Biography
Djola Bernard Branner, also known professionally as Bernard Branner or Djola Branner, is an American actor, dancer, choreographer, writer and educator. He appeared as himself in Marlon Riggs’s documentary Tongues Untied (1989) and in Riggs’s subsequent films Anthem (1991) and Black Is… Black Ain’t (1994).
Branner co-founded the performance group Pomo Afro Homos in 1990 with Brian Freeman and Eric Gupton. The company toured nationally and internationally with shows including Fierce Love: Stories from Black Gay Life and Dark Fruit. He has created and performed original stage works such as Mighty Real: A Tribute to Sylvester and sash & trim, and his plays have been published and anthologised.
Branner trained at the University of California, Santa Cruz (BA Psychobiology, 1980), San Francisco State University (MA Creative Arts, 1989/1990) and the New School for Drama (MFA Playwriting, 2006). He has taught theatre, dance and writing at institutions including Hampshire College and George Mason University.
