"The Other Side of Silence" is an opera co-written by and starring Pittsburgh-based Mark Steidl, a disability and LBGT rights advocate. Mark is a 2016 graduate of ACES (Augmentative Communication Empowerment and Supports) a program of the Institute on Disabilities, where they also serve on the Consumer Advisory Committee.

Mark has cerebral palsy and uses an augmentative and alternative communication device to speak. The opera, based on Mark's life, is considered groundbreaking as it features a real person with a disability, not an actor playing one, and puts the spotlight on synthetic voices. This unique undertaking was the subject of a recent New York Times article "Can a Synthetic Voice Be Taught to Sing Opera?" 

As a member of the Institute's Consumer Advisory Committee, Mark's advocacy and lived experience help inform program operations to better meet the needs of people with disabilities. Mark is also a subject of "My Life My Way," an Institute project that focuses on people with disabilities living the life they choose.

Mark graduated from Community College of Allegheny County in 2020 and currently works as Program Manager at Self Advocacy Voices and as Technical Support Representative at Tobii Dynavox. Mark is also a board member of Disability Rights Pennsylvania.

More about Mark and their opera can be found in the Community Storytelling piece in PublicSource, a publication covering the Pittsburgh area. The article offers some insight into Mark's everyday life and a peek into the important message "The Other Side of Silence" wishes to convey.