Born in Nigeria to missionary parents, Bruce lived in Southern Africa through the 70’s and early 80’s. He returned to the USA to attend university, receiving a BA in Theatre and Art from Goshen College. After an eight year stint as an AEA stage manager in Indianapolis, Bruce attended the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama, and eventually emerged (somewhat dazed and blinking slightly) with a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Stage and Television Directing.
In his twenty-something-year directing career Bruce has directed well over one hundred theatre, musical, and opera productions throughout the USA and Canada. He founded a summer Shakespeare Company in Indiana; was Producing Director for the Carnegie Mellon Summer New Plays Project, where he worked with playwrights Craig Wright (Pavilion) and Aaron Posner (The Chosen); and from 1999 through 2003 he worked for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, ending as the Assistant Producer of the Festival.
Bruce is currently Resident Director for the Sun Valley Shakespeare Festival in Sun Valley, ID, Artistic Director for Portland’s CompassWorks, and a free-lance theatre/opera director and playwright. His four operas have toured the west coast, and his developing musical Hamburger Square was a part of the 2010 Fertile Ground Festival in Portland. Bruce is currently serving as the President of the Portland Area Theatre Alliance. He lives in Portland, OR.
close