Brian Paisley

Sessional Instructor

B.Ed. (UBC)

Office: FIA 223

Phone: +1.250.472.4494

E-mail: kukulkan@pacificcoast.net

Web site: www.makeandbelieve.com

Areas of Research & Creative Activity

Drama, screenwriting.

Biography

Born in Belfast, Brian has been writing, directing and producing theatre and film entertainment for over 30 years. He is the author of eight stage plays for young people, ten feature-length screenplays and has also written extensively for radio, television, video and new media.

Brian’s first screenplay, Billy's Run, was made into an independent feature (1132 Pleasant Street) by Edmonton's Blue Sky Productions. Lies Like Truth (Gumboot Productions) premiered at the 2005 Victoria Independent Film & Video Festival and is slated for a national broadcast on the CHUM TV network.

For various producers, Brian is currently developing three feature-length film scripts (Crispin, Carapace and The Rhayne Project) and an hour-long TV documentary (Defying Gravity: The Story of Sven Johansson).

Brian is perhaps best known as the founder of the world famous Edmonton Fringe Theatre Event. Since 1982, this festival of new and alternative theatre has grown from an audience of 7500 to an incredible 500,000+ in 2005. The artistic vision and administrative system Brian developed for the Fringe has been adapted in nearly every major city across Canada and several in the USA.