Brandon ("Banjo") Tiehen
| Brandon ("Banjo") Tiehen | |
|---|---|
| Born | Brandon G. Tiehen December 4, 1999 Redmond, Washington |
| 🏡 Residence | The Greater Seattle Area of Washington State |
| 🏳️ Nationality | Asian, Hawaiian, and Caucasian |
| Other names | Banjo |
| 🏫 Education | Edmonds Woodway High School |
| 💼 Occupation | Actor, Filmmaker, & Musician |
| 📆 Years active | 2009 - Present |
| Known for | The Man Who Came To Dinner (Play), Inherit The Wind (Play), The Poker Table (Play), In The Gutter (One-Act Play), Curtain Call (Short Film), Intermental (Short Film), The Green Room (Short Film) |
| Notable work | Intermental (Short Film), The Green Room (Short Film), The Poker Table (One-Act Play), In The Gutter (One-Act Play), Curtain Call (Short Film) |
| 🏡 Home town | Edmonds, Washington |
| 🌐 Website | brandontiehen.com imdb.me/brandontiehen |
| Twitter= | |
Introduction[edit]
Brandon ("Banjo") Tiehen is an American actor, filmmaker, and musician who got his start in filmmaking with Neo King when he was just twelve years old. "I wrote the worst script in the history of...ever." As a filmmaker, he quickly began getting better at writing scripts, and the production process; he learned about cinematography, editing, directing, equipment, and much more from trial and error, as well as YouTube channels such as Indy Mogul and Film Riot.
When Tiehen was a freshman in high school, he took an acting class, taught by Bruce Mindt, which later lead him to auditioning into Mindt's play production group at EWHS (ewhsplaypro.com, @ewhsplaypro). From there, Brandon's filmmaking took off. Throughout his high school career, he helped with and made videos including "Best of EW: Play Production", "Class of 2018 Sophomore Skit", teasers for the upcoming plays, and even videos for school clubs.
Over the summer of 2017, Tiehen got together with friends Ivy Votolato, Neo King, Muhamad Faal, and Josh Brown to film a short film called "Curtain Call", which is to be/was released December 4th, 2017. "The short was experimental; I'd never done a noir-style film before, so this was a fun challenge."
Tiehen has strong-suits in acting, video editing, directing, writing, cinematography, and all the basic roles of video production as a whole. He even set up a website where people can view his work and portfolio at brandontiehen.com.
Young Life[edit]
As a child, Brandon Tiehen always loved to watch movies, and listen to music. He would watch a movie, and then go "play it". One of his favorites was The Iron Giant. After watching that movie, Brandon would put on his little toy helmet, grab his hockey stick, which his mother had taped a flashlight to the end of, and put on a coat. The goal behind that was to become Hogarth Hughes, the main character in the movie. This was something Brandon did with various other films such as Brother Bear, Spiderman (starring Tobey Maguire), and more.
At the age of four, Brandon began dancing. As he got older, his main class was tap. Since that age, he has been performing on stage. When he was in the fourth grade, he auditioned into a marimba ensemble at his elementary school and continued in it through the sixth grade. That was really where he began learning to play percussion and piano.
Early Influences[edit]
Brandon has always loved watching "older" movies and shows, ranging as far back as Street Scene (movie, 1931) and I Love Lucy, and as classic as Married With Children, Knightrider, The Breakfast Club, A Few Good Men, and more including Ferris Bueller's Day Off. John Hughes movies were really the biggest film/video influence on Brandon. He would watch the angles, movements, and transitions carefully to learn about rules such as the 180° rule, and more. He also would watch a channel on YouTube widely known as Indy Mogul, a DIY low‐budget filmmaking channel.
In theatre an stage performances, Brandon's ealiest influences were musicals such as The Phantom of the Opera, which his mother had introduced to him at a very young age. For music, Brandon always loved listening to music artists such as The Eagles, Billy Joel, Neil Diamond, and a plethora of other artists ranging from the 1920's up through the late 80's.
Play Production[edit]
Play Production has been one of—if not the—most impactful parts of Brandon's life, to this day. There is where he met some of his best friends, grew closer with his two closest friends, who are like brothers to him, and even met his director and mentor. "This class is more than just a class...it's a family." is how Brandon describes the group. "When I'm having a bad day, I can always go to the theatre, or to Play Pro and know that I'm home and free."
Getting Started[edit]
In the sixth grade, at the age of twelve, Brandon met his long‐time best friend (Neo), who also had interest in acting and filmmaking. Together they became the inseperable duo they are today. In 8th grade, they met Muhamad. Brandon continued with them into Drama I and II in his freshman year of high school, where he met his director, and soon‐to‐be mentor, Bruce Mindt. Towards the end of the year, Mindt asked Brandon, Neo, and Muhamad if they were auditioning for Play Production. That was the deciding moment in Brandon's head. The deciding moment that he will audition.
In April, he auditioned and made it to the callbacks using a monologue from a one-act called Thirst by Eugene O'Neill. He then found out, the next day, that he had made it into Play Production. That was super exciting to Brandon. He then did many shows with that group including Street Scene, The Crucible, The Man Who Came To Dinner, You Can't Take It With You, and even wrote, directed, and acted in his own original one‐act, In The Gutter. That was an amazing experience. In fact, Muhamad was cast as the lead, and his friend, Adrian Mains, saved the show, memorizing an entire part the same week of the show during dress rehearsals. He now continues to write plays and short films on his own and with other filmmakers and actors he knows and meets.
The Impact[edit]
"I really owe it to Mindt for teaching me everything I know about theater and acting." In Play Production, so many lives have been changed by the sense of community and family. It has helped some people pull out of some really rough situations. Even though Brandon has not had to go through some of the stuff others have, he really appreciates all that the group and Mindt have done for him. He has had some very serious family issues happen, and during those times, that group and being able to be on stage and let out those emotions through a character has helped him tremendously in being happy.
"...Yes, we have a director, and that's helpful for notes, but in the end, it's between me and the stage, nobody to tell me what I can or can't do, who or what I can or can't be...and that's where the sense of freedom comes from, where as I don't really have that anywhere else..."
What He's Up To Now[edit]
Brandon Tiehen is now working and building his career as an actor, filmmaker, and musician. He is founder of the production companies Thespian Studios and Hole 17 Films, and does as much theater as he can.
Acting[edit]
As an actor, Brandon Tiehen had been in Street Scene, The Mouse That Roared, In The Gutter, The Man Who Came To Dinner, The Crucible, You Can't Take it With You, Museum, The Dining Room, The Whole Darn Shooting Match, The Poker Table, and Inherit The Wind by the time he was out of high school. He continues to do theater work when he can. Theater is one of Brandon's biggest loves and passions to this day.
Filmmaking[edit]
Tiehen continues to make films of all kinds and genres, and still loves it endlessly. "I will make movies until Hell freezes over...and I may not even stop then!" he says.
Music[edit]
Having been self-taught on nearly every instrument he can play (including Guitar, Piano, Ukulele, Piano, and more). He even taught himself within the course of two weeks to play the trumpet, even learning an entire song for the show Inherit The Wind.
Brandon continues to write his own pieces and learn new instruments as he pleases.
Resources[edit]
Official Links[edit]
- Official Site (brandontiehen.com)
- IMDb (imdb.me/brandontiehen)
- Instagram (@brandontiehen)
- Facebook (@byahoo14)
Sources[edit]
This article "Brandon Tiehen" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Brandon Tiehen. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
