PechaKucha 45

PechaKucha, Japanese for “chit chat,” is a presentation style in which 20 slides are shown for 20 seconds each (6 minutes and 40 seconds in total) keeping presentation concise, fast-paced, and powerful. Charleston Music Hall is proud to be the official venue and producer of PechaKucha Charleston. The Music Hall, with help from our collaborators Charleston Arts Festival and artist liaison Terry Fox, hopes to focus on developing a strong, interesting, and diverse presenter line up from an array of different artistic, creative, and entrepreneurial disciplines and encourage collaboration, communication, and support in Charleston’s creative community.

The artist known as Bruise Wayne spent most of his childhood lost in his imagination and making art. After a less-than-memorable high school experience, Mr. Wayne attended Art School at SUNY Farmingdale in New York. This quiet little school was enough to land Bruise on Madison Avenue where he put down his pencils, picked up his Mac and embarked on a 28-year journey into the professional advertising world. As a writer, art director and ultimately award-winning Executive Creative Director, Bruise had reached the pinnacle of his career. He’d worked on major brands like Citibank, Mercedes, Guinness and AT&T, while also creating less exciting and sometimes regrettable work for the tobacco industry and Big Pharma. With no higher to go, Bruise instead looked inward. A pact with God and a much-needed move out of the fast-paced chaos of New York City brought Bruise and his family to Charleston in 2019. Seeking redemption for a life in advertising, he picked his pencils back up, remembered he was an artist, and decided to use his creative abilities to help do his part to heal a world very much in need of unity, compassion and love.

Camille Lowman is an actress, writer, and director and oddly enough, a high school Spanish teacher. Her love of creating and storytelling was first sparked as the wide-eyed audience to her father, as he can spin a yarn like no other. She graduated from College of Charleston with a degree in Spanish and instantly forgot about it and started training and performing improv at Theatre 99. Camille then moved to Chicago to study comedy and essentially the telling of stories. She began performing at iO Theatre and The Second City. Craving more training and let’s be honest, attention, she relocated to Brooklyn and graduated from the Atlantic Acting Conservatory, an NYU Tisch studio affiliate. While in NYC, she worked with the TBS sitcom Are We There Yet? appearing in various episodes. Even though New York City is one of her favorite places, as anyone who has spent time in Charleston knows, the scent of pluff mud is always calling. After returning to Charleston, she was invited to join the Core Ensemble of PURE Theatre. Since Season 12, she has had the honor of appearing in Atwater, Compulsion: or The House Behind, A Hidden Life, Little Gem, Fool for Love, This Random World, The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence, Constellations, Failure: A Love Story, and Marie Antoinette in which she was awarded Best Supporting Actress by her peers in the Charleston theater community.

Camille is also a company member at Theatre 99, performing improv comedy in Mary Kay Has a Posse (Charleson’s longest all female improv ensemble) and Daddy’s Girl with original HaveNot! Brandy Sullivan. She also writes and performs original material can be seen in sketches and solo character work at Charleston’s sexiest experimental variety show RIP CITY, curated and produced by Nameless Numberhead.

She had the pleasure of being a part of the rock and roll for Shovels & Rope The Movie, a touring film for celebrated Charleston musicians Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent. Speaking of film, Camille recently wrote, directed, and performed in the short Requiem for a Stripper which was shown at the Terrace Theater for Rip at the Movies and is currently in the pre-production stages of her next short Mobile Banking. She lives downtown on the only street that doesn’t flood…yet.

Eden and Noodle have led their band, the V-Tones of Charleston, for over twenty years. The V-Tones have played weddings, oyster roasts, charity events, for Piccolo Spoleto, for ukulele festivals, birthdays, Swing dances, Holiday Extravaganzas, and have opened for the Squirrel Nut Zippers and Jake Shimbukuro, among many others. Eden was raised on Sullivan’s Island, and graduated with a degree in Psychology from the College of Charleston. She is a massage therapist, a tap dance enthusiast, and a color fanatic. Noodle got his nickname at Wavy Gravy’s circus camp, Camp Winnarainbow, after graduating from Reed College with a degree in Religious Studies. After meeting in Portland, Oregon, in the wild ‘90s, the couple moved to Charleston, and have lived a life of creativity and adventure. Their goal is be the catalyst that transforms stifled, mechanical culture into one that is more colorful, kind and fun.

