Seinäjoki City Theatre

Seinäjoki City Theatre
Seinäjoen kaupunginteatteri
Address	Seinäjoki; Finland
Coordinates	62°47′09″N 22°50′28″E / 62.785844°N 22.840978°E
Owner	City of Seinäjoki
Type	Public Theatre
Capacity	689 (total)
Construction
Opened	1987
Architect	Alvar Aalto
Website
	seinajoenkaupunginteatteri.fi

The Seinäjoki City Theatre (Finnish: Seinäjoen kaupunginteatteri) is the municipal theatre of the city of Seinäjoki, Finland.^[1]

Architecture

The theatre building is notable for having been designed by the renowned Finnish architect Alvar Aalto.^[2] He sketched the initial designs already in 1968, although the building was only completed nearly two decades later in 1987.^[3] Aalto himself had died in 1976, therefore the design was finalised and the construction supervised by his widow and fellow architect, Elissa Aalto.^[4]

Situated alongside other prominent Aalto-designed buildings such as the City Hall and Lakeuden Risti Church, the theatre forms part of the city's Aalto Centre (Finnish: Aalto-keskus),^[2] which has been recognised by the Finnish Heritage Agency as a nationally important built cultural environment (Valtakunnallisesti merkittävä rakennettu kulttuuriympäristö).^[5]

Capacity

The theatre comprises four stages, with a total seating capacity of 689. Of these, the largest, 'Alvar', seats 409; 'Elissa', 100; 'Verstas', 60; and the restaurant theatre 120.^[1]

The theatre company also operates an open air theatre in the summer, with a capacity for 890.^[1]

The theatre attracts audiences in excess of 50,000 annually.^[1]

Recognition

In 2015, the Seinäjoki City Theatre was chosen as the 'Theatre of the Year' by the Association of Finnish Theatres.^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Teatteri". Seinajoenkaupunginteatteri.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 1 November 2020.
^ ^a ^b "The Administrative and Cultural Centre in Seinäjoki". AlvarAalto.fi. Alvar Aalto Foundation. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
^ "Seinäjoen kaupunginteatteri". SuomenTeatterit.fi (in Finnish). The Association of Finnish Theatres. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
^ "Seinäjoki City Theatre". VisitSeinajoki.fi. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
^ "Seinäjoen Aalto-keskus". RKY.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Heritage Agency. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
^ "Seinäjoelle teatterialan ykköspalkinto" [Seinäjoki receives premier award of the theatre sector] (in Finnish). Ilkka-Pohjalainen. 8 March 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2020.