Trick Van Winkle
Trick Van Winkle
a trickster camp hidden in the woods at a regional Burning Man event: a painted art car, a stage, a dance floor, and a bar. to get a drink, you perform a trick.
the camp · three days
at most parties people watch or dance. we wanted them to be part of the story.
we built a story around a trickster's van, built a stage and dance floor from pallets and tarps, and set one rule: perform a trick, get a potion.
30+ people performed over 72 hours, and at peak the clearing was full, with a line for the stage.
making it look like a world
every piece was painted to match the story: a van guarded by tricksters who trade potions for performances.
at the camp
strangers teamed up for performances, and the night sets ran into the morning.
asking for a trick in exchange for a potion changed what the camp was.
people came for a drink and ended up on stage, often teaming up with strangers, so most of the show came from the people who walked in.
there were fifteen of us and two to three weeks. we split into van, stage, and music crews that worked on their own toward one shared story. the budget and the timeline pushed us to use what was around: pallets, tarps, salvaged lights. that's a big part of why it fit the woods.