Photo by Gene Smirnov
About John
John Jarboe (she/her) is a director, producer, writer, performer, and the founding artistic director of The Bearded Ladies Cabaret. After receiving a BA and a BFA in English and Theater from the University of Michigan, Jarboe moved to Philadelphia, where in the past 14 years she has created and performed work for organizations including The Wilma Theater, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia Horticultural Society, FringeArts, and Opera Philadelphia. She and her company The Bearded Ladies gained notoriety for their annual Bastille Day show at Eastern State Penitentiary, which grew under her writing and directing from a street festival to an hour long performance attended by over 10,000 people by 2018. Jarboe has received a 2013 Independence Fellowship, was named best drag performer in Philadelphia (2018) by Philadelphia Magazine and is a 2022 Transformation Grant awardee (The Leeway Foundation ). Outside of Philadelphia she has toured original work to Miami, Seattle (Seattle Symphony) France, Poland, New Zealand (Performance Arcade), and Australia (Malthouse Theater). She has also written, performed, and directed original work for La Mama ETC, Joe’s Pub, Lincoln Center's American Songbook Series, and The Guggenheim's Works & Process series. She has written for and directed original cabarets for famed opera star Anthony Roth Costanzo and is the drag dula of Stephanie Blythe. She is also a resident artist at The Fabric Workshop in Museum and recently debuted her first installation of films and objects in The Rose Garden on view till October 2024. See her upcoming work at www.beardedladiescabaret.com and @johnjarbeaux on instagram.
John Jarboe
Artistic Director: The Bearded Ladies Cabaret
Website: Beardedladiescabaret.com
Visual Art
The Rose Garden: An inmmersive gender journey at The Fabric Workshop and Museum May 9-September 24th 2024
The Rose Garden Green Room: Mobile art gallery experience with Cultural D.C. June 2024
Film
Dear Mom: a film made in collaboration with The Fabric Workshop and Museum
Rose: You Are Who You Eat: 9 short films commissioned by Works and Process at The Guggenheim (Lead Artist/Co-Director/Writer)
Love Notes: A Year of No Regrets—55 minute feature released in ten parts. (Lead Artist/Director/Co-writer)
Beardmobile Documentaries—4 15 minute long documentary shorts (Lead artist/ Director)
Color Me Bearded—4 minute music video with the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Performer/Lead Artist/ Director)
Opera
Blythely After Hours with Stephanie Blythe (Director/Co-writer) shown at American Songbook at Lincoln Center, PBS online, Boston Lyric Opera, and developed at Opera Philadelphia
Anthony Roth Costanzo cabaret at The Guggenheim (Director/Co-writer)
Queens of the Night Series with Martha Graham Cracker, Stephanie Blythe with design by Machine Dazzle at Opera Philadelphia (Director/Co-writer)
Andy: A Popera with Opera Philadelphia (Director/co-librettist) Opera Phila. Bearded Ladies (‘15) Seattle Symphony (‘17)
Theater/Cabaret and Selected Original Work
Rose You Are Who You Eat (writer, lyricist, performer) Works and Process, FringeArts, La MaMa ETC, Woolly Mammoth, Cultural DC
Contradict This! (Director/Producer/Co-writer La Mama ETC) June ‘19
You Can Never Go Down The Drain (Mx. Rogers/ Writer)
Do You Want A Cookie
Marlene and The Machine (Director/Emcee Director/co-Writer/Marlene)
Color Me Bearded
Bitter Homes and Gardens Bearded Barnes
Bastille Day Cabaret
FEAST: a 12 hour cabaret marathon
Late Night Snacks Cabaret Series
(featuring over 70 artists including: Justin Vivian Bond and Anthony Roth Costanzo)
Producer/lead host
Lead Curator/Host/Producer FringeArts, Opera P (Sept ’19)
ART Oberon (‘19) Wilma Theater and Joe’s Pub (‘18) La Mama ETC (‘17) Curated FringeArts Fest. (’18) Joe’s Pub (‘17) Miami Light Project (‘17) Annenberg Center PA (‘13)
Director/Barbra
Producer/Fern/co-writer Phila. Horticultural Society (’15) Writer/Art historian Barnes Foundation Commission (‘15) Director/Co-Writer/Edith Piaf Eastern State Pen.(’12-‘18)
P.M.A. Commission (‘16)
Wide Awake: A Civil War Cabaret Beards Are For Shaving
No Regrets: A Piaf Affair
Back in the Army
Dixie/Director Wilma Theater/Kimmel Center (’13)
Selected Additional Devised Work and Curation
Get Pegged Cabaret
Green Fairy Cabaret Inside Julia Child
Select Awards
Curator/Host Artists featured include Justin Vivian Bond, Penny Arcade, Erin Markey, among others. (ongoing)
Bond/Director/Co-Writer Edith Piaf/Director Director/ Co-Writer
Wilma Theater (’12)
Wilma Theater (’11) Society Hill Playhouse (’10)
Green Fairy/Writer Julia Child/Writer
FringeArts monthly Kimmel Center/Philly Circus Directed by Rebecca Wright
2022 Leeway Foundation Transformation Award
2020 Digital Commission from Works and Process at The Guggenheim
2017 Pew Center for Arts and Heritage Individual Grant in Exhibitions and Interpretation
2018 Best Of Philly Drag Performer Philadelphia Magazine
2014 Best of Philly Theatrical Collaboration Bearded Ladies and Opera Philadelphia
2013 Independence Foundation Fellowship
2013 Knight Arts Challenge winner Philadelphia
Recipient of multiple grants from organizations such as TCG, Wyncote, The Pew Center, and NET among others.
Training
La Mama Umbria Directors Symposium 2017: David Diamond, Moisés Kaufman, Sam Trubridge, Motus, Lee Brock
The University of Michigan: B.F.A. Performance, B.A. English Class of 2008
SITI Company Summer Intensive 2007: Anne Bogart, Ellen Lauren, SITI Company
Voice Training: George ShirleyCuration