MARILYN NOVA WHITE

"I see myself as a playful heart, a fluid feline being, a transformative vibration of cellular mass with many talents and a deep curiosity for the possibilities of interpersonal and transcendental encounters."

​

Stage beast (german: Rampensau) Marilyn Nova White (they/them), born with half-Bulgarian roots into a Mannheim working-class environment far from art and culture, is a Berlin-based Performance Artist, Actor, and Drag King. Marilyn’s interdisciplinary and autobiographical art explores performance, the body, acting, and Drag, focusing on desire, gender, and both physical and societal norms. Gender-critical and queer-feminist perspectives shape Marilyn’s approach, while sexual education and elements of kink, pleasure, and displeasure are also influential themes in their work. Humor is never missing in the process.

​

It all began with a first ballet performance in a bear costume at the age of seven. This was followed by an initial qualification as a medical assistant (2005) and seven years of employment in the commercial sector. A transformative turning point came in 2012 with the completion of Theater Pedagogy BuT® at the Theaterwerkstatt Heidelberg—marking the start of an autodidactic and experimental artistic career. Since then, Marilyn has been internationally active in the independent theater and performance scene, expanding their skills through alternative learning paths, self-organized, and collective processes.

​

Since 2017, Marilyn has been a Drag King—creating a multifaceted playground for performative explorations of gender and identity. Through the MALED IT Drag King workshops, which Marilyn has been teaching internationally since 2018 at institutions such as UdK Berlin, UdK Musical, HfS Ernst Busch, QueerKAstle, Kaserne Basel, Queer Identity Romania, and many more, they not only share the art of Drag Kinging but also establish a queer space for connection.

​

Both stage and film are central professional fields for Marilyn, providing a space to grow as a performer and explore new forms of play and expression. In 2023, Marilyn completed a three-month intensive acting program at the Schauspielfabrik Berlin and, in 2025, deepened their passion for film acting with a six-week training focused on camera acting and the Meisner technique at Actors Space Berlin.

​

The young ballet bear later gained experience in dance styles such as Hula-Hoop Dance, Jazz Dance, Contemporary, Contact Improvisation, Belly Dance, Tribal Fusion, Bharatanatyam, Hip-Hop, Go-Go Dance, Voguing, and Frame Up, eventually becoming a dance instructor specializing in ATS (American Tribal Style Bellydance). Marilyn also has extensive teaching experience in theater and circus pedagogy.

​

Marilyn’s multidisciplinary arts have been realized in collaboration with groups and artists such as Frauen und Fiktion, CHICKS free performance collective, Tümay Kilincel, Nature Theater of Oklahoma, Taylor Mac, and the University of Cologne.

​

In 2024, Marilyn was selected for the FAIRSTAGE Fellowship Program—a model project for discrimination-free and fair working conditions in Berlin’s theater scene, as well as an opportunity to engage in cultural politics.

​

Additionally, in 2022, Marilyn received the NEUSTART KULTUR research grant from the Fonds Darstellende Künste to further develop their artistic projects.