{"id":2524,"date":"2024-08-25T15:03:23","date_gmt":"2024-08-25T19:03:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/philadelphia-trend.com\/?p=2524"},"modified":"2025-08-07T06:14:49","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T10:14:49","slug":"john-jarboe-the-story-of-a-philadelphia-performer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/philadelphia-trend.com\/en\/eternal-2524-john-jarboe-the-story-of-a-philadelphia-performer","title":{"rendered":"John Jarboe: The Story of a Philadelphia Performer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>John Jarboe is an actress, director, producer, and writer who founded The Bearded Ladies Cabaret. The artist identifies as genderqueer, uses she\/her pronouns, and creates unique performances often presented by Opera Philadelphia. Let&#8217;s delve into Jarboe&#8217;s achievements and the origins of her unique creativity. More at <a href=\"https:\/\/philadelphia-trend.com\/en\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/philadelphia-trend.com\/en\">philadelphia-trend<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Early Years and Artistic Development<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>John Jarboe was born in 1986. She studied at the University of Michigan, graduating with a BFA in Theatre Arts. She later moved to Philadelphia, where she is currently based.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Early in her career, Jarboe could be seen in productions at:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Walnut Street Theatre;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Theatre Exile;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>People&#8217;s Light and Theatre;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Among her favorite works from that time are <em>Inside Julia Child<\/em> for Philadelphia FringeArts and her work at the cabaret <em>The Green Fairy<\/em>. She also wrote the script for the latter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She went on to collaborate with the Applied Mechanics Theatre Company and received a Performing Arts Fellowship in 2013. In 2017, with support from The Pew Center for Arts &amp; Heritage, she presented the interactive project <em>The Poison Cookie Jar<\/em>. Its goal was to document and showcase the history and contemporary state of cabaret worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2018, <strong>Philadelphia Magazine named John Jarboe the Best Drag Performer in the city<\/strong>. In 2022, the artist won a Transformation Grant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Bearded Ladies and Other Projects<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1099\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.philadelphia-trend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2025\/08\/image-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2525\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.philadelphia-trend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2025\/08\/image-1.png 1600w, https:\/\/cdn.philadelphia-trend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2025\/08\/image-1-300x206.png 300w, https:\/\/cdn.philadelphia-trend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2025\/08\/image-1-768x528.png 768w, https:\/\/cdn.philadelphia-trend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2025\/08\/image-1-1536x1055.png 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.philadelphia-trend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2025\/08\/image-1-696x478.png 696w, https:\/\/cdn.philadelphia-trend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2025\/08\/image-1-1068x734.png 1068w, https:\/\/cdn.philadelphia-trend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2025\/08\/image-1-100x70.png 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>One of Jarboe&#8217;s most well-known projects is her company, <strong>The Bearded Ladies Cabaret<\/strong>. It collaborates with many theaters, as well as Opera Philadelphia. Their most popular show is the annual Bastille Day celebration. It traditionally takes place at the Eastern State Penitentiary. Initially a small festival, Jarboe transformed it into a full-scale spectacle attended by thousands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gradually, the artist&#8217;s work expanded. In addition to Philadelphia, Jarboe has showcased her work in other U.S. cities, as well as in Poland, France, New Zealand, and Australia. Several original pieces were created for La Mama ETC, Joe\u2019s Pub, Lincoln Center&#8217;s American Songbook Series, and The Guggenheim&#8217;s Works &amp; Process series. In her cabaret creations, Jarboe has collaborated with Anthony Roth Costanzo and Stephanie Blythe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>John Jarboe also works as an artist-in-residence at The Fabric Workshop and Museum. In 2024, her solo exhibition, titled <em>The Rose Garden<\/em>, was presented there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Rose Garden<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>John Jarboe&#8217;s creative work is dynamic and unconventional, with deeply personal origins. This is precisely what her unique exhibition, <em>The Rose Garden<\/em>, explores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The fact is, people can sometimes struggle to understand an identity like genderqueer. And so, John Jarboe&#8217;s aunt came up with her own explanation for her niece&#8217;s identity. Several years ago, she told Jarboe that in their mother&#8217;s womb, she had a twin sister whom she &#8220;ate.