Xeno in Vivo
A Live Multimedia Opera Performance
Is genetic engineering reconnecting the tree of life?
Will CRISPR gene editing change our idea of what defines a species?
Is gene editing simply a continuation of our long history of modifying animals through selective breeding? Or is it something radically new?
Xenotransplantation is the genetic engineering of pigs to have human compatible organs, and Xeno in Vivo investigates this new field of research, bringing the words of my original conversations with scientists to life with original music composed by Bethany Barrett. The opera asks the question whether CRISPR gene editing represents a radical rupture or rather a continuation of the millennia old practices of selective breeding. The live production brings multiple projections, sculpture, and live beating heart cells together on stage with four opera singers and the artist as narrator.
Xeno in Vivo premiered at the Exploratorium in San Francsico March 7 & 8, 2024
Director: Heather Dewey-Hagborg
Associate Director: Rebecca Wolff
Sculpture: Heather Dewey-Hagborg
Music Direction: Sam Faustine
Lighting Design: Ray Oppenheimer
Sound Design: Wayne Grim and Thomas Dexter
Cast
Narrator: Heather Dewey-Hagborg
Geneticist: Timothy Silva
Zooarchaeologist: Amy Foote
Evolutionary biologist: Reuben Zellman
Surgeon: Wilford Kelly
Video
Writer and director: Heather Dewey-Hagborg
Editor: Thomas Dexter
Recording, mixing, and sound design: Jaike Stambach
Additional sound design: Thomas Dexter
Lighting design, sound recording, and videography: Hermann Sowieja and John Clemens
Additional camera work: Nona Griffin, Heather Dewey-Hagborg, Simon Schwarz, Joerg Blumtritt, Toshiaki Ozawa
CGI and 3D visualization: Michel Wielick
Technical Crew
Video and Lighting: Cameron Mitchell, Rick Danielson, Cael Hazard
Stage manager: Kaitlin Jo Rosen
Stage crew: Dillon Lee
Live cell culture: Dana Carrison-Stone
Live cells cart design and multimedia support: Bryan Day
Screen construction: Herb Masters
Xeno in Vivo live at the Exploratorium