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Bruce Odland

Bruce Odland

Sonic Thinker · Artist · Composer

  • ABOUT
    • Bio
    • CV
      • Sound Installation
      • Sonic Architecture
      • Performance
      • Theater
      • Film
  • PROJECTS
    • Sound Installation
    • Sonic Architecture
    • Performance
    • Theater
    • Film
    • The Tank
    • Odland & Auinger (O+A)
      Bruce Odland (O) New York + Sam Auinger (A) Berlin, have been working together for over 30 years, developing a Hearing Perspective of the world we live in. They make installations in public space to encourage people to “think with their ears”.
    • Early Works
  • SOUND THINKING
    • Interviews & Podcasts
    • Seminars & Presentations
    • Writing
  • PRESS
  • CONTACT

Theater

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.

Wallace Shawn legacy podcasts

Wallace Shawn legacy podcasts

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

Posted on July 8, 2021July 8, 2021Categories Featured Projects, Interviews and Podcasts, Theater
Hamlet 360 “Thy Father’s Ghost”

Hamlet 360 “Thy Father’s Ghost”

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

Posted on February 6, 2019February 26, 2019Categories Clients, Featured Projects, Film, Sonic Architecture, TheaterTags google, hamlet 360, sound design

Guthrie Theater | Bad News

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

Posted on June 2, 2018March 1, 2019Categories Theater

A Power Broker’s World Comes Tumbling Down

The New York Times by Stephen Holden, 2014Wallace 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

Posted on July 22, 2014March 1, 2019Categories Press, Theater

Grasses of A Thousand Colors

The New York Times by Ben Brantley, 2013

A Fairy Tale, but Not to Read to Your ChildrenWallace Shawn has written and stars in “Grasses of a Thousand Colors,” a nasty and erotic fairy tale at the Public Theater.… continue reading

Posted on October 29, 2013March 1, 2019Categories Press, Theater
Designated Mourner

Designated Mourner

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

Posted on July 21, 2013March 1, 2019Categories Theater

The Wooster Group | North Atlantic

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

Posted on March 15, 2010March 1, 2019Categories Press, Theater
The Wooster Group

The Wooster Group

La Didone, 2007

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

Posted on March 1, 2007March 1, 2019Categories Featured Projects, Theater

Wallace Shawn | The Designated Mourner

WNYC | New York Public Radio, Podcasts, Live Streaming Radio, News

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

Posted on January 13, 2002March 1, 2019Categories Press, Theater
Dance of Death, 1997

Dance of Death, 1997

Arena Stage, Directed by Joanne Akalaitis

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

Posted on March 1, 1997March 1, 2019Categories Theater
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