&#8221; According to the aunt, this is the origin of who Jarboe became as an adult and how she identifies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It should be noted that Jarboe&#8217;s mother&#8217;s pregnancy did indeed begin with two embryos, but the sister&#8217;s embryo did not develop and was absorbed by the uterus. This phenomenon is not extremely rare. While not always detected, it does happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Jarboe&#8217;s case, her mother knew what had happened. She had even chosen a name for her would-be daughter: Rose. Of course, Jarboe was in no way at fault for this turn of events. Nevertheless, drawing on this personal story, the artist created songs, videos, cabarets, and an interactive exhibition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The museum exhibition, &#8220;John Jarboe: The Rose Garden,&#8221; is a captivating, interactive installation hosted by The Fabric Workshop and Museum gallery. Here, Jarboe decides to deepen and complicate the myth of the sister who was never born. According to the artist, this very trauma led her to create stories; it is truthful and holds great significance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The immersive space of <em>The Rose Garden<\/em> includes video, music, and objects dedicated to Jarboe&#8217;s absorbed sister, Rose. Visitors move through multiple rooms depicting a domestic environment, offering them a chance to reflect on Jarboe&#8217;s gender journey. The exhibition features contemporary video sculptures, a series of short films with original songs, hidden treats, and an incredible maze of memories and provocations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Within this exhibition, a space was also created for the trans and queer community to connect. It serves as a place for meetings, performances, public talks, or even to organize cabarets and clothing swaps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By the way, cabaret is Jarboe&#8217;s favorite genre. She adores live performances that create an atmosphere of intimacy and trust between performers and the audience. That&#8217;s why <em>The Rose Garden<\/em> also gives visitors a great deal of freedom and the opportunity to experience a catharsis from what they see and hear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so, John Jarboe continues to create without hiding herself, her preferences, or her talents. This requires courage and, at the same time, helps other members of the community to live their own lives without regard for potential judgment. There is room for everyone in Jarboe&#8217;s art, and her performances and shows are popular in Philadelphia and in other cities and countries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>John Jarboe is an actress, director, producer, and writer who founded The Bearded Ladies Cabaret. The artist identifies as genderqueer, uses she\/her pronouns, and creates unique performances often presented by Opera Philadelphia. Let&#8217;s delve into Jarboe&#8217;s achievements and the origins of her unique creativity. More at philadelphia-trend. Early Years and Artistic Development John Jarboe was [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":406,"featured_media":2528,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[156],"tags":[1549,1541,1543,1537,1540,1546,1542,1536,1544,1535,1539,1545,1547,1548,1538],"motype":[160],"moformat":[],"moimportance":[32,35],"class_list":{"0":"post-2524","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-teatrs","8":"tag-anthony-roth-costanzo","9":"tag-bastille-day-philly","10":"tag-best-drag-performer","11":"tag-cabaret-philadelphia","12":"tag-fabric-workshop-and-museum","13":"tag-genderqueer-artist","14":"tag-interactive-art-installation","15":"tag-john-jarboe","16":"tag-lgbtq-philadelphia","17":"tag-opera-philadelphia","18":"tag-pew-center-for-arts","19":"tag-philadelphia-performance-art","20":"tag-queer-theater","21":"tag-the-bearded-ladies-cabaret","22":"tag-the-rose-garden-exhibition","23":"motype-eternal","24":"moimportance-golovna-novyna","25":"moimportance-retranslyacziya-v-agregatory"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/philadelphia-trend.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/philadelphia-trend.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/philadelphia-trend.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philadelphia-trend.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/406"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philadelphia-trend.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2524"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/philadelphia-trend.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2524\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2530,"href":"https:\/\/philadelphia-trend.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2524\/revisions\/2530"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philadelphia-trend.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/philadelphia-trend.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philadelphia-trend.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philadelphia-trend.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2524"},{"taxonomy":"motype","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philadelphia-trend.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/motype?post=2524"},{"taxonomy":"moformat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philadelphia-trend.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/moformat?post=2524"},{"taxonomy":"moimportance","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philadelphia-trend.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/moimportance?post=2524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}