Audium-Theatre of Sound

Audium-Theatre of Sound is a performance space at 1616 Bush St in San Francisco, built for music and sound that move around the audience. You sit in concentric circles in a dark theater as 176 speakers send sound past, above and beneath you. The roughly 40-minute performance is split into two parts, with an intermission. Expect pieces that can include nature, chimes, traffic and voices, rather than a conventional show with visual action. It suits curious listeners who enjoy closing their eyes and following sound; loud passages may be uncomfortable if you are sensitive to noise.

A theater built for moving sound

Audium was established in 1975. Composer Stan Schaff designed the space with support from a National Endowment for the Arts grant, combining architecture, technology and music in a theater made to channel sound through the room.

The audience sits in concentric circles on a floating floor beneath a suspended ceiling. Speakers are built into the sloping walls, so sound can travel around and across the listening space. The arrangement is central to the performance: this is a place to hear sound move, not to watch musicians or a visual story unfold.

Listening in the dark

The performance takes place in darkness and lasts about 40 minutes, divided into two audio experiences with an intermission. Compositions can layer familiar sounds such as trains, footsteps and street activity with water, weather, wildlife, music or chimes. The sequence and content depend on the performance.

With no visual cues to follow, the experience rests on listening and imagination. Some passages are loud, and the style is not for everyone. If you are sensitive to noise, bring earplugs; if you attend, allow yourself to focus on the sounds rather than waiting for a conventional plot or stage action.