01 bio titeldance-theater-cabaret-gender performance
puppet performance

transformation artist
actor
go drag! festival - founder + co-artistic director





Bridge Markland was born in (West-) Berlin in 1961


education / research


- 1973 - 1979 active in the school theatre company - 1979 - Abitur (High School Diploma) at Martin-Buber Oberschule in Berlin
- 1981 - 1984 Gymnastics-teacher-education - dance-studies with former Mary Wigman-student Gisela Colpe
- 1985 - 1991 intensive studies of contact-improvisation, new-dance and many other dance forms
- 1991 - 1994 studied Body-Mind-Centering with Bonnie Bainbridge-Cohen in Massachusetts/USA- 1991 – 1996 (on and off) time spend in New York City researching in dance-, club- and transgender scenes and performing in many different venues. The times spend in New York were a great inspiration for her artistic work.

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grants


- 2023 KiA Project Funding by Berlin district Pankow for solo performance "woyzeck in the box"
- 2023 Residency by Fonds Darstellende Künste / NEUSTART KULTUR / #TakeHeart - at PATHOS Theater Munich "Research: Liesl Karlstadt"
- 2022 funding by Hauptstadtkulturfonds / (Capital of Germany - art funding)  for "go drag! Festival"
- 2021 research grant by GVL / NEUSTART KULTUR / Stipend for research on "Project: Praxis Dr. Land"
- 2021 research grant by Berlin Government Art Senate - for artists who offer a programme for young audiences + puppetry
- 2021 research grant by Akademie der Künste / NEUSTART KULTUR / INITIAL Stipend for research "Valeska Gert"
- 2021 research grant by Fonds Darstellende Künste / NEUSTART KULTUR / #TakeCare for research project "Age + Beauty + Power"
- 2021 funding by Fonds Darstellende Künste / NEUSTART KULTUR / #TakeAction for solo performance "nathan in the box"
- 2020 research grant by Berlin Government Art Senate - for artists who offer a programme for young audiences
- 2019 project funding by Berlin Government Art Senate for solo performance "pension schöller in the box"
- 2017 project funding by Berlin district Pankow for solo performance "rats in the box"
- 2017 project funding by Berlin district Neukölln for audio play "rats in the shadows of pop music"
- 2016 project funding by Rudolf Augstein Stiftung for Hamburg performance of "leonce + lena in the box"
- 2014 project funding by Berlin Government Art Senate and Rudolf Augstein Stiftung for solo performance "leonce + lena in the box"
- 2012 project funding by Rudolf Augstein Stiftung for solo performance "räuber in the box"
- 2008 + 2009 social artproject fundings in Berlin Neukölln for "höre ich tanz! / do I hear dance!"
- 2002 funding by Hauptstadtkulturfonds / (Capital of Germany - art funding)  for "go drag! Festival"
- 1991, 92, 94 grants from the Berlin Government Art Senate and the Academy of Arts in Berlin for her studies in the USA
- 1989, 90, 92 grants from the Berlin Government Arte Senate for performances of her company YoYo-TA


company


1984-1991 Dance-Theater-Performance Company YoYo-TA performances include:
Berlin, Munich, Dresden, Netherlands, New York...


full evening solo shows


(excerpts)

bridgeland zwei
- 1996 - German/English, 55 min
one-woman trans-gender / trans-species performance

in the box - 1998/99 - German/English, 90 min, one intermission
one-woman-zapping-biographies-performance

queens + kings  -  2019, German or English, 90 min
short drag performances
from 1992 - 2004 in one full evening show with guests


The Project - classic in the box:
Classical German Theater pieces as lip-synced solo shows with puppets and pop music.
in repertoire at the moment: faust, räuber, nathan + woyzeck in the box

woyzeck in the box - German, 2023, 72 min
Georg Büchners fragment Woyzeck for the pop music generation

nathan in the box - German, 2021, 73 min
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing's Nathan the Wise for the pop music generation

pension schöller in the box - 2019, German, 2h
The famous German screw ball comedy

rats in the box - 2017 - German, 108 min
Gerhart Hauptmann's The Rats for the pop music generation

leonce + lena in the box - 2014 - German, 79 min
Georg Büchner's Leonce and Lena for the pop music generation

robbers in the box - 2013 - English, 94 min
Friedrich Schiller's The Robbers for the pop music generation

räuber in the box
- 2012 - German, 89 min
Friedrich Schiller's The Robbers for the pop music generation
Bridge Markland plays 9 roles.

