Call Out: Sound Designer for Live Experience
Paid opportunity with state of the [art]
Fee: £1,000
Availability: late August – late September 2026
Location: London and Gloucester
Deadline: Wednesday 20 May, 23:59
Apply to: apply@stateassuch.com

state of the [art] is looking for a Sound Designer for Live Experience to join a paid participatory performance project in 2026.

The full project title yet, but the work sits somewhere between theatre, music, club culture, public space, myth, games, audience interaction and live performance.

We are looking for someone with taste. Someone who understands bass, silence, atmosphere, pressure, release, room energy, collective feeling, and why the right track at the right moment can change everything. Someone who thinks sound is dramaturgy, not decoration.

About the Role
We are looking for someone who can help shape the sonic world of the work. That might include music, atmosphere, transitions, audience movement, participatory moments, public-space energy, rhythm, silence, pressure and release.

The project is participatory and non-traditional. Audiences may move, speak, play, gather, respond, refuse, follow instructions, make choices, or become part of the performance world in different ways. We need someone who is excited by that kind of live unpredictability.

You do not need to have done this exact kind of project before, but you should be excited by the challenge of making sound for a work that moves between theatre, live experience, music, public space and audience interaction.

We’re Looking For Someone Interested In
theatre sound design,
music-led performance
club nights, nightlife, bass, rhythm and sound systems
live events and audience energy
interactive and participatory experiences
devising and workshop processes
sound as dramaturgy, not decoration
bold choices within limited resources
how sound can guide people, shift atmosphere and change how audiences behave in a space
and knows their Qlab
We’re interested in someone with a strong artistic voice, musical instinct and clear taste.

About the Project

The work draws on ideas of myth, city-building, public space, games, live performance, club culture, ritual and audience interaction. It is part performance, part civic gathering, part game, part live event. It asks how audiences can be invited into a world rather than simply watching from the outside. The project is being developed for performances in London and Gloucester in 2026.

Fee
The fee is £1,000. Travel outside London will be covered separately. We want to be transparent: the budget is tight, and we know this is not the full fee the role deserves. We are working with limited funding and trying to make the project happen in the fairest way we can.

This opportunity may suit someone who is looking for experience on a bold, non-traditional performance project, or someone who has the capacity to work at a reduced rate because they are excited by the challenge, the collaboration and the world of the work.

We do not want to pretend the fee is bigger than it is. We do want to be honest, clear and respectful about the scope.

Availability
We are looking for someone with availability across: late August – late September 2026

This will include some rehearsal / process time, followed by tech and performance dates across London and Gloucester. Exact dates are still being confirmed and will be shared privately with shortlisted artists.

Please only apply if you have reasonable availability across this period.

How to Apply
Please send the following to: apply@stateassuch.com

with the subject line: Sound Designer for Live Experience Application

Please include:

A short bio or CV
Links to previous work
A short paragraph about why this interests you
A playlist of 10–20 tracks that represents your sonic world
Your playlist could be:

songs for the end of the world
songs that raised you
club tracks that changed your blood pressure
songs theatre needs to learn from
songs that explain your taste better than words can
or simply music that says: this is how I hear the world
We are not looking for the “correct” playlist. We are interested in your taste, your references, your instincts, your rhythm, your emotional world.

Deadline - Wednesday 20th May, 23:59
We will contact shortlisted artists after the deadline to arrange a conversation.

Access
If you need to submit your application in another format, please email us at apply@stateassuch.com and let us know what would work best for you.

Please Share
Please share this call out with sound people, theatre people, club people, music people, live event people, chaos people, taste people — anyone who might be right for this.