Prof. Hahm Reimagines AWARE Program To Address the Mental Health of Boston Lyric Opera Performers
For its new production, Madama Butterfly, Boston Lyric Opera (BLO) recruited Prof. Hyeouk Chris Hahm from BU School of Social Work (BUSSW), to help support the mental health of opera performers. The new production is a reimagining of the classic opera, moving away from the “orientalist fantasy” 1904 tale by European composer Giacomo Puccini and his librettists and instead centering a historically informed American story about the experience of Japanese and other Asian Americans in 1940s San Francisco.
“Boston Lyric Opera originally hired me at the height of the pandemic because there were some concerns about the content of Madama Butterfly,” Hahm explains. “The original Madama Butterfly story itself is about imperialism. While Madama Butterfly is a beautiful opera, its depiction of a disempowered Asian woman was more sensitive for Asian artists and audiences with the rise of Asian hate during the COVID-19 pandemic. The new production takes place during World War II, a historically difficult time in this country for Asian Americans, particularly Japanese Americans. Realizing the potential trauma that comes with revisiting this often dark history, BLO has taken steps to help minimize harm and maximize the well-being of its cast, regardless of gender or race.”
Prof. Hahm, an expert in mental health and culturally grounded interventions, originally developed the AWARE (Asian American Women’s Actions in Resilience and Empowerment) program based on her research on the lack of mental health provisions for Asian American women and young adults. Now implemented in colleges and high schools, the program empowers women to navigate cultural expectations and learn techniques to build resilience. By researching opera singers’ demanding careers, reading the Madama Butterfly libretto, and collaborating with BLO’s administrators and co-directors, Prof. Hahm adapted the AWARE program for performers, calling it “AWARE for Artists.”
AWARE for Artists used group discussion to take performers’ unique needs into account. “Opera singers possess remarkable talent, passion, and resilience, dedicating themselves wholly to their art. Yet, they also deal with anxiety regarding their performance, health, and critiques from audiences and colleagues. Many are concerned about the financial and career instability, and relationship issues that come with so much traveling,” she said. “Some of them live a nomadic life, moving for 6-8 weeks at a time to new cities to perform. They have to give up so many aspects of their lives for art: everything from birthday parties to funerals.” In addition to addressing their personal lives, Hahm also considered that performing itself can be a potentially triggering experience when performers need to deal with trauma and loss within the story. AWARE for Artists was specifically designed to address the loss, fear, and vicarious trauma they experience when they perform.
Bradley Vernatter, Boston Lyric Opera General Director and CEO, said, “Dr. Chris Hahm’s expertly led artist group sessions, which managed anxieties, identity, and mental health needs, were an extension of sessions she provided during our year-long exploration of the opera – its roots and how it could be more intentionally staged in the future – which we called The Butterfly Process.”
The positive outcomes from the new program are clear, based on the reactions from BLO performers. One participant said, “BLO gave us a space to come together with Chris Hahm and feel like we were heard; not only for COVID and the crises resulting from our industry shutting down, but also to see us as individuals, artists, and people, and to help us see our colleagues in the same way.”
Another shared, “The sessions with Chris were an incredibly invaluable part of the process. Building trust amongst the cast, creating a safe environment to take creative risks, and feeling solid in our personal well-being in order to focus as artists were just some of the positive takeaways from our sessions. The sessions set the groundwork for a low conflict and trusting work environment that saved us time and emotional energy, while allowing us to produce the best possible artistic product. I am normally skeptical about the necessity of sessions like these, but having gone through this process, I don’t think I will ever lead a production without similar support from a program like the one Chris facilitated.”
“In all my years as a singer in this industry, I’ve never felt like opera companies have supported, let alone prioritized, artists’ mental health,” said another participant. “Boston Lyric Opera is changing this by putting our mental health first and acknowledging that we are human beings above all else. Our sessions with Chris Hahm have helped me know it’s okay to verbalize and share some of my concerns and anxieties, as well as taught me that I’m not alone. We are all in this together.”