Dramaphone

The Dramaphone is an interactive installation built around a repurposed office telephone. Part confessional, part musical instrument, part digital curiosity cabinet, the piece invites participants to discover hidden features by simply… picking up the phone.

Concept and Artistic Approach

A single phone sits under a spotlight. When lifted, a dial tone melts into music. A message on the screen prompts the participant to record a secret. In return, the phone offers a single secret from someone else, then deletes it forever. No archives, no history, just fleeting honesty between strangers.

At first glance, the Dramaphone appears to be a standard office phone on a desk. But beneath its surface lies a world of interactions: a fully functional drum machine, a poetry archive, an event schedule, and, for the truly curious, even a hidden game of classic DOOM.

This installation plays with themes of discovery, intimacy, and playful subversion. It explores how even a mundane object like a desk phone can become a portal for introspection, expression, and delight.

The Dramaphone is a call to participate in the shared act of revealing and listening.

    • Leave-a-Secret / Take-a-Secret: Record an anonymous voice message; receive one in return. Each secret is played only once then erased forever

    • Drum Machine Mode: Use the phone keys to create 4 track rhythms using 2 banks of 10 samples.

    • Poetry Bank: Pre-recorded poems playable through the handset

    • What-Where-Now: Displays the current scheduled events

    • Hidden Layers: Secrets, minigames, and easter eggs tucked into the interface and physical space

    • Phone Base: Poly VVX 250 VOIP phone (gutted and reprogrammed)

      • Interface: Original button matrix preserved and re-routed to Raspberry Pi via custom adapter

      • Core System: Raspberry Pi 4B with external sealed enclosure

      • Audio Routing: Headset mic and speaker routed through a custom amp

      • Screen Replacement: Original monochrome screen replaced with 480x640 HDMI display

      • Software: Custom Python-based interaction framework with state-based logic and media handling

  • The Dramaphone received an art grant for Sideburn 2025.

    It has also been presented to private gatherings and events.