Between 2011 and 2013, a series of unusual thefts occurred targeting twelve Southern California high school band rooms with thieves absconding with more than twenty tubas. Using this quirky series of unsolved crimes as a source of inspiration, director and visual artist Alison O’Daniel blends elements of documentary and fiction to create a unique sensory experience that defies categorization.

What happens when sound is no longer present? What shifts in the senses when a marching band loses its booming tonal anchor? This is not a literal story about tubas and thieves, but rather about sound and its absence. Featuring a cast of mostly Deaf actors and told through a Deaf and Hard of Hearing lens, The Tuba Thieves asks its audience to become active participants in this cinematic experience and offers the challenge to engage – and perhaps think – differently.