PITCH
The pilot performance of The Dyke HERstory Dance Tour

Sarah Bush Dance Project presents PITCH, a new, site-specific dance theater work set on the softball field where five dancers embody Bay Area dyke ancestors reuniting as an all-star “ghost team.”

Join us at Mosswood Park for an afternoon of dance, softball, food, and HERstory!

Sunday, October 11, 2026 (National Coming Out Day)

2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
(Performances at 2:30pm and 4:30pm)

Mosswood Park (Baseball Diamond) | Oakland, CA

FREE to the public- register here!

Alcohol and dogs are not allowed at this performance.

Be a part of the SBDP and get your PITCH softball tee! Tees are available while supplies last.

About the Show

PITCH is the pilot performance of The Dyke HERstory Dance Tour (read more below), a new, site-specific dance theater project exploring Bay Area queer history through movement, storytelling, and community engagement. Set on the softball field, five dancers embody Bay Area dyke ancestors reuniting as an all-star “ghost team.” Each player steps up to bat, sharing her story through recorded audio and embodied movement as the ensemble rounds the bases in a collective portrait of queer community, remembrance, and play. Directed and choreographed by Sarah Bush with research led by KJ Dahlaw, the work features an original live score by KKINGBOO and B. Dukes of 7000COILS, the Oakland-based, Black-owned, gender-expansive collective.

Created by the multiracial, intergenerational, and queer-led artists of Sarah Bush Dance Project, PITCH celebrates the enduring legacy of Bay Area lesbian softball as both a cultural touchstone and a place of belonging. The work emerges at a critical moment, as many queer elders who helped build lesbian and dyke communities in Oakland and San Francisco are aging while their stories remain largely absent from public archives and artistic representation. Rather than treating history as something fixed, PITCH invites audiences to experience remembrance as a living, joyful, and embodied act.

Featured Ancestors & Cast

Tala Brandeis — Portrayed by KJ Dahlaw

Jewell Buds — Portrayed by Risa Ofelia

Sensei Keiko Fukuda — Portrayed by Frances Sedayao

Lenn Keller — Portrayed by Richelle Donigan

Pat Parker — Portrayed by Jetta Martin

Creative Process of PITCH

The choreography is rooted in extensive community research led by production manager, KJ Dahlaw including DYKON Story Hours, the Dyke Softball Pickup Series, oral history interviews with lesbian and dyke elders, archival research with the Bay Area Lesbian Archives (BALA), and community reading groups exploring Bay Area queer history. These stories become the starting point for an open, community-engaged creative process in which dancers transform lived experiences into embodied portraits.

PITCH is made possible in part through support from the ARTSFUND Grants Program Award, the Zellerbach Family Foundation, and the Meriama Fund, with fiscal sponsorship provided by Dance Mission Theater and Fractured Atlas.

Accessibility & Logistics

Accessible parking and restrooms are located near 36th Street. From there, travel along Webster Street toward the softball field. The most accessible field entrance is on Webster Street near the dugout, providing the shortest route from the paved park walkway to the PITCH performance area. Please note that the event takes place on and around the softball field, so some areas may include grass, dirt, or uneven ground.

We ask attendees to help make the event fragrance-free by arriving without scented personal products such as perfume, cologne, or strongly fragranced lotions.

ASL interpretation will be available at the performances (2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.). If there are other accommodations that you might need, please contact Lydia Clinton at lydia@sarahbushdance.com in advance so we can make arrangements. Additional accessibility details will be updated as the performance site and event logistics are finalized.

The Dyke HERstory Dance Tour