Welcome to Artists Reach Out: reflections in a time of isolation. I dreamed this series of interviews out of grief for my work both as a documenting arts writer and curator of live performance. In this time of social distancing, we are called to responsibly do all we can to safeguard ourselves and our neighbors. It is, literally, a matter of life and death.
But there's no distancing around what we still can share with one another--our experiences, thoughts, wisdom, humor, hearts and spirit. In some ways, there are more opportunities to do so as we pull back from everyday busyness out in the world and have time to honor the call of our inner lives.
So, let me introduce you to some artists I find interesting. I'm glad they're part of our beautiful community, and I'm eager to engage with them again (or for the first time) in years to come.
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| Sharon Bridgforth (photo: Nia Witherspoon) |
Sharon Bridgforth came of age during assassinations, riots, the civil rights and Black power movements and Soul music. She strives to queerly/embody the unbending dignity, commitment to community, self-determination and Love of Black cultures that was modeled for her. A Doris Duke Performing Artist, Sharon is a writer that creates ritual/jazz theatre. Widely published, she is a RedBone Press author, and has received support from Creative Capital, MAP Fund and the National Performance Network. A New Dramatists alumnae, Sharon is has served as dramaturge for the Urban Bush Women Choreographic Center Initiative’s Choreographic Fellowship Program and The Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography in partnership program with the Urban Bush Women Choreographic Center Initiative. She has been Artist In-Residence at: Thousand Currents; The NoVo Foundation; allgo, a Texas statewide qpoc organization; Brown University’s MFA Playwriting Program; University of Iowa’s MFA Playwrights Program; The Theatre School at DePaul University; and The Department of Performance Studies at Northwestern University. Sharon is Executive Producer and Host of the Who Yo People Is podcast series. More at http://sharonbridgforth.com.
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| (photo above courtesy of the artist; below, Michal Daniel, Pillsbury House Theatre) |
Do you have a current or planned project whose progress is affected by the pandemic?
Everything that I was scheduled to do has been canceled or indefinitely postponed. I would have been traveling/some of which was to serve as a dramaturge for women of color choreographers (thanks to ongoing connections via Urban Bush Women). It hurts financially/and because I had to miss being in process with people that I love.
After being forced off the road...I slept. I didn't know how exhausted I was. I am still sleeping a lot. I can only focus on doing about two work-related things a day. Thankfully, one of those things is writing. For two years, I have wondered what/when/and how I was going to write a new piece. Well it's here. It wakes me up early and tells me what it wants me to know. Various kinds of Zoom meetings are also part of my day now.
Briefly, tell me about how you got involved in the arts and in your particular practice.
I was raised by Southerners in South Central L.A. My family are great storytellers. Their stories always dance and sing and laugh loud and sometimes name the dead. Two of my Great Aunts in Memphis were teachers. They started me in school there early--made sure I had the basics down. I always loved readings. So when my young lesbian-queer bodied self was struggling, I wrote. Since my sensibilities where shaped by Black Southerners/I imagined language as music. As moving. With lots of things happening at the same time/and lots of people talking all at once. And then I saw For Colored Girls and, later, Urban Bush Women, and I realized that I was writing for performance. I started my own theater company in 1993. Experienced artists claimed me/helped me work the work. And here we are.
In a more specific way, what are you practicing? And what are you envisioning?
My primary practice is listening. Opening. Receiving. Allowing. A character that came to me in the '90s has returned. In the '90s, RedBone Press published the bull-jean stories, a performance/novel featuring a "wo'mn loving/wo'mn named bull-dog-jean." That work carried me into my writer's voice by helping me solidify my practice as a blues based/theatrical jazz artist. Currently/characters from several newer pieces are joining bull-jean. They are all coming forward to help new work's Narrator--who is grieving the loss of her elders. I'll know more in time.
How does your practice and your visioning align with what you most care about?
For years, I worked in health and human services: as an intake counselor for Planned Parenthood; an Austin Travis County Health Department epidemiologist; an HIV tester, outreach worker and early-intervention specialist. My mentors at the time where artists that used art as a vehicle for social justice. When they found out that I had suitcases (literally) filled with writing/they pulled me and my writing into their community-organizing efforts. After a while, I realized that my work as an artist is my service. So I shifted my focus and integrated my love of community organizing with my love of African American Southern migration stories/and traditions. I approach art making, collaboration and sharing like a community organizer. The work may start with me, but it is not about me. It is my contribution to the collective healing, celebration, connection, and remembering.
How does your practice function within the world we have now?
Right now the writing I am doing is really a ritual for grieving. It is a looking back and a looking forward. It is healing and it is preparation. The surrender that it requires is a great teacher. It helps me feel all my feelings. It makes me more committed to trying to be my better self. It reminds me to connect more with those I love. To center more in gratitude. To Offer.
Briefly share one self-care tip that has special meaning to you now.
My wife/Omi Osun Joni L. Jones and I make videos of ourselves reading children's books, and we send them to little ones that we love. It brings us SO much joy! Especially because the parents always send us videos of the children watching the recordings. Our readings always open with us rapping (lawd hep) about how much we love them. It gives us the opportunity to play and to know that we are unconditionally loved. Play is my tip for today. Play. And share.
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DISCLAIMER: In addition to my work on InfiniteBody, I serve as Senior Curatorial Director of Gibney. The postings on this site are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views, strategies or opinions of Gibney.
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