krug in the box - 2008 - German, 88 min
Heinrich von Kleist: The broken Jug for the generations Pop, Rock and popular song
Bridge Markland plays 5 roles.

faust in the box / english version - 2008 - English, 90 min
J.W. Goethe's Faust 1 for the pop music generation

faust in the box - 2006 + 2016 - German, 90 min
Goethes Faust 1 for the pop music generation
A collage of the play with popular music of several decades,
Bridge Markland plays Mephistopheles, Gretchen, Faust.

schiller in the box - 2005 - German, 60 min
Schiller for the pop music generation
Solo performance about the famous German poet
with Bridge Markland as Friedrich Schiller


short performances


(excerpts of the repertoire)

M.J. - 1988 - no language, approx. 10 min. or longer...
 - grotesque dance clown

Tabledance - 1992 - German or Spanish,  5 min.
- Gitti in her turquoise knitted dress, has an interesting job!  a parody on German phonesex,
in “erotic” German or Spanish language

The most beautiful woman in the world - 1995 - almost no language,  9 min.
- the sensational transformation from redhaired sexbomb to androgynous creature to macho-man

BriPi - 1995 - German/English or  English/Spanish, 6 min.
- parody on peepshows, "typical" female body criticisms and the need to have physical contact

Sweet T. - 1998 - English with German accent...,  5 min.
- the funny transformation of fat old Karl from Berlin (singing Sweet Transvestite from The Rocky Horror Show with a German accent), into a young and slim american drag queen

The Russian Striptease - 2004 - no language,  7 min.
- gender-gogo-dance in a russian uniform

Sweet Dreams - 2005  6 - 15 min.
- comic erotic lip-sync version of Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics


engagements as performer


(excerpts)

- 2019 "A 24 Decade History of Popular Music" by Taylor Mac/NYC, Role: Dandy Minion, 4x at Haus der Berliner Festspiele


engagements in cabaret shows


- 2018 Do You Want a Cookie? with Bearded Ladies Cabaret, Philadelphia/USA, created by - Director: John Jarboe, Dramaturg: Sally Ollove
- 2016 - 2023 Le Pustra's Kabarett der Namenlosen, Ballhaus Berlin, Director: Le Pustra
- Stage Diven, 2008 - Teatro Pradillo/Madrid, concept: Bartuschka/Berlin
- Medium Rare Show, 2007 – Bush Hall - London/UK, concept: Mat Whitley
- La Clique, 2006 – The Famous Spiegeltent – Edinburgh Fringe Festival/UK, Director: Markus Pabst
- Viva La Diva, 2002 – Krystall Palast Varieté – Leipzig/Germany, Director: Susanne Linzer
- Variété Kosmos Show, 2000 – Variété Kosmos - St. Gallen/Switzerland, Director: Rico Bandle
- Chaos Royal, 1998 – Tollwood Festival – Munich/Germany, Director: Markus Pabst
- Viva La Diva, 1998 – Varieté Chamäleon – Berlin/Germany, Director: Detlef Winterberg
- Ferro City, 1997 – Varieté Chamäleon – Berlin/Germany, Director: Detlef Winterberg


engagements as theater actress


(excerpts)

