola Prestini, composer
Brenda Shaughnessy, librettist
Jerron Herman & Jay Scheib, directors
Elizabeth Askren, music director
NYU Ability Lab, Sensorium AI Technology
Produced by VisionIntoArt in association with Beth Morrison Projects
Cast:
Hailey McAvoy, mezzo-soprano
Kader Zioueche, actor
Jakob Jordan, actor
Gerlinde Sämann, soprano
Ju Hyeon Han, soprano
Lucia Lucas, baritone
Joshua Jeremiah, baritone
90 minutes / Opera
Music by Paola Prestini, libretto by Brenda Shaughnessy, co-directed by Jerron Herman and Jay Scheib, music directed by Elizabeth Askren. Lead produced by VisionIntoArt with Beth Morrison Projects. Workshop production support: Artscape, Cape Town South Africa; the Shed; The Reach at the Kennedy Center.
Funded by The Mellon Foundation, The Ford Foundation, Alphadyne Foundation, Creative Capital and Nordisk Kulturfond.
Creatives are increasingly using digital tools and technology, not as accompaniments, but as central components of creative work, from the artificial intelligence opera Sensorium Ex
Inside Philanthropy
I am so excited to be part of an opera that provides a nuanced look at disability. As an artist with a disability, I’ve looked before at programming music that features disability… and time and time again, outdated and two-dimensional portrayals of what it means to have a disability have sent me back to the drawing board. With Sensorium, the explorations of disability and accessibility are so rich and nuanced… and ultimately point to the truth that disabled people are whole and beautiful just as we are, without the need to appear ever more able, or to fit into a world that demands we be so. Sensorium asks the world to change its perception of disability, instead of asking disabled people to change. This is a message I cannot wait to sing and share!
Hailey McAvoy
I was introduced to the Sensorium initiative last year, and was thrilled to learn of an operatic work that gives voice to disability, inclusion, and access. When I heard the music and met the team, my excitement grew tenfold. After watching so many of the pieces come together this past year, I am truly excited to be a part of a musical union of sorts that brings together so many of the pieces.
Laurie Rubin