Kevin Earl Taylor is a native from Charleston, South Carolina and now lives and works in Los Angeles, California. In 1995, he received a B.F.A. from The Savannah College of Art and Design. His work has been exhibited and published throughout the US, as well as internationally. He lives in Los Angeles, CA.

Lynnette White is a singer, performer, director, and teacher based in Charleston, SC. She is currently the director of the a cappella spiritual singing group, The Plantation Singers, renowned for their singing of the music of the South Carolina Lowcountry. The group performs locally, regionally, and nationally. Internationally, the group has performed in Naples, Italy; South Korea, and Spain. They have received a preservation award from the city of Charleston and have released 3 CD’s, entitled, “This Little Light of Mine,” “Feelin’ Good,” and “Merry Christmas from the Plantation Singers,” several cassettes, and a video/DVD entitled Roots of Rhythm. The group performs in most of Charleston’s historic sites and homes, as well as at the major resorts, plantations, and reception sites.

Ms. White is also a private music instructor in piano, organ, voice, electric keyboard, drums, recorder, guitar, ukulele, and bass. Ms. White has over fifty years of teaching experience and maintains a full-time teaching studio in Charleston, SC. She is also the former music director of the Naval Weapons Station Chapel, located in Goose Creek, SC.

In addition to teaching, directing, and performing, Ms. White is the sole proprietor of LBW Music, LLC, which provides various musical services to the community. She is a member of The Charleston Musicians’ Association, The International Thespian Society, The Alpha Beta Gamma National Business Honor Society, and The Salem College Honor Society. Ms. White holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music with a minor in Musical Theatre from Salem College, Winston-Salem, NC and an Associate of Science Degree in Business Management from Vincennes University, Vincennes, IN.

Manny Houston is a multi-talented musician, performer, and songwriter with a passion for creating unforgettable musical experiences. Raised in South Carolina, Manny began his musical journey playing piano in his father’s church, later earning a degree in classical piano from the College Of Charleston. Throughout his career, Manny has led shows at Disney World, starred in off-Broadway shows, performed in residency in Las Vegas with Freestyle Love Supreme (performing with Lin Manuel and Wayne Brady), and also worked as a songwriter under the mentorship of Stargate, NeYo and more industry heavyweights. With a passion for excellence and a dedication to delivering top-notch performances every time, Manny is a true master of his craft and a force to be reckoned with in the world of music and entertainment.

A reluctant theater kid, Mike East found his professional calling while attending Clemson University, and has since spent countless hours behind the scenes in performance spaces across the globe. Following years serving as production manager for touring Broadway shows (American Idiot, Mamma Mia, In the Heights, and more), Mike returned to Charleston, South Carolina, in 2016 to start TTS Studios, a technical design and custom fabrication shop serving the performing arts. Under his leadership, TTS has expanded into the premium event and experiential marketing industries. When not working with his talented team and clients such as Spoleto Festival USA and High Water Festival, Mike enjoys traveling, especially on his motorcycle, and spending time with his friends, his wife, Morgan, and their dog, Milo.

After serving over 20 years in the United States Army, Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Robin Phoenix Johnson, found her new mission in healing people, organizations, and communities. Voted Charleston’s Best Comedian in 2022, she has since gone on to tour world-wide, is a TEDx speaker, and teaches Problem Framing Through Humor for the Institute for Defense & Business at Duke University.

Josh Silverman has been a DJ in Charleston since 2003, blending old school, breakbeat, rare groove, and electronic dance tracks in a continuous mix of genres and generations, and he hosts parties and karaoke nights at venues throughout the city.

Josh also founded Charleston Event Pros, his family-run business focused on weddings, corporate event production, and high energy community programming.

Josh has been the house DJ for PechaKucha since the early days.

For more information visit @sounds.like.josh on Instagram or www.charlestoneventpros.com on the web.