Boogie on the Esplanade?
June/23/2007 Filed in: getting
ready | pyramid project
I hope you're sitting down, 'cause I got some HUGE
news!!!!!!!!!!!
I just got off the phone with your new best friend, Jake from
Burning Man headquarters. They seem to like the sounds of
what we're up to here in the Boogie Universal ARTS Collective,
'cause they're giving us ESPLANADE PLACEMENT! Whooo
hoooo!!!!
I originally submitted a request for 60 feet of Esplanade frontage with 120 feet deep for our camp, they've bumped that up to 100 feet on the Esplanade and 150' deep! That gives us lots more room to make our private camp area more comfortable, plus gives us room for some shaded couches right on the esplanade, and more room for whatever we can come up with.
While this is massively exciting, it also adds a fair amount of pressure. For those of you that have been to the Playa, you already know that the camps on the Esplanade are uber elaborate, interactive 24/7, and generally pretty friggin' inspiring. We're going to have to take this thing to the next level. Most people won't even know what they're placement will be until sometime in August--we get the early heads-up to have the extra time to make sure that our camp is 100% kick-ass. 40,000 people are going to know who Boogie Universal is; I think we should make that opportunity count and leave a good impression.
Here are some of my immediate ideas from my hyper-swirling mind:
we'll need to get more serious about fund-raisers:
• we may need a bigger truck, that means more gas, more rental expenses, more money
• we may need more infrastructure--more furniture for public, more decorations, more art installations, more...
How 'bout a new lead person: Furniture Building Initiator
• I suggest we go with the tried & true Playatech designs (you can easily build a bench out of a single piece of plywood, no joining hardware or adhesives, so it easily transport as flat pieces). They can then be decorated and upholstered/cushioned to make them more comfortable http://www.playatech.com/index.php
• It would be ideal to also have some sort of shade structure over them--totally open to ideas....
We need talent
• I think we need to push for pulling off live sound--that's going to mean about $1,500 worth of gear that we don't have (snake, mics & mic stands, 2 more used amps)
• we need someone that knows how to run live sound, preferably more than one person as to disperse the responsibility
• VARIETY. I think several of us share the idea that we should be more than just a rave camp, or even more than just a dance camp. Know anyone that does theater, cabaret, spoken word, performance art, fire dancing, stripping, juggling, comedy, improv, live music, or preferably all at the same time? We've got a lot of spots to fill... all day, all night, every day, every night--whoa.
• start talking to bands and djs. I know Edub was interested in helping book talent, let's get together as many leads as we can, then start sorting out a schedule
Presence:
• Nils talked about getting a new banner or two printed up for us--let's get on that, as big as possible
• Louisa talked about making a sign and/or flag--it would be great to have these done well ahead of time so that we can display them at our fundraisers
• the dj booth could use some either touch up, repainting, or adding to what's there... anyone interested?
• the dj booth could really use some sort of lighting on the outside of the roof. The way it is now, it looks cool during the day (shiny silver surface) but at night completely disappears. It would be really cool if it had sequenced rope lights rotating around highlighting the 8 panels that make up the octagon roof. Anyone interested? Brock? Chad?
Camp mates:
• With the added responsibilities, I wouldn't mind if we round up just a few more people that could help out. I think there are enough of us committed now as a core group, that we can decide together about new memberships (then the "core" becomes bigger--we don't need to maintain a 'core' and those outside the core, we're all in this together)
couches:
• depending on our truck size/space situation, it would be very nice to have a couch or two. keep your eyes out for a freebie that doesn't stink (it won't be coming back home).
Obviously, we didn't get the pyramid done in time for Critical Massive. It's too bad, but we did our best. We'll get to take it down there next year after its' been playa proven.
Ok, that's it from me for now. Please brainstorm with me and let's make this thing absolutely friggin' awesome!
Super stoked,
Erik
Re: BU on the Esplanade
Yowza! That is some HUGE NEWS Eric......my mind is flooded with possibilities, excitement and a good dose of stress. This announcement of being placed on the Esplanade really takes the BU theme camp in a new direction and turns the volume up to 11.
I think we should pow-wow this week as soon as possible -- wednesday evening at my home? The kind of camp you are describing -- uber-elaborate, 24/7, art
installations and performances -- seems to be a much more complicated and time-consuming kind of camp than what I was picturing, and I'm really curious to know if you think we have the capacity for that. Our small group of campers at Sasha's a few weeks back seem pretty mellow and modest in size, so I'm wondering if there is a hidden stash of energy/talent/time/money to pull off the dream of the Boogie Pyramid on the Esplanade? Is there a
secret plan? How many people do we have anyways?
On one hand I'm really stoked that BU and the BurningHamsters have been given this opportunity to BRING IT in such a visible way to the playa. On the other, I'm not sure that this is the kind of Burning Man experience I had in mind for 2007 and don't know if I have
the abilities or motivation to take it beyond the relatively simple/small/mellow vision that we fleshed out in our first meeting. I surely don't want to rain on anybody's parade here, but I have reservations about the size/scope/$/commitment that this Boogie Universal Camp Version 2.0 seems to demand. For instance, I like lots of time and space for wandering and explorations of the multitudinous wonders of the playa and city, and don't want to be tied down with too many commitments to a big production..... I am also interested in being a part of creating a healing, creative, groovy refuge from the craziness, and not the craziness itself!
What are other peoples thinking? Who is able to meet Wednesday 6-8ish in B'ham?
much love, moontroll
Re: BU on the Esplanade
WORD! My sentiments exactly! I've been pondering the implications of this incredible opportunity since I read the announcement yesterday and I must say that my mind is spinning, yo! I keep hearing the mantra that Scottie, Christian and I coined early on in our Playa planning - "Keep it simple, keep it green." Blowing
up on the Esplanade feels far, far from that. The question that I have now is, how can we make this work?
