VISCERĀLIS
Six Nights in July 2024 at Tara Firma Farms, Petaluma, California.
Each evening begins with a seasonal, multi-course feast served family-style—a farm-to-table celebration rooted in the local abundance of Sonoma and Marin Counties. Embracing an in-situ philosophy, the culinary experience evolves on-site, with Lucich raising the proteins at Tara Firma itself. A diverse and imaginative team of chefs guides guests through a six-night, nose-to-tail adventure, complemented by robust and thoughtful offerings for vegetarians and vegans alike. Local purveyors include Tara Firma Farms, UmbelRoots, Feed Sonoma, True Grass Farms, and Holistic Ag. Libations flow from Enkidu and Shokrian wines, craft beers by Hen House and Moonlight, and a collection of house-made non-alcoholic drinks—all thoughtfully chosen to accompany the evening’s rhythm.
VISCERĀLIS explores the growing tension between the rise of Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence and our innate need for visceral experience and embodied, actual intelligence—found through tangible connection to our communities and the land we inhabit. Though the JAD Experience was not conceived as a direct response to this social unraveling, its vision now feels eerily prophetic.
“My initial desire to move beyond the constraints of the opera house—the challenge of truly engaging audiences, the sterile backdrop of the urban environment—began over a decade ago,” says Julia Adam. “But today, that impulse feels more urgent than ever. We move through the world with screens in our hands, drifting from the earth and from one another. What we offer now—connection, presence, meaning—is needed more than ever.”
After the feast, guests gather with steaming cups of sipping chocolate and bone broth, drawn by twilight to the open-air stage for the world premiere of VISCERĀLIS. There, under the open sky, Julia’s ever-evolving ensemble brings her unique style of story telling to life—melding dance with spoken word, song, and bold exploration beyond the fourth wall. This year’s work seeks to move us—toward one another, toward the land, and toward a deeper sense of what it means to be truly, viscerally alive.
