Brian “Bu-Chan” Walters is the co-creator and Assistant Director of GANBA!!, Host of BATSU! NYC, and a Partner of BATSU! Moon. Since joining BATSU! in 2012, he has helped shape the show’s unique blend of Japanese culture, improvisation, and audience interaction, performing for thousands of audiences in New York, Chicago, London and Edinburgh.
Having spent much of his childhood growing up in Japan, Brian developed a lifelong connection to Japanese language and culture, even performing as a ninja for a season on NHK’s Tensai Terebi Kun, making GANBA!! a full-circle creative project decades in the making. For GANBA!!, Brian worked closely with co-creators Jay Painter and Joe Tex to develop the show’s Japanese voice, cultural authenticity and interactive storytelling. He is thrilled to bring the spirit of ganbaru, encouraging one another, never giving up and always giving your best, to families at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Jay Painter is the co-creator and director of GANBA!! and the founder and Artistic Director of Face Off Unlimited, creators of the internationally acclaimed comedy BATSU!
A director, performer, and creator, Jay’s work blends physical theatre, clown, improvisation, music, and audience participation into highly interactive live experiences. His artistic roots trace back to classical theatre, Shakespeare, Greek drama, corporeal mime, and ensemble-based performance traditions that continue to influence his work today.
Over the past two decades he has directed and developed original productions, immersive experiences, and classical adaptations for audiences around the globe. He spent more than a decade directing large-scale youth Shakespeare and classical theatre productions in New York City while simultaneously developing original work through Face Off Unlimited. His work has been seen in New York, Chicago, London, Edinburgh, and Tokyo.
GANBA!! brings together many of the influences that have shaped his career: physical storytelling, comedy, ritual, audience participation, and the belief that people are stronger when they work together.
Joe Tex is the Co-Creator of GANBA!! and a Partner and Director of Operations with Face Off Unlimited, the immersive entertainment company behind BATSU!. Since joining the company in 2009, he has helped create, produce, and grow critically acclaimed interactive live experiences that have entertained audiences across the United States and around the world. As a producer, performer, and operations leader, he has played a key role in creating, building, and growing all of Face Off Unlimited’s original productions from local stages into internationally recognized live entertainment experiences.For GANBA!!, Joe took on the task of shaping the show’s script from the ideas, lessons, and moments that emerged throughout the rehearsal and creative process. Working closely with co-creators Jay Painter and Brian Walters, he helped transform material developed in the rehearsal room into the final script while also overseeing many of the production and logistical elements required to bring the show to the stage. After helping build the world of BATSU! for more than 15 years, he is thrilled to expand that universe and share its spirit with new audiences. He is incredibly proud of what the company has created together and excited to bring GANBA!! to Fringe.Joe would like to thank his wife, Linda, and son, Henry, for their love, patience, and support as he embarked on another adventure and helped bring GANBA!! to the world stage.