Carolyn O’Brien is a composer, creator and collaborator who works in many-faceted ways. On her academic side, she composes chamber works for traditional concert settings. On her theatrical side, she creates multidisciplinary works. Recently, she has integrated another facet into her work, mental health activism, with a mission to give a moment of wonder and joy to her audiences during difficult, “unprecedented times.”

O’Brien’s work has evolved to a new genre of her making, integrating multidisciplinary artists to collaborate with the audience. Kinetic sculpture, Absurdist Theater, visual art, vaudeville, silent film, dance, jazz, and folk music inspire much of her work. She uses her academic training to create formal structures that allow for tactile childlike exploration with musical material, often sounding as if the music is ricocheting off predetermined walls, ceilings, and floors. Accessibility to all levels of listener—ranging from children to the most musically educated adult—has always been a priority in her work, which is heavily influenced by her previous career as a public-school music educator.

O’Brien’s current work is focused on creating participatory art, a subset of social practice art, with community outreach and a mission to improve the mental health of everyone involved with hour+ length shows that connect music with nature, movement, set design, sound sculptures, unconventional instrumentation such as music boxes and antique musical toys, theatrical and circus arts elements seldom seen in the “art music” tradition, and the inclusion of audience members in quasi-improvisatory pieces and post-concert exploration. 

The first, immersive, evening-length show of this kind, entitled Fun & Games, took place in April 2025 and launched a new group led by O’Brien, the Fun & Games Guild. This rotating and growing group of like-minded spirits look forward to putting on annual, multidisciplinary shows, and one day, take this show on the road.