As part of our participation in the 2016 SF International Arts Festival, HATCH members devised a collection of short work inspired by the festival’s location: San Francisco’s historic Fort Mason. Know developed in response to Fort Mason’s not so distant military past and the legacy of San Francisco as a hub for soldiers discharged for homosexuality.
Know recreated the experience of cruising by bringing individual audience members into a joyous and illicit experience hidden in plain sight. A small army of bandana wearing performers picked-up audience members watching another performance. The cruisers guided audience members over to a railing overlooking the water, handed them binoculars, and deployed a purple umbrella to provide a temporary intimate space. Through binoculars audience members watched a movement piece on a pier a hundred yards away that mixed a lexicon of cruising gestures with movements of tender affection.
