Michael Bourada

Michael Bourada is a professional, headlining illusionist born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
He travels all across Canada with his very own theatrical production. The show contains over 5000 lbs in equipment, has a full showcast/crew and transforms into a full 90 minute production. The show features exotic birds and grand illusions where he makes his assistants appear, disappear, levitate in the air and more; it's all choreographed to contemporary hit music, intelligent lighting and outstanding special effects.
His inspiration comes from fellow magicians such as Lance Burton, David Copperfield and Doug Henning.
Early life
Michael was born to Marc (outdoor contractor) and Jackie (hospital ward clerk). His parents split at the age of 2 and now has 5 siblings between his two families, in which he is the second oldest. He attended school in Kanata, a suburb of Ottawa, until the age of 14 while living with his mother primarily; he then switched schools and Bourada graduated from Notre Dame High School in 2001. He was persuaded by his parents to get further education and attended Algonquin College in 2002 for a certificate in Multimedia and Design. He never pursued his college program as a career, instead focused all of his attention and efforts towards his magic.
Michael got started in magic at the age of 8 when he received a Houdini magic kit for his birthday; he performed his first show at the age of 11 for a local birthday party. Once word got around the neighbourhood, he quickly found himself with a part-time job, charging $25 per show. He continued performing as much as possible, even went as far to host shows in his parents house, inviting the local neighbourhood and family members once a month to showcase his new tricks. He ventured into fairs, company events, daycares and schools. By age 15 he decided he wanted to branch out and take his show to the next level. He began to develop a show for theatres and convinced a local theatre group in the town of Cobalt, Ontario to host his show. The show was 60 minutes in length and consisted of his sister as his assistant and his friend who operated the lighting and sound. The show was a mild success as it only sold 85 tickets and needed more work. Even with the poor result, Michael decided that the theatre show was what he wanted to pursue and over the next 5 years he invested every dollar he made into his show along with countless hours of rehearsal and development. By age 20 his show was ready for the big stage; it was a 90-minute production that featured sophisticated lighting and bigger illusions. He rented space and filmed a demo video which was sent to theatres and production companies all over the province. At age 21 he got his first break when he was asked by a local charity to tour Ontario with them raising money and awareness for their cause. Since then he has completed successful tours in 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009.
The production has been featured in over 50 cities across Canada and he performs 150+ shows a year. In 2010 Michael will also be featured aboard luxury Cruiseships.

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