Odland works in theater sound design since the early 80’s. His approach includes sound, music, and everything in between. He’s designed and implemented custom surround sound systems for dozens of productions. He’s written songs to sonnets, string trios. And he’s directed a baroque opera for The Wooster Group.
Bruce helped Wally reinvent his two most profound plays as podcasts. They have just been released by Gideon Media. You can listen here to Designated Mourner and Grasses of a Thousand Colors.
During the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic … continue reading
Bruce Odland created a sound world for Hamlet 360, an experiment in VR theater, for Google and Commonwealth Theater. Director Steve Maler takes the VR medium to a new level, infusing it with Shakespearean content, immersion, and high production standards.… continue reading
BAD NEWS! i was there… explores the monumental impact of the Messenger character from classic drama – a theatrical device originated by the Greeks, who unapologetically used theater to ask questions of its citizens. Today, the Messenger is eerily reflected … continue reading
Wallace Shawn turns the title character of Ibsen’s imperious “Master Builder” into a megalomaniacal little creep facing his death and his past.As both an actor and a playwright, Wallace Shawn, at … continue reading
The New York Times by Ben Brantley, 2013
A Fairy Tale, but Not to Read to Your Children
Wallace Shawn has written and stars in “Grasses of a Thousand Colors,” a nasty and erotic fairy tale at the Public Theater.… continue reading
Bruce has been making sound and music with Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory since 2000 this very dark vision of a free society slipping into totalitarian nightmare. It has been performed in many versions during the presidencies of Bush, Obama, … continue reading
TimeOut New York by Helen Shaw, 2010
It’s easy to get disoriented at the Wooster Group’s current production. Bewildered by the uniforms, GIs doing the hula and the occasional razzle-dazzle song-and-dance number, you might assume you’ve stumbled into South Pacific… continue reading
The Wooster Group invited Bruce to music direct and create a sound design for a mashup of Cavali’s 1641 Baroque Opera, La Didone, and Mario Brava’s 1965 sci-fi cult classic, Terrore nello spazio. He paired … continue reading
At times during the course of human history, when the last of a group, clan or tribe passes, someone would be appointed to publicly weep, remember, and light the … continue reading
Strindberg’s dark take on marriage won two Helen Hayes Awards in 1997, one for Outstanding Sound Design for Bruce’s work. He has been fortunate to collaborate on many productions with JoAnne Akalaitis over the … continue reading
