Sharon Bridgforth (born May 15, 1958, in

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) is an

American writer The Lists of American writers include: United States By ethnicity *List of African-American writers * List of Asian-American writers * List of Cuban-American writers * List of Egyptian-American writers * List of Italian-American women writers ...

working in theater.

Early life

Bridgforth was born in

Cook County Hospital The John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County (shortened ''Stroger Hospital'', formerly Cook County Hospital) is a public hospital in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is part of Cook County Health, along with Provident Hospital of Cook Cou ...

, and moved to

South Central Los Angeles South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of Downtown Los Angeles, downtown. It is de ...

when she was 3 years old. She discovered the diversity of the city during her long bus commutes to school.

Career

From 1993 to 1998, Bridgforth worked as the founder, writer, and

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogu ...

of the root wy'mn theatre company. root wy'mn's touring roster included: the

Michigan Womyn's Music Festival The Michigan Womyn's Music Festival, often referred to as MWMF or Michfest, was a lesbian feminist women's music festival held annually from 1976 to 2015 in Oceana County, Michigan, on privately owned woodland near Hart Township referred to a ...

The Theater Offensive The Theater Offensive is a Boston-based theatrical organization dedicated to the production of queer works. The Theater Offensive was founded in 1989 by Abraham Rybeck "to present the diversity of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender lives in ...

in Boston,

La Peña Cultural Center La Peña Cultural Center, or La Peña for short, is a multicultural center in the United States. It was founded in 1975 by Latin American and Californian allies in Berkeley, California in response to the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, 1973 coup d'état ...

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, and the

Walker Art Center The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill, Minneapolis, Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in ...

in Minneapolis. From 2002 to 2009, she served as the anchor artist for the Austin Project, produced by Omi Osun Joni L. Jones and the John L. Warfield Center for African and

African American Studies Black studies or Africana studies (with nationally specific terms, such as African American studies and Black Canadian studies), is an interdisciplinary academic field that primarily focuses on the study of the history, culture, and politics of ...

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

. Her work, "Finding Voice Facilitation Method" was published in ''Experiments in a Jazz Aesthetic Art, Activism, Academia, and the Austin Project'' edited by Osun Joni L. Jones, Lisa L. Moore, and herself. In 2008, Bridgforth received a National Performance Network Creation Fund award, for ''delta dandi'', co-commissioned by Women & Their Work, in partnership with the National Performance Network. Freedom Train Productions in New York presented a reading of the work in 2008. A workshop production of the work was produced in 2009 at the Long Center in Austin, Texas. At

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

, as the

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, commonly known as the Mellon Foundation, is a New York City-based private foundation with wealth accumulated by Andrew Mellon of the Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the product of the 1969 merger ...

artist-in-residence Artist-in-residence (also Writer-in-residence), or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs that involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs that pr ...

in the performance studies department, Bridgforth presented a workshop production of ''delta dandi'' during the 2009 Solo/Black/Woman performance series. Since 2009, Bridgforth has been resident playwright at New Dramatists, New York. Her work ''blood pudding'', was presented in the 2010 New York

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festival. She was the 2010–2012 Visiting Multicultural Faculty member at the Theatre School at

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and is the curator of the Theatrical Jazz Institute at Links Hall, produced by the school, Links Hall and herself. In 2022, Bridgforth was featured in the book ''50 Key Figures in Queer US Theatre'', with a profile written by theatre scholar T. Chester.

''the bull-jean stories''

Published by RedBone Press, ''the bull-jean stories'' give cultural documentation and social commentary on African-American herstory and survival. Set in the rural South of the 1920s through the 1940s, ''the bull-jean stories ''uses traditional storytelling and nontraditional verse to chronicle the course of love returning in the lifetimes of one woman-loving-woman named bull-dog-jean.

''Love Conjure/Blues''

Both a performance and a

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

,'' Love Conjure/Blues'' places the fiction-form inside a traditional Black American voice, inviting dramatic interpretation and movement within a highly literary text: It is filled with folktales, poetry, haints, prophecy, song, and

oral history Oral history is the collection and study of historical information from people, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people who pa ...

. ''Love Conjure/Blues ''was also published by RedBone Press.

''dat Black Mermaid Man Lady''

Exists as a show, oracle deck, performance/novel, performance, sung children's book, and artistic mentorship towards homeownership. The performance celebrates the different embodiments of gender through the journey of three characters alongside Yoburba deities Oya, Osun, and Yemaya. The show premiered at the Pillsbury House + Theater in Minneapolis, MN, on May 30, 2018, and ran through June 17, 2018. The performance was written by Sharon Bridgforth, directed by Ebony Noelle Golden, with dramaturgy by Alexis Pauline Gumbs, and vocal composition by Mankwe Ndosi. In addition to a performance, "dat Black Mermaid Man Lady" is an oracle deck. The deck consists of characters from the performance/novel and features artwork by Yasmin Hernandez. The oracle deck is a working deck that Bridgforth used for a series of weekly readings. Partnering with Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association and City of Lakes Community Land Trust, Bridgforth worked with five to seven emerging artist of color to create new works and more toward homeownership.

