Spontaneous absurdist acts were demonstrated by means of a quick assembly of costuming and props on a busy thoroughfare of roamers, walkers, strollers, ramblers, hikers, and wanderers. This “Queer Guard” performance was the first in a series of outdoor solo and group routines just before the NYC COVID-19 lockdown. Passersby were encouraged and, if need be, cajoled to observe and/or participate. The illogical feats on the promenade entrance of the Gowanus Canal were unrehearsed impromptu mashups of fan dancing, color guard, crossing guard, and construction worker. At times onlookers and gawkers would stand for the duration of the presentation connecting in civic conversations while I simultaneously concentrated on the movement and message of rupturing the normality of the day. Many passersby would timidly walk the outskirts of the public space as though the entertainment encounter was contagious—which in fact it was. Once near the center of the action’s energy, more often than not, passersby would engage in some manner from a communal discussion about the current state of affairs to joining the work as an active player.

In a self-created residency from February to April at the Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club, a large variety of materials to create signage, accoutrement, costumes, and objects were available to visitors and passersby. A desk and gathering area were available for long sitting interludes of doing nothing together. Active witnesses were encouraged to introduce themselves, ask questions, and make suggestions about whatever they thought was important at that very moment, or perhaps from the day before or after. Deep listening and a sense of wonder was the foundation of the occurrences in this inclusive environment of (non)sense.

Fueled by the volatile, uneasy political/social climate in the US and globally, The Queer Guard is a catalyst for conceptualizing, developing, creating, performing, and offering public acts of absurdity. The Queer Guard acknowledges the ridiculous things we have accepted as norms for way too long. By abandoning all the silly rules and the stupid fake-true facts, The Queer Guard posits to create newfound narratives and imagery imagining a more compassionate world working towards an equitable future.