SaltWater Road Performance Institute Presents

Theatrical Jazz Crossroads Facilitated by Sharon Bridgforth

August 10–14, 2026

A Hybrid Residency Offering

What happens when jazz expands beyond music into interdisciplinary performance forms?

Theatrical Jazz Crossroads is SaltWater Road Performance Institute's annual artist residency. For the first time, the public is invited to participate in the SaltWater Road Artist Residency through the SaltWater Road Residency Circle, a virtual learning experience that accompanies the residency. offering a rare opportunity to learn from acclaimed playwright and performance artist Sharon Bridgforth facilitate live improvisational performance sessions rooted in Theatrical Jazz traditions of deep listening, call-and-response, and collective composition.

Across five live sessions, Sharon Bridgforth will guide participants through Theatrical Jazz as a living artistic methodology while the residency unfolds in Montgomery, Alabama. The residency concludes with two public Works-in-Progress presentations held at King's Canvas, a creative and community space in Montgomery, Alabama, and facilitated by Haitian-American interdisciplinary artist Marie Casimir.

Presented by SaltWater Road Performance Institute, this residency expands contemporary conversations in Black performance, experimental theater, public humanities, embodied research, and improvisational artistic practice.

Registration Options

Full Week Residency Pass — $200

YOUR REGISTRATION INCLUDES

• Four live virtual workshop sessions facilitated by Sharon Bridgforth (August 10–13)

• Virtual access to two Works-in-Progress sharings presented by SaltWater Road Resident Artists and facilitated by Marie Casimir at King's Canvas in Montgomery, Alabama.

• Daily discussion and reflection within a learning community

• Q&A space and ongoing conversations

• Access to the private SaltWater Road Residency Circle and continued access to session recordings for a limited time after residency.

Single Day Drop-In Pass — $45

YOUR REGISTRATION INCLUDES

• (1) one live virtual workshop sessions facilitated by Sharon Bridgforth

• access to the private SaltWater Road Residency Circle

• opportunities for written reflection and dialogue for the day

• Daily discussion and reflection within a learning community

• Q&A space and ongoing conversations

Ideal for anyone unable to attend the full week.

What to Expect

Theatrical Jazz Crossroads invites participants into the SaltWater Road Artist Residency as part of a hybrid interdisciplinary artistic laboratory centered on improvisation, deep listening, and collective creative inquiry.

Theatrical Jazz Crossroads is a facilitated learning experience centered on Theatrical Jazz, a Black performance methodology.

Participants gather each morning to engage Sharon Bridgforth's facilitation through conversation, improvisation, listening, reflection, and collective inquiry.

Throughout the week, the Residency Circle extends these conversations through online discussion, prompts, shared resources, and community engagement.

The experience culminates in two public Works-in-Progress presentations emerging from the residency and facilitated by Marie Casimir at King's Canvas in Montgomery, Alabama.

8/10-8/13

9-11 AM CST

Each morning session will include:

• live workshop facilitation by Sharon Bridgforth

• improvisational performance structures

• interdisciplinary artistic experimentation

• opportunities for reflection and observation

8/14

12-2 PM CST

Work In Progress Sharing will include:

• Virtual facilitation by Sharon Bridgforth 8/14

• Live facilitation by Marie Casimir 8/14

• improvisational performance and live artist process at Kings Canvas in Montgomery, Alabama

Participants are encouraged to engage in the residency through focused attention, reflection, and embodied listening practices.

Presence + Practice

Theatrical Jazz values presence.

To honor the integrity of Sharon Bridgforth's facilitation and the shared learning environment, sessions will not remain publicly available after the residency concludes.

Participants are encouraged to engage this experience through real-time presence, deep listening, reflection, and collective inquiry.

Session recordings will remain available to registered participants inside the Learning Circle for a limited time after the conclusion of the residency.

About Sharon Bridgforth

Sharon Bridgforth is a playwright, poet, and one of the originators of Theatrical Jazz: a performance methodology rooted in Black improvisational traditions, ensemble storytelling, and collaborative composition. Her work has been presented nationally and internationally and has profoundly influenced contemporary Black experimental theater, interdisciplinary performance practice, and community-engaged artistic inquiry. Throughout the residency, Bridgforth will facilitate live improvisational sessions guiding the participants through interdisciplinary performance structures centered on deep listening and embodied collective creation.

About the Circle

The SaltWater Road Residency Circle is the residency's private online community.

Designed as an extension of Sharon Bridgforth's facilitation, the Circle provides a place to continue learning together before, during, and after the live sessions.

Inside the Circle participants can find:

• Live Zoom links

• Daily discussion space

• Community conversations

• Questions & Answers

• Works-in-Progress access

• Session recordings available for a limited time after the conclusion of the residency.

The Residency Circle remains open for a limited time, giving participants time to revisit recordings, deepen conversations, and continue building relationships after the residency concludes.

Who This Is For

This experience is designed for:

• performance artists

• theater makers

• movement practitioners

• artist-scholars

• performance studies scholars

• Black theater practitioners

• interdisciplinary artists

• experimental musicians

• public humanities practitioners

• artists interested in improvisation, embodiment, and collective composition

Frequently Asked Questions

Are sessions recorded?

Sessions may be internally recorded for archival purposes but will not be publicly released in order to honor the integrity and intimacy of the residency process.

Will I receive Zoom links immediately?

Participants will receive access to the residency’s private Witness Space closer to the residency start date. All session links and materials will be shared there.

Can I attend individual sessions?

Yes. Single-day drop-in passes are available for participants unable to attend the full week.

Is this a workshop?

Theatrical Jazz Crossroads is structured as an immersive performance residency and public educational offering rather than a traditional workshop series.

Who should attend?

The residency is designed for artists, scholars, performers, and practitioners interested in experimental performance, Black theater, improvisation, public humanities, embodied inquiry, and interdisciplinary artistic practice.

Join the Circle

Be part of the SaltWater Road Hybrid Residency

Learn directly from Sharon Bridgforth and Theatrical Jazz as Black embodied practice, performance methodology, and collective encounter.

Join a community of artists, scholars, community organizers, and thinkers.

REGISTER NOW

Support SaltWater Road

Your participation supports artist-led experimentation, interdisciplinary collaboration, public humanities engagement, and the continued development of Black Southern experimental performance practice through SaltWater Road Performance Institute.

" We are the children of the Great Migration, descendants of the Atlantic crossing...We return to remember and heal"-SaltWater Road Performance Institute