Imagine The Possibilities
Bruce Bray started performing at age 7 when he took weekly classes with a local performance group. Three years later, at only 10 years old, he performed his first show. He continued to perform shows after school and on weekends. When not performing he worked at a magic shop where he was able to develop a unique performing style.
At age 15, Bruce won a competition at the local chapter of the Society of American Magicians. During his high school years, he attended performing and speaking conferences with famous speakers and motivators such as Anthony Robbins, Zia Ziglar, and Brian Tracy. He also read as many books as he could to learn from some of the best performers and educators in the country. He continued to create, hone, and perform his programs during his high school years at different functions and after school events.
In 1986, after graduation he managed the magic shop, where he spent thousands of hours sharpening his interpersonal skills by demonstrating magic for the public. When his performance schedule became too busy to work at the shop, he went full-time into performing, speaking, and lecturing.
In 1988, after doing a television appearance, he got a call from the owner of “The Waters Edge Restaurant” who had seen the show. He wanted Bruce to start performing at the restaurant. So for four years after his day time shows, he performed at the restaurant every Friday and Saturday. This helped to establish good customer relations by providing an atmosphere of fun and good will.
In the early 1990s, he attended “School Show School,” a school for performers, focusing on developing educational shows for schools. It was there that he met others that shared his passion for performing and entertaining children.
In 1994, he also attended KIDabra which is the only convention of its kind exclusively developed to teach performance art to entertainers who specialize in performing for child and family venues. Lesson topics included: lighting, comedy, writing, developing shows, acting, music, stage sets, magic, and the psychology of performing for children.It was there that Bruce became interested in the child psychology and began seriously studying not only what appeals to children but also why, and how he could create programs that would educate and yet entertain at the same time.
In 1995, Bruce was invited to take part in the first ever “Professional Performers Workshop” in Los Angeles. There he met and learned from some of the top performers performing at the famed “Magic Castle.” He was even given the rare opportunity to see what it was like to perform there with his fellow presenters. Later that year, Bruce taught a class at Old Dominion University in Virginia on adding humor to programs for children at a conference called “Comedy College.”
In 1997, Bruce was a performer/instructor at “The Mexican Mentors Workshop” which took place in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. For five days he traveled and performed in local schools with seven other performers from the United States. He has since made his permanent residence in Mexico City, flying back to the US to perform for schools around the country.
In 1999, Bruce collaborated with Dave Arch, a national speaker and motivator, where they developed the “I Can Factory" show. This was a program developed to teach positive self-esteem to Elementary School students. Bruce continues to perform in schools with his programs which promote reading, self growth and a positive self image.
Bruce has invented tricks and routines that have been utilized by other children's show performers from around the world. His work has been featured in the number one magazine in the world for magicians called “MAGIC.” Bruce is an active contributor to several educational sources and he is widely quoted in a new book, "Seriously Silly.” This cutting edge reference book for childrens' entertainers is destined to be the number one book written for childrens' entertainers world wide.
Bruce has been a speaker and performer for teachers at the National Association for Education of Young Children (NAEYC). He will again be a part of this in 2009.
Bruce is now an integral part of the executive staff of “Kidabra” where he has both lectured and performed on numerous occasions for his peers. He has published materials for other performers and two of his lectures have been produced on CD for others to learn from.
During 2004, he CO-produced “KGB” (Kid Show Guru Braintrust). This was a conference held in New York City, designed as an interactional brain storming seminar. Attending were 12 top professional children's performers from countries around the world including Italy, Croatia, England, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Canada, and the USA. For one week they met and shared ideas on how to raise the level of performing for children. This was so successful that it has now become an annual event held in New York, Las Vegas and soon to be in Mexico City for 2009.
In April 2005, Bruce was invited to perform at the White House for the famous White House Easter Egg Roll. This was the first time in over the 100 year history that they dedicated a stage as the "magic stage." The performance was so well received that he was invited back in 2006, 2007, and 2008.
Bruce is still performing 50-70 shows monthly with his "Leaping into Literature Program" for Elementary Schools as he continues to develop new programs with his team of speakers, performers, teachers and librarians.
Bruce has been featured in numerous newspapers for his countless appearances and received awards for his contribution to children's groups in the state of New Jersey. He continues to study and perform, continually improving his show and always striving for excellence and perfection. All of this started with a young boy who had imagination and a desire to entertain. He began with just a few simple magic tricks, some good books from the library and really great teachers, imagine the possibilities in your own children, by seeing the results in Bruce Bray! Call Bruce personally today at 908-910-1650.
