hyper_object (the age of cruel miracles)
Created, Written, & Directed by Graham Sack Presented at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center (Washington D.C.), June 2026
About the Performance: hyper_object is a live theater and interactive media experience that uses wearable neurotechnology to tell the story of a sentient planet that can perceive the thoughts of humankind. The project blends live theater, AI, EEG-based neurotechnology, and responsive video and generative sound to explore the shifting boundaries between human, artificial, and planetary intelligence.
Synopsis: An astrobiologist arrives on a space station orbiting a mysterious exoplanet known as the hyperobject. As the crew's scientific mission unravels into confusion and paranoia, the planet begins to evoke memories, visions, and unconscious fears. The scientists must confront the possibility that the intelligence they are studying may understand them more deeply than they understand themselves.
Press: Science and Storytelling Redefined in “hyper_object” (Johns Hopkins); HYPER_OBJECT to Make World Premiere Blending Theater, AI, and Neurotech (Broadway World)
Developed with support from a Johns Hopkins Nexus Research Award, the Berman Institute of Bioethics, Dracopoulos-Bloomberg iDeas Lab, and JHU Film & Media Graduate Program.
Video clip from the performance (Featuring: T. Ryder Smith, David Skeist, Catherine Gowl)
Creator & Director Graham Sack explains the application of brain-computer interface technology in live theater performance.
How EEG Data Shapes the Performance: hyper_object uses live EEG data from seven participants: one performer wearing a 32-channel Enobio headset, and six audience members in 4-channel Muse headsets. Their brainwave data is analyzed in real time and translated into five frequency bands.
Planetary Visualization: Audience and performer brainwaves drive the planetary entity projected onstage — its color, motion, displacement, and rotational velocity.
Sound Score: Audience EEG influences the score, changing the volume, speed, and presence of individual musical stems.
Responsive Dialogue: The performer's EEG helps drive an AI language system that generates the dialogue of Eva in real time.
Cast: David Skeist* — Kantor; T. Ryder Smith* — Reinhardt; Catherine Gowl* — Eva; Jess Barbagallo* — Shaw * Actor or Stage Manager appears through the courtesy of Actors' Equity Association.
Creative & Production: Graham Sack — Creator, Writer, & Director; Quentin Little — Producer; Simon Harding — Production & Video Design; Brooke Bell* — Stage Manager; Matt McCorkle — Composer & Sound Design; Georgios Cherouvim — Planetary Developer; Suzanne Dikker — EEG Design; Franck Porteous — EEG Programming; Conor James — Developer & Camera Operator; Lee Whitman — Developer; Colin K. Bills — Lighting Design; Karen Boyer — Costume Design; Mekala Sridhar — Assoc. Producer; Sabrina Hyman — Casting Director; Sara Rimiller — Hair & Makeup; Yannick Godts — Electrician