Awards, residences, and grants

In 1997, Bridgforth's script ''no mo blues ''was nominated for an Osborn Award (sponsored by the American Theatre Critic's Association). ''The bull-jean stories'' won a Lambda Literary Prize for "Best Book by a Small Press" in 1998. The collection also received a nomination for a Lambda Literary Prize in the category of "Best Lesbian Fiction" and a nomination from the 1998

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

for "Best Gay/Lesbian Book". Bridgforth was nominated for the 2002–2003 Alpert Award in the theatre category. She has received the 2000 Penumbra Theatre (St. Paul, MN) Playwriting Fellowship and 2001

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...

Woman Of The Year in Arts Award in Austin, Texas. A recipient of the 2008 Alpert/Hedgebrook Residency Prize, her work has been supported by the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

commissioning program; the National Endowment for the Arts/

Theatre Communications Group Theatre Communications Group (TCG) is a non-profit service organization headquartered in New York City that promotes professional non-profit theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, us ...

, playwright-in-residence program; National Performance Network commissioning and community fund; the Paul Robeson Fund for Independent Media; and the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...

Multi-Arts Production Fund Award. Bridgforth was also the recipient of the

Creative Capital Creative Capital is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in New York City that supports artists across the United States through funding, counsel, gatherings, and career development services. Since its founding in 1999, Creative Capital has co ...

Performing Arts Award in 2016.

Personal life

She has a daughter, Sonja Perryman, from a past marriage. A

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

,"Black lesbian author receives award". ''

Windy City Times ''Windy City Times'' is an LGBT newspaper in Chicago that published its first issue on September 26, 1985. History ''Windy City Times'' was founded in 1985 by Jeff McCourt, Bob Bearden, Drew Badanish and Tracy Baim, who started Sentury Public ...

'', March 26, 2008. her partner is Omi Osun Joni L. Jones. Jones also has a daughter, Leigh Gaymon-Jones, from a past marriage.

Works

Selected publications

* "The love conjure/blues Text Installation" script, anthologized in ''Blacktino Queer Performance,'' Northwestern University Press (2016), * "delta dandi", anthologized in ''solo black woman performance,'' Northwestern University Press (2013), * Excerpt from "con flama", anthologized in ''Windy City Queer: LGBTQ Dispatches from the Third Coast,'' University of Wisconsin Press (2011), * Writing exercises are featured in ''Wingbeats: Exercises and Practice in Poetry,'' edited by Scott Wiggerman and David Meischen. Dos Gatos Press, * ''Experiments in a Jazz Aesthetic: Art, Activism, Academia, and the Austin Project,'' (ed. with Lisa L. Moore and Omi Osun Joni L. Jones), University of Texas Press (2010), * "Litany-Blood In The Soil/Texas", anthologized in ''A Students' Treasury of Texas Poetry,'' Texas A&M University Consortium Press (2007), * "a wo'mn called sir", anthologized in ''First Person Queer: Who We Are (So Far),'' Arsenal Pulp Press (2007), * excerpt "dyke/warrior-Prayers", anthologized in ''Voices Rising: Celebrating 20 Years Of Black Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual And Transgender Writing,'' Other Countries and RedBone Press (2006), * "Street/Angels & Clarity", anthologized in ''Check The Rhyme: An Anthology Of Female Poets & Emcees,'' Lit Noire Publishing (2006), * "interlude #21: the road to Higher Power", anthologized in ''Spirited: Affirming the Soul and Black Gay Lesbian Identity,'' RedBone Press (2006), * "Doña Julia", anthologized in ''Red Light Superheroes, Saints, and Sluts,'' Arsenal Pulp Press (2005), * Love Conjure/Blues, Redbone Press (2004), * excerpt from "con flama", anthologized in ''New Monologues For Women By Women,'' Heinemann (2004), * excerpt from "con flama" anthologized in "Is This Forever, Or What?: Poems & Paintings From Texas", Greenwillow Books (2004), * "bull-jean slipn in" & "bull-jean & trouble", anthologized in ''Role Call: A Generational Anthology Of Social And Political Black Literature & Art,'' Third World Press (2001), * "dyke/warrior-Prayers" and "blood pudding", anthology in Recreations: Religion And Spirituality In The Lives Of Queer People, Q Press (1999), * ''the bull-jean stories,'' Redbone Press (1998), * Excerpt from ''sonnata blue,'' anthologized in ''Ma-Ka Diasporic Juks,'' Sister Vision Press (1998), * "that beat" anthologized in ''Does Your Mama Know?: An Anthology of Black Lesbian Coming Out Stories,'' RedBone Press (1997),

Albums

* ''amniotic/flow,'' with daughter,with Sonja Perryman (2003
available digitally
* ''the bull-jean stories,'
available digitally

Theater pieces

* ''delta dandi'' * ''The love conjure/blues'' text installation * ''con flama'' * ''blood pudding'' * ''dyke/warrior-Prayers'' * ''no mo blues'' * ''lovve/rituals & rage''

References

External links

Sharon Bridgforth's Official Website

Blip TV-Sharon Bridgforth
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bridgforth, Sharon 1958 births Living people American feminists American women short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American lesbian writers African-American LGBTQ writers Lesbian feminists American LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights LGBTQ people from Illinois American women dramatists and playwrights 21st-century American short story writers 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights Writers from Chicago Writers from Los Angeles 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers 20th-century African-American women writers 20th-century African-American writers 21st-century African-American women writers 21st-century African-American writers