21.11.2025

Sound designer Antero Kemppi and lighting designer Jere Kolehmainen will return to the Theatre Museum’s Maneesi in January 2026 to continue working on their Long Play project. Long Play will be shown at the Theatre Museum at the end of January.

Kemppi and Kolehmainen originally applied for the January 2025 residency with a project, the idea for which had originated after they saw a performance at the Maneesi. Kemppi and Kolehmainen’s project began to take shape in the Maneesi, and last January, at the end of the residency period, the first demo of the work was shown. The museum decided to exceptionally offer the pair a second residency period to complete the work. Long Play is not only an interesting performance and concept, but also a good opportunity for the Theatre Museum to see what the Maneesi and its technology can do.

Long Play is an audiovisual stage work created in collaboration with artificial intelligence, exploring the structures of friendship. The piece examines claims about friendship, its necessity, and its transformation over time.

Antero Kemppi and Jere Kolehmainen appear in the work both as designers and performers. They hand over control of the work’s audiovisuality and content to the AI.

The duo has known each other for over twenty years. Kemppi discovered old cassette tapes from the early days of their friendship—recordings in which Kolehmainen and Kemppi improvised music together. The material was compelling both for its musical expression and for the friendship that had led them to spend hundreds of hours practicing side by side.

Kemppi and Kolehmainen will be working at the Theatre Museum from 7 to 28 January and the performances will be seen at the end of the month. Tickets for performances are sold separately.

Antero Kemppi is a versatile sound designer, composer, and musician whose work has been featured both in independent productions and in several institutional theatres, such as the city theatres of Kajaani and Kotka, the Finnish National Theatre, and Teater Viirus. Kemppi’s experience spans theatre, dance, circus, Peking opera, and performative art. He has also carried out numerous productions where he was responsible for both sound and lighting design. In spring 2025, Kemppi worked on a six-month grant to develop his sound-based series of works, which he continues to refine. The core of the series lies in exploring the dramaturgical possibilities of sound and expanding performance formats.

Kemppi graduated with a Master of Arts in Theatre from the Theatre Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki in spring 2020, specializing in sound design. His thesis project in 2019, a designer-driven performance that challenged theatrical conventions, was Kempin kisat, which was also featured in Yle’s news broadcast.

Jere Kolehmainen is a versatile performing arts professional. Kolehmainen designs lighting, sound and video both in the independent scene and within the VOS (government funding) sector. As a designer, he has contributed to more than 30 professional productions. In addition, he plays in the band Krypta and performs as a member of the improvisation group Laika. In recent years, he has accumulated 100–150 performances annually, working with independent touring groups as well as established companies such as Red Nose Company and Race Horse Company, both in Finland and abroad.

Kolehmainen graduated as a theatre expression instructor from Metropolia University of Applied Sciences in 2014.

The Theatre Museum’s residency program started in 2022. Every year, two artists or working groups have occupied the museum’s premises and brought their own project to museum. The residency offers the museum a way to connect with the artists of the performing arts. For our audience, the residency allows a unique glimpse into the creation process of a work. The next residency period will be in August 2026 and the application for it opens in March.