Omaha Performing Arts is piloting a wearable technology designed to help deaf and hard-of-hearing patrons feel the rhythm, drama and emotion of live performances through touch.

The SoundShirt, developed by UK-based wearable tech company CuteCircuit, uses 28 embedded micro-actuators to translate sound into real-time tactile sensations across the body. O-pa is one of the first performing arts organizations in the country to test and potentially deploy the technology across all of its venues.

“We discovered SoundShirt doing cursory investigations that started two years ago after we saw similar technologies used at festivals like events in New York and Philadelphia,” said Andy Cassano, Omaha Performing Arts’ vice president for programming and education. “However, if we were going to do this, we wanted to make the equipment available to all of our performances.”

O-pa introduced the SoundShirt to the community during Interwoven: Fashion & Technology Connect, a Voices AMPLIFIED! event held May 22 at the Holland Performing Arts Center. The event featured a fashion show of adaptive designs by local creators and a silent disco where attendees, including members of the deaf and hard-of-hearing community, could test the shirts.

“At this point, we have only sampled the technology to invited guests of the deaf and hard-of-hearing community at a handful of small, intentionally designed events meant to experiment and provide initial feedback,” Cassano said. “We’ve had enthusiastic responses from persons with a range of hearing abilities who believe that, paired with ASL, the SoundShirt will take the joy of a live event to a whole new, almost immersive, experience.”

Pamela Duncan, founding director of ASL Interpreting Services in Omaha, said in a press release the SoundShirt fills a critical sensory gap. 

“It leads you to a climax, it leads you to tension that is happening. If you don’t have access to that, you are reliant solely on what you can see, what you’re getting through the interpreter and what you see on stage,” Duncan said. “With the SoundShirt, you’re going to get some of those exciting, climactic moments that music offers a show.”

Initially created for symphonic music, the SoundShirt’s applications have since expanded to live concerts, opera, ballet, theater and even gaming. The jacket’s embedded sensors allow wearers to feel different soundscape elements in specific areas: trumpets on the arms, drums on the back or vocals through the chest.

“SoundShirt was already in use by the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and they had nothing but great things to say about its consistency,” Cassano said. “We wanted to work with a company and technology that were at a stage of development whereby it wasn’t a one-off or singular type of experience.”

Cassano said CuteCircuit demonstrated that while they were still advancing their work, the product was exceptionally versatile, easy to use, easy to update, easy to care for and had capabilities that would prevent the tech from quickly becoming obsolete.

Throughout the 2025 and 2026 season, the SoundShirt will be tested at various performances at the Orpheum Theater, Holland Center, Steelhouse Omaha and other venues. Scheduled events include Falletta Conducts Tchaikovsky’s Fifth, The Nutcracker, Opera Omaha’s Susannah and Straight No Chaser. By the start of the 2026-2027 season, O-pa plans to make the technology widely available to interested patrons.

“The dynamics and presentation of sound are so essential to live concert experiences, and now we can intentionally make that better for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community,” Cassano said. “If we can do one more thing to reduce the barrier to persons who want to come experience the joy and the community of live arts, then why not do this?”

O-pa’s accessibility offerings already include ASL interpretation, assistive listening devices, sensory-inclusive performances and closed captioning. The SoundShirt represents a new frontier in multisensory, inclusive performance design.

Deaf and hard-of-hearing community members interested in participating in SoundShirt pilot events can sign up to get involved via O-pa’s website.