Presented by SaltWater Road Performance Institute

Facilitated by Sharon Bridgforth

August 10–14, 2026

Virtual Morning Sessions

9am–11am CST

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

Theatrical Jazz Crossroads is a rare opportunity to witness acclaimed playwright and performance artist Sharon Bridgforth facilitate live improvisational performance sessions rooted in Theatrical Jazz traditions of listening, rhythm, repetition, call-and-response, ensemble storytelling, and collective composition.

Across five mornings, artists, scholars, performers, and witnesses will gather virtually inside a live interdisciplinary creative laboratory exploring movement, sound, story, memory, and embodied improvisation as tools for performance-making and cultural inquiry.

Participants will witness artists generating material in real time through improvisation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and site-responsive performance research connected to the cultural landscapes of the American South.

Presented through 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 Witnessing Pass — $200

Includes:

• access to all five live morning sessions

• access to artist process sharings

• access to the final works-in-progress showing

• access to the private Vitness Commons

• opportunities for written reflection and dialogue throughout the week

Single Day Drop-In Pass — $45

Includes:

• access to one live 2-hour morning session

• access to artist process sharings for the day

• access to the private Witness Commons

• opportunities for written reflection and dialogue for the day

Ideal for artists, scholars, and practitioners unable to attend the full week.

What to Expect

Theatrical Jazz Crossroads is not a conventional workshop series.

Participants are invited into a live interdisciplinary artistic laboratory centered on witnessing, improvisation, deep listening, and collective creative inquiry.

Each morning session will include:

• live facilitation by Sharon Bridgforth

• improvisational performance structures

• interdisciplinary artistic experimentation

• artist process witnessing

• opportunities for reflection and observation

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This experience emphasizes presence over passive consumption. Participants are encouraged to engage the residency through focused attention, reflection, and embodied listening practices.

Presence + Practice

To honor the integrity of Sharon Bridgforth’s facilitation practice and the intimacy of the creative process, sessions will not be publicly released after they occur.

While sessions may be internally recorded for archival and administrative purposes, public participants are invited to engage this experience through real-time presence, deep listening, and embodied attention.

This residency values witnessing as practice. The live sessions are designed as temporal gatherings rooted in improvisation, responsiveness, and collective encounter.

About Sharon Bridgforth

Sharon Bridgforth is a playwright, poet, performance artist, and leading architect of Theatrical Jazz: a performance methodology rooted in Black improvisational traditions, ensemble storytelling, rhythm, repetition, spoken word, 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 artists and witnesses through interdisciplinary performance structures centered on listening, responsiveness, and collective creation.

Private Witness Space

Full Week participants will receive access to the residency’s private Witness Space: a temporary digital gathering space accompanying the live sessions.

The Witness Space will include:

• Zoom access links

• residency updates

• schedules

• reflection prompts

• participant dialogue

• shared resources

• final showing access

Designed as an extension of the residency itself, the space supports deep listening, embodied attention, artistic reflection, and interdisciplinary exchange.

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 artistic 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 laboratory and witnessing experience 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 Laboratory

Witness artists create in real time.

Gather in the spirit of improvisation.

Engage Theatrical Jazz as embodied practice, performance methodology, and collective encounter.

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.