About Ian Brownell and BTI:
Founded in 1988, Bushy Theater, Inc. is a multi-faceted production company, producing corporate, industrial, and educational videos, documentary films, web content, demo reels, sketch comedy, concert videos, and live multi-media events.
BTI's founder and director, Ian Brownell, studied film production and editing at New York's School of Visual Arts. During that time he began to work as a producer and editor - as well as writer, assistant director, camera operator and sound mixer - for other film students and then for New York based independent filmmakers. After leaving SVA, Ian remained in New York working as an editor and unit production manager on low-budget features and shorts.
In 1993 and 94 he produced and edited the award-winning short film "Life Before Me," directed by New Zealand filmmaker Chris Graham, and the 60 minute musical, period film, "Paris Hill" directed by his frequent collaborator Webb Wilcoxen.
From 1994 to1998, BTI produced several educational videos documenting the work of creative arts therapists for colleges, universities, non-profit companies and individuals nationwide. Their video, "At The Threshold", produced for the C.J. Jung Center of Houston Texas, aired on PBS in 1997.
In 1998 Brownell and Wilcoxen completed work on their first feature-length documentary film, "A Time to Dance, The Life and Work of Norma Canner," produced in association with Accessible Arts, Inc. During theatrical runs in Boston and New York, "A Time to Dance," won rave reviews from The Boston Globe, Herald and Phoenix, The New York Times, and Time Out New York magazine. It was also screened at several film festivals and conferences, and at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC.
In 1999 Brownell and Wilcoxen founded ABNERIA, a collective of 7 Boston-based writer/performers. From 1999 to 2000, BTI produced ABNERIA's original 1/2 hour sketch-comedy series which premiered its new shows at The Phoenix Landing in Cambridge, MA. Ian Brownell continues to dabble in sketch comedy with his new Boston-based troupe, The City That Sleeps.
In the Fall of 2000, Brownell teamed up with theatrical director and folk-rocker Faith Soloway to produce "Miss Folk America," a hugely successful multi-media concert event and video which has now been seen all over the world.
Brownell and Soloway, working as Smell My Productions, are curently developing their second 'Schlock Opera' "Jesus Has Two Mommies" for a run in New York. This show originally premiered at the historic Somerville Theatre in 2001 and was picked up for an extended holiday run at Boston's Copley Theatre. A video was produced from these Boston performances and the live show is being re-vamped and performed in various incarnations at theaters around the city.
BTI is currently focusing on music-related projects such as concert videos, demos, artist web sites, and live events. It continues to produce content for individuals and corporate clients, and Ian Brownell continues to work as a producer, editor, camera operator, unit production manager, post-production supervisor and DVD author for other independent film / video producers on the east coast. He now lives in Medford MA with his longtime sweetheart, Ellen Epstein.
Contact Info:
Ian Brownell
Bushy Theater, Inc.
PO Box 560 18
W. Medford, MA 02156
(781) 648-9091
iant@btifilms.com
