As an arts integration school, Bransford Elementary aims to inspire young minds in their pursuits of music, writing and art creation, and that is exactly what they did with former student Bryce Holmes's.
Holmes was introduced to acting, singing, dancing and writing productions during his time at Bransford, and he immediately knew he wanted to pursue his fine arts dreams. After being in school productions like “The Little Mermaid Jr,” “Willy Wonka,” “The Prince and the Pauper,” “Once Upon a Wolf” and “Charlotte's Web,” and by working with his theater teacher to book an agent, Holmes' career started to take off.
Hear more from Bryce about his journey on the big stage and in GCISD:
You started school at Bransford Elementary. How did this impact your decision to go into the arts full time?
Everything started at Bransford. After doing all these plays and musicals at my school, it really got me thinking I would enjoy acting more. I started to think about it more and more, and when I would create a new warm-up idea, I would tell my teacher, and she would always incorporate it into our next lesson. They really didn't put my dreams aside. They incorporated it into our learning.
It sounds like you loved BES. How did you and your family decide to move to iUniversity Prep?
After I started to get all the auditions and go to jobs, I needed a school that was more flexible with my learning. iUniversity Prep offered flexible learning opportunities and it was still part of the GCISD system.
What would you say to someone who isn’t familiar with what iUniversity Prep is and what it offers?The first thing I would say is in four words: nice, funny, reachable and respectful. I love the way that my teachers are always so easy to reach. One thing about them is whenever you need help, you don't have to raise your hand. They just help you in the chat while you're doing all of your assignments.
Tell us what you are working on right now.
After finishing my national television series debut as Jacob in the Paramount+ “Western Lawmen: Bass Reeves,” I joined “MJ the Musical” on its first national tour in January 2024. The audition process started in June 2023, and since then, I prepped for the audition, got the role of Little Marlin on tour and started touring. It's been crazy with tour life and online school, but my teachers are very helpful.
What are your future career goals?
For theater and musicals, my dream role is to be in “Back to the Future: The Musical” as Marty McFly or in the ensemble, and I want to be in “Hamilton.” My educational goal is to be an orthodontist while still pursuing performing arts. I would love to be an actor, singer and dancer while also being an orthodontist.
Colleyville resident Bryce Holmes is off to a brilliant and busy start as a young entertainer. Among Bryce's honors are being named an All-Star at the Junior Theater Foundation international competition, Best Promising Vocalist, Best Supporting Actor and receiving the Presidential Award with The Black Academy of Arts and Letters, as well as earning the Theater Award at Bransford Elementary from second through fifth grade. His stage work includes roles with Oh Look Performing Arts Center, Starling Performing Arts Center, the Junior Theater Foundation and The Black Academy of Arts and Letters in Dallas, Texas.
Bryce will make his Texas touring debut on “MJ: The Musical” in San Antonio September 24. You can follow Bryce's journey at mjthemusical.com and on Instagram @bryceaholmes.
