ABSTRACT
As with the fi rst of this book, this fi nal chapter is based primarily on interviews with a smaller group of key informants-Jennifer Miller of Circus Amok, Mattilda a.k.a. Matt Bernstein Sycamore of ACT UP, Fed Up Queers (FUQ), and Gay Shame, and a few other observers. Like José Sarria, their stories connect with broader movement narratives and voices. They contend with the possibilities and limitations of differing forms of radical street performance-Miller as a member of a circus and Mattilda as an organizer, writer and performer. Their narratives grapple with the struggle to get the process right, while contending with the struggle to fi nd a place to play in public space as it is fl attened out and gentrifi ed. Their forms of intervention-direct action and political performance-make tactical use of play as a tool to engage and intrigue. Such forms of performance situate play as a form of free expression, a liberatory impulse contending with a stark cold realm of necessity (Marcuse 1955). Throughout their stories, play and direct action overlap with a search for more authentic, embodied forms of political participation. Theirs is a politics of refusal; yet, it includes an abundant affi rmative view of a lustier, richer experience of urban living. For Miller and Mattilda, play involves a core struggle to shift social mores through a wide range of performative strategies, including direct action, street performance, and even carnival.
