Our Story
White Snake Projects was founded in 2018 to uplift the voices of historically marginalized creators and artists. As one of the few opera companies founded and led by an immigrant woman of color, White Snake Projects has blazed the way for opera-based activism to open public discourse on the pressing issues facing us in today’s conflict-ridden world. The Company’s values are influenced by the personal history of its founder, Cerise Lim Jacobs.
Our Founder
As a woman of color growing up in Singapore under British colonial rule, Cerise experienced first hand the pernicious effects of colonization on the hearts and minds of those of us who are not white. It took decades for her to realize her intrinsic self worth, and to eliminate the feelings of inferiority engendered by having white “masters.” This life experience has been a major factor in shaping her attitudes and values, and the Company’s values and priorities.
An Activist Opera Company
Cerise’s first opera, Madame White Snake, which she created with composer Zhou Long, won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize. However, she could not get any opera companies to even talk to her. She decided then that if she could not join the traditional opera groups, she would make her own “group” and invite others who are outsiders like her, to join her. Hence, White Snake Projects was born – an activist opera company committed to marrying art and activism.
Our Initiatives to Bring Opera into the 21st Century:
#1
New storytelling that reflects who we are as Americans today
We deal with complex issues that impact the lives of our communities, such as the effects of colonization, the allocation of wealth, migration, education, and justice systems. Traditional repertory dressed in the trappings of modernity is inadequate to do this justice; hence, White Snake Projects produces only new work it commissions from creators with lived experiences.
#2
Using cutting edge technology to tell stories in the language that young people understand and love
Partnering with area colleges specializing in art/design and video games, White Snake Projects combines live performance with electronics, Foley effects, 2D video, animated 3D computer generated images (CGI), photorealistic avatars who lip sync (in real time) to live singers. Using this technology, some of which we are inventing in-the-moment to meet the needs of the show, is highly risky as it’s new and untested. This risk taking is necessary to bring opera into the 21st century.
#3
Exploding the boundary between “high” and “low” art
Our society has created the political and social construct that traditional (read “Eurocentric”) art is “high art” and therefore of great importance; whilst community artmaking has lesser value, maybe not even deserving to be called art. White Snake Projects believes that everyone is capable of creating beauty in our world. Thus, we are determined to explode this artificial boundary by commissioning our community to make art with us in projects that are properly mentored and resourced.