German-born puppeteer based in Iceland. Bernd Ogrodnik, trained as a classical musician, started his career in puppetry in 1986 while living in Iceland. He is co-founder and artistic director of Brúðuheimar (World of Puppets) Centre of Puppetry Arts in Borgarnes, Iceland, and Figuren Theater Bernd Ogrodnik. He tours worldwide as a solo performer, builder, teacher and lecturer, and back home in Iceland frequently works for The National Theatre, The Icelandic Opera and Municipal Theatre of Reykjavik.  

Bernd Ogrodnik has created various groundbreaking techniques especially for marionettes and tabletop puppetry, and equally enjoys telling compelling stories by using only simple props and his own body. He is best known for his innovative work for the production of the film Strings, which won Best European Fantasy Film Award 2005. Ogrodnik has received grants and awards for his cultural contributions in the field of puppetry.

Theatre production highlights include: Puppets, Music and the Unexpected (1989), Little Troll and the Witch (1993), About Face (1997), Grýla’s Pancake (2000), Princesses and Losers (2005), Ronja the Robber´s Daughter (2005), Metamorphosis (2006), Pillowman (2006), Little Shop of Horrors (2006), Peter and the Wolf  (2007), Clever Willi Wieberg (2008), Gilitrutt (2010), The Magic Flute (2011).

Bernd Ogrodnik has co-created and co-produced various television commercials, television series and feature movies, including Paper Peter (1988), Strings (2004), Magic Book (2006).

(See Iceland.)