Theatrical Jazz Crossroads is an interdisciplinary artist residency and creative laboratory exploring Theatrical Jazz, a Black performance methodology rooted in improvisation, ensemble practice, rhythm, call-and-response, embodied storytelling, and collective composition.
Facilitated by acclaimed playwright and performance artist Sharon Bridgforth, the residency convenes a cohort of artists in Montgomery, Alabama for a week of collaborative performance-making informed by Black experimental theater traditions and diasporic creative practices.
For the first time, SaltWater Road Performance Institute invites artists, scholars, students, cultural workers, and community members worldwide to participate virtually as witnesses to the residency process. Through daily live online access, participants will observe portions of the creative laboratory as artists explore movement, language, sound, memory, improvisation, and collective composition in real time.
This year, Theatrical Jazz Crossroads offers a rare opportunity to witness Black performance methodology in practice. Participants gain insight into artistic process, interdisciplinary collaboration, and Theatrical Jazz as a living research practice.
The experience culminates in a public works-in-process sharing and community conversation, inviting both in-person and virtual audiences into the unfolding creative process.
Tickets available at:
https://www.saltwaterroad.org/events/saltwater-road-presents-theatrical-jazz-crossroads
Residency Eligibility
Residency Experience Summary
Application Information
This virtual component of the residency welcomes interdisciplinary artists, performers, scholars, writers, cultural workers, and community-based practitioners interested in improvisation, Black performance traditions, embodied research, interdisciplinary collaboration, and creative inquiry. While grounded in Black performance methodologies, artists of all backgrounds committed to collaborative learning and cultural respect are encouraged to apply.
SALTWATER ROAD PERFORMANCE INSTITUTE PRESENTS THEATRICAL JAZZ CROSSROADS WITH SHARON BRIDGFORTH
Theatrical Jazz Crossroads offers a rare opportunity to witness Black performance methodology in practice.
From August 10–15, participants receive virtual access to a live creative laboratory facilitated by acclaimed playwright, author, and performance artist Sharon Bridgforth. Rooted in Black performance traditions and improvisational practice, Theatrical Jazz explores listening, rhythm, repetition, call-and-response, collective composition, and embodied storytelling as tools for performance-making and community building.
Across five mornings, virtual participants observe artists engaging movement, language, sound, memory, improvisation, and interdisciplinary collaboration in real time. Rather than a conventional workshop, this experience invites participants into the unfolding creative process itself.
The residency culminates in a public Works-in-Process Witnessing and Community Conversation facilitated by Haitian-American interdisciplinary artist Marie Casimir, creating space for reflection, dialogue, and collective meaning-making.
EVENT DETAILS
Theatrical Jazz Crossroads
Presented by Saltwater Road Performance Institute
August 10–15, 2026
Virtual Creative Laboratory
August 10–14
9:00–11:00 AM CST
Public Works-in-Process Witnessing & Community Conversation
August 15
Virtual Residency Facilitator:
Sharon Bridgforth
In person/Work-in-Progress Facilitator:
Marie Casimir
Featured Artists:
Rose “Wonderfabulous”
Hollerin Space (muthi reed & Angela Davis Johnson)
TICKETS
Full Week Witness Pass: $200
Single Day Pass: $45
Tickets are available now.
Space is limited.
Participants are encouraged to register early to secure access to this unique opportunity to witness Black performance methodology, improvisational practice, and interdisciplinary performance-making as it unfolds.
Use code SWR2026 for discounted registration through August 8.
For tickets and information: www.saltwaterroad.org/events
MEDIA CONTACT
Jennifer Ligaya Senecal
Founder & Director
SaltWater Road Performance Institute
www.saltwaterroad.org