The University of Utah School of Music will have its first ever sensory-friendly performance Saturday, with U Opera’s matinee showing of ‘ALICE’
“This performance is for children and adults with sensory sensitivities or anyone who could benefit from a more relaxed theater environment,” reads the “ALICE” ticket page. “The theater is for everyone.
Accommodation for this performance will include adjusted stage lighting and sound. Theater lighting will remain low throughout the performance. Audience members are welcome to move freely during the performance and can leave their seats, talk and use fidgets and mobile phones as they wish.
“I’m hoping this will be a place where kids can see something they might never have seen, and parents can just relax and know that no one is judging them,” explained Kim Council, director of music school. “We’re all here for a musical experience.”
In addition to the adjustments in the salon, the intermission of the performance will be extended. Snacks such as goldfish and pretzels will be provided. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet cast members before and after the performance.
Accessibility in music
Before coming to the U’s School of Music, Council spent years as a public education music teacher. Specifically, she works with children with a variety of exceptionalities and created a music program called Musical Understanding in Special Education, or MUSE.
“We preach in education, ‘We’re inclusive,’ but that’s not the case all the time,” Council said. “We say, ‘Oh, we have a student who is nonverbal and in a wheelchair, and we put them in the music room. Isn’t that enough?’ And I reject that – no.”
Council admitted she wasn’t sure what to expect from this performance, but was excited to work on creating a safe and accessible experience for children and adults with all needs.
“I believe the arts are for everyone, but we leave people out of artistic experiences all the time,” Council explained. She expressed admiration and gratitude for the cast and crew of “ALICE” and their willingness to explore this type of programming.
“I feel very, very proud to say that I think everyone at the School of Music, obviously the administration and the professors, but also the students are really excited about this opportunity,” said Alex Harrelson, who plays the Mad Hatter and White Rabbit on the series.
“There are many ways to make our art relevant and important in the 21st century, and that requires us to fight the people who want to make it an exclusive thing,” Harrelson said. Making classical music and opera accessible is a vital part of achieving this.
Self-Discovery in ‘ALICE’
“ALICE” is an adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” but it’s also a story of self-discovery and self-acceptance, said the opera’s composer Amy Scarria and her partner and librettist Zane Currier.
Skuria was late diagnosed with autism when she was 48 years old. Looking back at what she had created in ALICE, it became clear that Scuria’s experience living with autism informed how she composed the piece, even if she didn’t know it at the time.
“This is an opera written for everyone. We put a universal story in it,” said Skuria. He also explores “the autistic experience—which was my experience, we just didn’t know the word for it.”
The couple explained that “ALICE” was always an autobiographical work, at least to some extent. Their desire to grow, learn and discover more about themselves was part of what drew them together, Skuria said.
“I feel like a lot of our adulthood together was figuring out who we are,” Skuria said.
So the idea of exploring identity and self-realization in ALICE felt natural as Scurria and Corriher developed the story together.
“It was in line with a lot of how we’ve lived our lives together, just the quest to understand ourselves,” Courier said.
Art should be for everyone
Scuria experienced a mixture of emotions when he found out he was autistic.
“There was intense grief – intense grief – and an intense sense of freedom, a sense of understanding for the first time in my life,” Skuria explained. “Grief comes from being able to look at my past with—for the first time in my life—a deep understanding that I didn’t have growing up.”
She said she always felt there was something wrong with her. She was too different, she had to try too hard, but somehow she was wrong. So to have that name for what she felt her whole life and to be able to connect with other people in the community was extremely validating.
When she was growing up, the criteria for diagnosing children with autism was historically based on white boys, Scuria explained. Late diagnosis for people assigned female at birth is not uncommon.
“My decision to be very public about my diagnosis is largely because I know that people with AFAB autism don’t have a lot of representation,” Skuria said. “Not that I represent all people with autism, but I just felt that this openness could make other children feel supported or validated.”
Scurria expressed gratitude that the U provides a sensory-friendly performance as part of the School of Music’s programming specifically for ‘ALICE’
“Art should be for everyone,” Skuria said. “I feel like that’s the message this university is giving is, ‘Hey, we’re opening our doors and offering this for you, so if you don’t think this is for you, we’re going to try to make it welcoming for you.'” and I’m so grateful for that.”
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