“Also, somehow they managed to find humor in a scene about terminal cancer…not the easiest thing to do.” –AZCentral.com

BillyHawk
are Brian O’Connell (the Billy of the name, but you’ll have to ask him)
and Jeff Hawkins, two acolytes of Miles Stroth, Del Close’s “Warchief.”
Their show is heavily influenced by the Deconstruction, first performed
by IO’s the Family--mixing elements of drama and comedy, fast and slow
play, the real and the surreal.

They’ve performed as a duo for festivals in Los Angeles, Phoenix,
Toronto, Denver, Philadelphia, Austin and North Carolina. Both like beer
and Rumplemintz. They hope you enjoy the show.

Brian James
O'Connell is a working actor, writer, director, filmmaker and improviser
in Los Angeles. He is also the Bar Manager for the world renowned
iOWest Theater in Hollywood, California.

Brian is a graduate of the prestigious North Carolina School of the
Arts (David Gordon Green, Danny McBride, Jody Hill, Ben Best, Peter
Hedges, Mary-Louise Parker, Tom Hulce, Terrence Mann, Chris Parnell,
Jada Pinkett-Smith and Jeff Nichols) and moved to Los Angeles in 2000 to
follow his dreams of a career in filmmaking.

His first feature film as writer/director, KILLER VIEW, will be
released theatrically in the Fall of 2011 by Fabrication
Films/Grindstone Entertainment. KILLER VIEW is the first feature film in
history to be shot exclusively on a disposable video camera.

Currently, Brian is in post production as the Director of the 35mm
feature length comedy, ANGRY WHITE MAN (Matt Berry, Mary Birdsong, Steve
Agee) as well as the Director of the animated comedy series ZOMBIE
GRANDMA starring Guillermo Diaz (read Guillermo talk about ZOMBIE
GRANDMA here.)

Brian (or BOC as his friends call him) is now deep in development
on his next feature directing gig, MIDDLE SEAT, which is expected to
begin shooting in early 2011.

A regular performer and coach at
the iOWest Theater in Los Angeles, Brian derives most of his approach
to improv from The Deconstruction, the form created by iO's legendary
team, The Family (Miles Stroth, Neil Flynn, Ian Roberts, Matt Besser,
Adam McKay, Ali Faranahkian, and Pete Hulne). Well-respected as one of
Los Angeles's premier improvisers, Brian is famous for his encyclopedic
knowledge of minutiae and his insane recall ability and memory (As a
coach, he has never written down a single note. Ever.)

Brian can be seen performing at iOWest currently with Billyhawk,
Dr. God, EXTRA STRENGTH, garguilO’connell, and Tigerpants. (Check out
the videos page on his site to see performances by any of these groups).