- 2011 "Elisabeth 1" in "Maria & Elisabeth" by aufBruch Jail Theatre Company
- 2003 - 2019, „Angstmän“ (German + English) in „Angstmän“ (Hartmut El Kurdi), Platypus Theater for children and young people, Berlin, directed by Anja Scollin
- 2009 - 2013, "Clown Jo", "March Hare", "Cheshire Cat", "Tweedle Dee", "Gryphon" and other roles in „Alice“ (German + English) (after “Alice in Wonderland” + “Through the Looking Glass” by Lewis Carrol), Platypus Theater for children and young people, Berlin, directed by Kenn Phillips
- 1997/98, „Frank N’ Furter“ (German + English) in „Rocky Horror Show“ (Richard O’ Brien), Brandenburger Theater, directed by Christopher Blenkinsop/Anton Rey
- 1996, „Sal Bagaletto“ = Mafia Gangster (English)  in „Incognito“ (Richard Kuntzevich), Berlin Play Actors , directed by Rik Maverik


engagements as dancer


(excerpts)

- 2019 Magic of Sound, ImprovisationalConzert, Dance + Performance with Ingo Reulecke, Concept - Music - Singing + Sound by Saskia Baumgart + Miroslav Großer
- 2010/2011 Dances For Non/Fictional Bodies, Jess Curtis/Gravity - Berlin/San Francisco, performances: Berlin, Potsdam, Liverpool, San Francisco, Miami, San Diego
- 2008 - 2010 her own dance + live music project: "höre ich tanz!"
- 2007 + 2009 IL Festino, directed by: Martin Backhaus
- 1999-2003 GoGo dancer in various Berliner Clubs e.G. SO36
- 1995 Emma 13, Kunsthaus Tacheles, Berlin, directed by: Heike Gäßler
- 1988 Natura Non Facit Saltus, Production: tanzfabrik, performances in the garden of Haus am Waldsee/Gallery, Berlin, directed by: Antja Kennedy
- 1987-90 who did what to whom..., tanzfabrik, Berlin; concept, choreography, direction: Dieter Heitkamp


films


 (excerpts)

- "Performer" in STAUB, 30 min film directed by: Cornelius Kreuzwirth, 2023
- 2019 Protagonist in Ausgeblutet (bled out), short film, directed by: Pauline Curnier Jardin, who won the Preis der Nationalgalerie Berlin in 2019
- "Party Guest" in Clash of Futures, Documentary Fiction about the times between 1918-1939 in Europe, Directors: Jan Peter, Frédéric Goupil, 2018
- Bridge Markland is one of the protagonists in the artistic documentary film Utopie der Unterschiede (Utopia of differences), directed by: Annika Sehn, Viktor Schimpf, 2015
- "Martina” – short film by Jürgen Brüning as part of the film project fucking different by Kristian Petersen, 2005
- "Hades Woman" in Honey Baby by Mika Kaurismäki. 2002/03
- "Vampire" in Blade II, Guillermo del Toro, 2002
- "Zombie" in Resident Evil 1, Paul W.S. Anderson, 2002
- Bridge Markland is one of the protagonists in the documentary film Venus Boyz, a film journey through a universe of female masculinity, Gabriel Baur (CH,USA,D 2001)


festivals


Concept and artistic directory of
- bild wort bühne (picture word stage)
women perform their literary products
2001 at Kunsthaus Tacheles, Berlin

Concept and artistic directory / with Diane Torr
go drag! Festival, women celebrate cross dressing
2002 at Kunsthaus Tacheles, Berlin  go drag! - Archiv
- 2022 - go drag! festival Berlin - celebrating drag art by women, trans, non-binary artists www.godrag.de
- 2024 - go drag! munich festival - celebrating drag art by women, trans, non-binary artists www.godrag-munich.de


lecture / performance


king-ing the drag drag-ing the king

Fun and unacademic talk about life and work with performance excerpts and discussion.
Has been held at Universities in: Potsdam, Bochum, Braunschweig, Leipzig, Berlin, Hamburg, Münster, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Schwules (Gay) Museum* Berlin,
Theatre departements, Gender Studies departements, Womens Studies departements ...


modelling, collaboration with artists and photographers


Since 1980 Bridge Markland has modeled for various photographers and photo artists. Since 1984 she has worked as model for artists and art classes.
A large collection of photographs has evolved showing Bridge in her very many roles.


photo book:


BRIDGE MARKLAND – PORTRAITS, 18 photographers took pictures of Bridge between

1984-2000 (with biographical texts in German, English and French) © 2000, Konkursbuchverlag
www.konkursbuch.com