Ben Sander (Brini Maxwell) Papers

Provenance

This collection was donated by Ben Sander in 2006.

Scope and Content

This collection consists mostly of videos, scripts, shooting schedules and various records regarding the “The Brini Maxwell Show” about home decor, cooking, entertaining, housekeeping tips and crafting created by and starring Ben Sander on cable public access and later more professionally produced for the Style Network. Additionally there are promotional materials regarding personal appearances and merchandising promotions for the Brini Maxwell character.There are early personal journals and script and story ideas. There are also some photos and promotional material from a cabaret act Ben Sander under the name of Vivica Fairfax formed with two other drag performers, Philomena and Ruda Lenska. There are also some personal family photos and school records from his childhood as well as material from class projects when he was a design student at the Fashion Institute of Technology (F.I.T.).

History or Bio

Benjamin Sander was born July 23, 1969 in Massachusetts while his father Peter was a teacher at Wellesley. His mother Mary Jane was a home-maker and pursued an acting career. The family moved several times during Ben’s childhood as his father taught in various theater programs that included Ohio University in Athens and the University of Missouri in Kansas City. He also did a stint as the Dramaturge for the Cleveland Playhouse. It was while the family was in Cleveland that 10 year old Ben first performed on stage at the Cleveland Playhouse. Ben performed in high school theater productions, but by his senior year his interest turned to costume design and he began collecting vintage clothing. After high school he attended Kansas City Art Institute and later F.I.T. graduating in 1993. His family was then living in Hempstead, Long Island where his father was chair of Hofstra University’s theater department. He worked in various jobs in the fashion world and was a volunteer for the Center Dance Committee at the LGBT Community Center where he met members of the Imperial Court of New York, became a member himself and began exploring various “drag” personas.In 1996 Ben created the Brini Maxwell character and with the help of his mother Mary Jane Wells, formed a production company, V.R.U.S.P. Inc. and produced a pilot for “The Brini Maxwell Show,” which his mother also directed. It first aired on the public access Manhattan Neighborhood Network on January 1, 1998. The Brini Maxwell character was a described as a pre-feminist 1960’s homemaker. Brini delivered housekeeping, handcraft and cooking tips from the 60’s and ran for five years. Ben cast many of of the drag queens he met at the Imperial Court to be characters on his show such as Thom Hansen (aka Panzi) and Philip Stoehr (aka Philomena).In 2001 Sander appeared as Brini in a documentary called Planet Plastic, produced by west coast based Termite Art Productions (now Creative Differences Productions). This led Amy Briamonte, their east coast director of development to contact Sander to develop a pitch for the Brini show for the Bravo network and they received an order for a pilot. The pilot was produced in the summer of 2002 for a show titled “Charming, Needs Work.” Bravo passed on the show, but a second pitch for the Style network resulted in an order for a 13-episode season.The first season of The Brini Maxwell Show for the Style network was taped in the summer of 2003 with studio production taking place on the main stage at Unitel Studios on West 57th St. in New York City. Location shoots for the season were taped over a period of 6 months in New York City, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. The Brini Maxwell Show debuted on the Style network on Thursday, January 1, 2004. The second season went into production in the summer of 2004 and began airing in November 2004, but was not renewed.Sander is currently offering his services as an interior designer specializing in mid-century modern style.

Folder List

VIDEO TAPE LIST

1.  Brini Maxwell Show pilot episode 2003 produced by Termite Art Productions for Bravo’s Style Channel, guests Kim Cattrall, Thom Hansen, Josh Martin, Dave Downing, Leon Bruer

179.  The Brini Maxwell Show #104, 179.  The Brini Maxwell Show #104 #105, #106.

AUDIO TAPE LIST

1. Cabaret Act, Ben with Philomena (aka Philip Stoehr)

2. Demo of Ben singing with orchestra track

3. Ben singing “Entertaining at Home” [on CD]

4. Home Wizards 12 Nov 2005 KRLA Radio Los Angeles @ 37:43-47:31

5. A Very Brini Christmas Featuring the Dave Downing Trio [8 tracks in separate audio files]

6. Early Vocal Demo [4 tracks in separate audio files]

7. Vocal Demo Tape [DAT format not copied to audio file].