SOUTH PORTLAND, MAINE, April 1, 2011 -
PortConMaine, Maine's largest convention for geek culture, is pleased to announce its second round of guests. Appearing as guests of honor at the convention for the first time will be bizarre magician and Internet personality
Brian Brushwood, voice actor and ADR director
Christopher Ayres, voice actor
J. Michael Tatum, and
Star Wars costumers,
The Mandalorian Mercs.
After 10 years and over one thousand college performances,
Brian Brushwood is bringing his twisted one-man variety show to PortConMaine 2011. But be warned: this is no ordinary magic show. With its fake blood, ghosts, mind reading and more, Teller (of magicians Penn and Teller) says: "Brian Brushwood just kills me. He's funny, dangerous, and brilliantly original..."
Brian has appeared on over two dozen national TV shows, including multiple appearances on
The Tonight Show. He has hosted over 150 episodes of
Scam School, which has been featured in iTunes as a Top Video Podcast of 2008 and 2009. In 2009, Brian joined Leo Laporte's
TWiT network, co-hosting
NSFW along with Justin Robert Young. Each episode of
NSFW focuses on late-night internet culture, bizarre games, and interviews with A-list Internet celebrities.
When you come to his show at PortConMaine, make sure you bring your cell phone, as Brian will be performing "EVP", an absolutely revolutionary interactive experience where Brian makes a ghost appear on the cell phone of every single person in the audience. It's like nothing else, and it will happen on
your cell phone. Brian promises, "You will scream!"
You can learn more about Brian on his website at
shwood.com and follow his adventures performing around the country at
twitter.com/shwood.
Christopher Ayres has been working professionally in theatre, television and film since the age of 6. His work has been seen regionally, nationally, and on Broadway. He currently works as a voice actor for ADV Films and FUNimation Entertainment. Chris is also an ADR director for ADV Films and Amusement Park Media. As an ADR director, his credits include the hit anime musical comedy
The Nerima Daikon Brothers,
Xenosaga: The Animation,
Magikano,
Mermaid Melody Pitchi Pitchi Pitch, and co-director with Matt Greenfield on
The Wallflower.
Some of the roles as a voice actor Chris is best known for are Kei Kourono in
Gantz, Suitengu in
Speed Grapher, Von Kampher in
Trinity Blood, Hayashimizu in
Full Metal Panic? Fummofu, Nakamaru in
Maburaho, Yaminami in
Peacemaker, DJ Plugman in
Air Gear, Johnny in
One Piece, Sid in
Devil May Cry, Sawadust in
A Tree of Palme, Oshodani in
Pappuwa, and Woogy in
Michel. His voice can also be heard in
Elfin Lied,
Claymore,
Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood,
Godanner,
Ouran High School Host Club,
Diamond Daydreams, and
Desert Punk to name a few. Chris can also be heard as Wagram in the Square Enix game
The Last Remnant.
Most recently Chris has been heard as the voice of Frieza in
Dragonball Z Kai and Covenant Commander and various other roles in
Halo: Legends. Chris will also soon be heard as Arthur in
Tears to Tiara, Prince Soma in
Black Butler, and Takada Shingin in
Son Goku Basura. Chris is also one of the anime industry voice actors who sings on Voices for Peace. He is very proud to be a part of the "Voices For..." organization. Chris also works as a professional fight director and has enjoyed bringing his workshop "Mock Combat for Cosplay" to many conventions. You can learn more about Chris by visiting his website at
www.christopherayres-va.com.
J. Michael Tatum was discovered by FUNimation warhorse and visionary ADR director Christopher Bevins who cast him as Rikichi in 2005's
Samurai 7, Tatum's inexplicable luck has held long enough to see his flag hoisted on a slew of dream roles, most notably Kyoya Otori in the hit English language dub of
Ouran High School Host Club and suave, demonic Sebastian Michaelis in
Black Butler.
Other characters the he has played include: Doumeki in
XXXHolic, Jiro Mochizuki in
Black Blood Brothers, Isaac Dian in
Baccano!, both God Eneru and Dalton in the new dub of
One Piece, Komui Lee in
D-Gray Man, Dororo in
Sgt. Frog, the titular lovable savage of
Heroic Age, Ryosuke Takahashi in
Initial D, Lawrence Kraft in
Spice and Wolf, Zarbon in
Dragon Ball Z Kai, and Scar in
Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood.
The Mandalorian Mercs are an international Star Wars costuming organization dedicated to raising money for charities and families in need. Founded in 2007, the Mercs have grown to include over 40 chapters stretching from North and South America to Europe, Indonesia, and Australia. Their costumes are built by hand and they have an active online community to help newcomers learn the skills they will need to fabricate their own armor. Maine has it's own chapter, Wampa Clan, and they will be appearing at PortConMaine.
Brian Brushwood, Christopher Ayres, and J. Michael Tatum will join previously announced guests, including anime anthropologist Charles Dunbar, science fiction authors Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, game creator Luke "McMasters" Morgan, costumers Elizabeth O'Malley and Robert "Sketch" Scholz, and the creators of
Ragged Isle, The Entertainment Experiment.
About PortConMaineFirst held in 2002 and celebrating its tenth convention this year, PortConMaine is New England's largest and longest running geek culture convention covering anime, gaming, science fiction, costuming, fantasy, comics, video gaming, boffer combat, steampunk, and more. Over 2000 fans attended the convention in 2010 and the convention is expected to be even more popular in 2011. PortConMaine 2011 will be held at the Wyndham Portland Airport Hotel in South Portland, Maine from June 23rd through 26th, 2011. More information about PortConMaine can be found at its official web site,
www.portconmaine.com.
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More information on any of these guests can be found at:
http://portconmaine.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=2&Itemid=9
