AMPLIFYING THE DRAMA
As a sound designer, composer, and engineer, Joel Abbott makes, mixes, and delivers the right sounds to support and reinforce the drama on stage. With expertise in audio technology and acoustic reinforcement, Joel is an experienced sound system designer and engineer for plays and musicals. He loves being part of the design team family and creating works of art that are greater than the sum of their parts. Joel received his undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia, and his M.F.A. in theatre from the Yale School of Drama.
Taking Steps
Barrington Stage Company
"Joel Abbott provides the fine sound design work that aids in bringing touches of realism into the play."
-The Berkshire Edge

Taking Steps
"There are also lighting tricks by David Weiner and sturm und drang from sound designer Joel Abbott. It’s a dark and windy night in this old house where the roof leaks in the attic."
-Berkshire Fine Arts

Taking Steps
"Sound designer Joel Abbott not only provides us with appropriate songs of the period but also the noises caused by the plumbing problems of the creaky mansion."
-Berkshire On Stage

My Fair Lady
Bay St. Theatre
"Two pianos, under Adam Wachter’s astute musical direction, deliver every nuance of the glorious score, with help from Joel Abbott’s sound design."
-New York Times

Last Train to Nibroc
Playhouse on Park
Christopher Bell's lighting and Joel Abbott's sound also work to create the right mood from train sounds to festival lights.
-BroadwayWorld

The Chosen
Playhouse on Park
There are some areas where Playhouse at Park is able to add depth and fluidity to the text. That's with some clever sound cues (designed by Joel Abbott), especially when a jolt of jazz music becomes a hospital nightmare.
-Hartford Courant

I Like the Sound of That
Artspace New Haven
"...it’s both mesmerizing and thought-provoking, making for the most satisfying exhibit I’ve seen in town this year."
-New Haven Independent

The Collaborators
Storm Theatre
"Sound designer Joel Abbott makes wonderful use of Offenbach melodies to set the time and period."
-TheatreScene.net

Angels in America: Millenium Approaches
Playhouse on Park
"The sound design by Joel Abbott is the best I have experienced at Playhouse on Park"
-BroadwayWorld

Proof
Playhouse on Park
"Joel Abbott’s sound design neatly complements and enhances the story onstage."
-Hartford Arts Examiner

Gigi
Storm Theatre
"Sound designer Joel Abbott makes wonderful use of Offenbach melodies to set the time and period."
-TheatreScene.net

Tuesdays With Morrie
Playhouse on Park
"the production design team—Lisa Ann Steier on costumes, Aaron Hochheiser on lighting, and Joel Abbott’s sound design—all contribute to the atmosphere and efficiency of the evening, unobtrusively adding their touches to the eloquent story, yet enabling the audience’s concentration."

The Chosen
Playhouse on Park
"There are some areas where Playhouse at Park is able to add depth and fluidity to the text. That's with some clever sound cues (designed by Joel Abbott), especially when a jolt of jazz music becomes a hospital nightmare."
The Drowsy Chaperone
St. Michael's Playhouse
"The sound design by Joel Abbott is first rate."
-North Country Public Radio

We Know Edie La Minx Had A Gun
Yale Cabaret
"The real fire of the show is in the musical performances (original songs, and accompaniment as Charlie the Piano Guy, by Joel Abbott)." 
-New Haven Review

Unnecessary Farce
St. Michael's Playhouse
"I really like the clever opening sequence spotlighting the doors, enhanced by Joel Abbott’s sound."  
-North Country Public Radio

Boston Marriage
New Repertory Theatre
"…the human element isn’t the only one with comic snap and impeccable timing: so are the lighting by Deb Sullivan and Joel Abbott’s sound design, which are the frosting on this particular wedding cake."
-Edge Boston

Around the World in Eighty Days
St. Michael's Playhouse
"As for Joel Abbott’s sound, the background and dramatic accent music are all excellent and sometimes funny choices, as are the various night sounds. The sound supports the action in the style of the period.”
-North Country Public Radio

​The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
St. Michael's Playhouse
"Joel Abbott’s sound is very good, particularly during the fast-forward and slow motion spelling sequence."
-North Country Public Radio

Shipwrecked: An Entertainment
Vermont Stage Company
"One of the biggest stars of the night, though, is Joel Abbott, a Foley artist who concocts a radio-show-like array of sound effects that build much of the sense of whimsy into the production. His use of a wind-up wind machine and a clacking typewriter brings vivid sound to the fury of de Rougemont’s story”
-Burlington Free Press

Shipwrecked: An Entertainment
Vermont Stage Company
"Live sound effects greatly enhance the quirky late-Victorian atmosphere. The audience sees sound designer Joel Abbott using a Foley artist’s old-fashioned techniques to accompany the show. For rain, he swirls metal BBs on a tin baking sheet. To intensify the storm, he cranks the wind machine — a circle of wooden slats covered by a piece of canvas. A thunder tube, manual typewriter and vintage pump organ are among Abbott’s other tools for underscoring the action.”
-7 Days VT

Shipwrecked: An Entertainment
Vermont Stage Company
"Being able to see Sound Designer and Foley Artist Joel Abbott produce the appropriate sound effects is an unexpected treat.  If you’re wondering what a Foley Artist is, they work mostly in film and match sound to action.  Just watch this play’s typewriter sequence….Be sure to get to it soon, in case Garrison Keeler (sic) steals the soundman.”
-North Country Public Radio

Opus
Vermont Stage Company
”Joel Abbott’s sound is excellent”
-North Country Public Radio

Prelude to a Kiss
Vermont Stage Company
”Joel Abbott’s sound add a great deal to the production”
-North Country Public Radio

Blithe Spirit
St. Michael's Playhouse
”Joel Abbott conjures convincing effects, especially the scratchy gramophone playing Irving Berlin’s “Always” during Madame Arcati’s séances.”
-7 Days VT