Stage for Sound is the new online platform for sound-based art and research at the Theatre Academy
Works created on the Theatre Academy’s audio drama course are now freely available for the public on a newly launched online platform.
The Degree Programme in Sound Design at Uniarts Helsinki’s Theatre Academy has launched a platform for presenting sound art. The new Stage for Sound platform allows the public to listen to sound artworks created as part of courses or research projects, as well as sound-based artistic thesis projects.
Stage for Sound is launched as part of the 40th anniversary festivities of the Theatre Academy’s Degree Programme in Sound Design.
Stage for Sound is a curated digital gallery for sound-based art, research and discussions. It responds to a time in which listening has become one of the most important ways of engaging with culture: podcasts, audiobooks and other audio content reach audiences wherever they travel, work and go about their everyday lives.
“Stage for Sound showcases sound-based works by students, researchers and artists on a publication platform that is maintained by an arts university. By doing so, it expands the concept of stage beyond physical space and builds a common digital gallery for artistic content, which remains accessible and autonomous, all the while promoting the university’s public mission,” Professor of Sound Design Tuomas Fränti explains.
The public can listen to the works on the Stage for Sound website regardless of time and space, and the site is easy to use on mobile devices.
The first works published on Stage for Sound are productions that were created on an audio drama course that was organised last spring. The course was a chance for the Theatre Academy’s dramaturgy and playwriting students to join their artistic forces with directing, sound design and acting students.
“Radio plays and audio dramas have found new audiences and uses through the rise of digital audio culture. When listening is no longer tied to a specific time or place, each listener contributes to their own version of the work within their own environment and at their own pace,” Fränti says.
“This way, the listening experience has evolved into something personal and participatory: the listener constructs the world around the work through their own imagination, experiences and environment. This is what shapes the interactive artistic experience when listening to an audio drama. It doesn’t offer ready-made templates but opens up each listener’s mind to the world of theatre.”
Stage for Sound is the new digital home for sound-based art and research at the Theatre Academy. Besides audio dramas, documentary audio works based on materials from the Sámi Truth and Reconciliation Commission will also be released on the platform in early 2027. After the pilot phase, the service will become an established part of the Theatre Academy’s productions as a digital stage for sound-based art and artistic research.