Tori Byrne Portfolio

January 20, 2025 11:38 PM

An empty stage lingers in the darkness yearning for action. The antsy crowd gossips about the show about to display. Dresses and suits are frantically dispersed across the dressing room floor. Chaos circulates behind the curtain, as the clock strikes seven. The blinding lights puncture through the darkness and signal silence. One last breath escapes behind the curtain. Alone on center stage, the beaming spotlight on Benjamin Bruce is the moment he knew he belonged. 

Benjamin Bruce arrived at Grand Valley State University with a dream to entertain the world. As a senior studying film and video production with a theater minor, the entertainment world became his reality. 

“The beauty behind the craft is allowing yourself to escape reality and encapsulate a being or place far from imagination,” said Ben. “In a hard and complex world, we use entertainment to escape, but my escape is through it (the entertainment business).” 

Growing up in a single-parent household, on the east side of Michigan, Ben used entertainment to escape his reality. From driving around in his mom’s minivan to eating dinner, a movie was always playing in the background. Ben recalls his first core memory surrounding entertainment, as his mother brought him to the premiere of “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” in 2006. At five years old, Ben was immersed in the buttery popcorn stench, the long chattering lines, and the unification that a movie theater has to offer. But, it wasn’t until he was in the seventh grade that Ben decided he wanted to be a filmmaker. 

“I remember the moment vividly,” said Ben. “One night after school, I put on “Ratatouille” and had this aha moment. I thought to myself, I want to make movies to inspire kids like me, to dream.” 

Filmmaking is his dream, but cooking is his passion. Ben’s grandmother taught him how to cook at a young age, and if he wasn’t watching a movie, he was observing his grandmother’s knife skills. His grandmother insisted on teaching him how to support himself by cooking. Treating cooking as meditation, Ben found another way to escape and cope with his emotions. 

“There is something soothing about preparing a meal for someone else or yourself,” said Ben. “Cooking became very therapeutic for me, as I could express myself through taste, while simultaneously creating a delicious result.” 

After graduating from high school, Ben was conflicted about his path in life. With an eye for entertainment and a taste for cooking, Ben found himself at a crossroads. Then it clicked to combine both crafts into one niche career. With a plan, Ben enrolled in a nationally recognized culinary program at Schoolcraft College, intending to transfer to Grand Valley after the course completion to pursue film. One year into the program, COVID-19 circulated the world and shut down the culinary arts. Devastated by the alteration, Ben was forced to pivot and give up his passion for a career. 

Enrolling at Grand Valley State University was the beginning of his dream. Learning the technical aspects of filmmaking and creating storyboards, scripts, and connections ignited his career. Physically making films from the ground up and marking his name on films for friends and family to see was rewarding. But something was missing. 

In Ben’s second year at Grand Valley, he decided to take a theater course to fulfill an extra-curricular credit for his major. Little did he know, this was the missing piece to the puzzle, acting. After the second day of the theater class, Ben ran to his advisor and added a theater minor to his collegiate career. Instead of being behind the camera and scenes, he flourished in acting. Theater brought a new sense of purpose and being able to express himself in a new manner. Learning how to act has allowed Ben to relish in a different area of filmmaking and set himself apart from others. Ben has actively been involved in three theater productions, traveled in Michigan and out of state for theater events, and embraced who he is. 

“A dream doesn’t work unless you do,” Ben concluded.