I'd be willing to come up to the Ham for a pow-wow on Wednesday. Can we make that happen. It seems that there is MUCH to discuss.
In the spirit of creativity and collaboration,
~ Edub
Re: BU on the Esplanade
Wednesday sounds great. I'd love to see the crew get together again and talk about the new opportunity.
I understand and share your concern Christian about wanting to keep it simple, fun, intimate and not over-burdening our experience on the Playa. With the right planning and participation from the Playa at large, I think we can keep things going basically on auto-pilot once our camp is set-up. I don't think that our original idea of a theme camp has been compromised, we'll just get to share it with a lot more people and have a front row seat for all the fun.
I've been scheming up an idea for some Playatech "porch swings." On our Esplanade frontage, I thought it would be could to have a few chill areas where we and passersby can cozily rest their tired feet and enjoy the never ending spectacle that will be at our front door. This helps fill the requirement for 24/7 interactivity. We don't need to be "entertaining" 24/7 as hosts, just have a cool place available all the time. We can do this, no prob.
I'm in Seattle 'till wednesday and look forward to seeing as many of you are available then.
Much love my friends,
Erik
I originally submitted a request for 60 feet of Esplanade frontage with 120 feet deep for our camp, they've bumped that up to 100 feet on the Esplanade and 150' deep! That gives us lots more room to make our private camp area more comfortable, plus gives us room for some shaded couches right on the esplanade, and more room for whatever we can come up with.
While this is massively exciting, it also adds a fair amount of pressure. For those of you that have been to the Playa, you already know that the camps on the Esplanade are uber elaborate, interactive 24/7, and generally pretty friggin' inspiring. We're going to have to take this thing to the next level. Most people won't even know what they're placement will be until sometime in August--we get the early heads-up to have the extra time to make sure that our camp is 100% kick-ass. 40,000 people are going to know who Boogie Universal is; I think we should make that opportunity count and leave a good impression.
Here are some of my immediate ideas from my hyper-swirling mind:
we'll need to get more serious about fund-raisers:
• we may need a bigger truck, that means more gas, more rental expenses, more money
• we may need more infrastructure--more furniture for public, more decorations, more art installations, more...
How 'bout a new lead person: Furniture Building Initiator
• I suggest we go with the tried & true Playatech designs (you can easily build a bench out of a single piece of plywood, no joining hardware or adhesives, so it easily transport as flat pieces). They can then be decorated and upholstered/cushioned to make them more comfortable http://www.playatech.com/index.php
• It would be ideal to also have some sort of shade structure over them--totally open to ideas....
We need talent
• I think we need to push for pulling off live sound--that's going to mean about $1,500 worth of gear that we don't have (snake, mics & mic stands, 2 more used amps)
• we need someone that knows how to run live sound, preferably more than one person as to disperse the responsibility
• VARIETY. I think several of us share the idea that we should be more than just a rave camp, or even more than just a dance camp. Know anyone that does theater, cabaret, spoken word, performance art, fire dancing, stripping, juggling, comedy, improv, live music, or preferably all at the same time? We've got a lot of spots to fill... all day, all night, every day, every night--whoa.
• start talking to bands and djs. I know Edub was interested in helping book talent, let's get together as many leads as we can, then start sorting out a schedule
Presence:
• Nils talked about getting a new banner or two printed up for us--let's get on that, as big as possible
• Louisa talked about making a sign and/or flag--it would be great to have these done well ahead of time so that we can display them at our fundraisers
• the dj booth could use some either touch up, repainting, or adding to what's there... anyone interested?
• the dj booth could really use some sort of lighting on the outside of the roof. The way it is now, it looks cool during the day (shiny silver surface) but at night completely disappears. It would be really cool if it had sequenced rope lights rotating around highlighting the 8 panels that make up the octagon roof. Anyone interested? Brock? Chad?
Camp mates:
• With the added responsibilities, I wouldn't mind if we round up just a few more people that could help out. I think there are enough of us committed now as a core group, that we can decide together about new memberships (then the "core" becomes bigger--we don't need to maintain a 'core' and those outside the core, we're all in this together)
couches:
• depending on our truck size/space situation, it would be very nice to have a couch or two. keep your eyes out for a freebie that doesn't stink (it won't be coming back home).
Obviously, we didn't get the pyramid done in time for Critical Massive. It's too bad, but we did our best. We'll get to take it down there next year after its' been playa proven.
Ok, that's it from me for now. Please brainstorm with me and let's make this thing absolutely friggin' awesome!
Super stoked,
Erik
Re: BU on the Esplanade
Yowza! That is some HUGE NEWS Eric......my mind is flooded with possibilities, excitement and a good dose of stress. This announcement of being placed on the Esplanade really takes the BU theme camp in a new direction and turns the volume up to 11.
I think we should pow-wow this week as soon as possible -- wednesday evening at my home? The kind of camp you are describing -- uber-elaborate, 24/7, art
installations and performances -- seems to be a much more complicated and time-consuming kind of camp than what I was picturing, and I'm really curious to know if you think we have the capacity for that. Our small group of campers at Sasha's a few weeks back seem pretty mellow and modest in size, so I'm wondering if there is a hidden stash of energy/talent/time/money to pull off the dream of the Boogie Pyramid on the Esplanade? Is there a
secret plan? How many people do we have anyways?
On one hand I'm really stoked that BU and the BurningHamsters have been given this opportunity to BRING IT in such a visible way to the playa. On the other, I'm not sure that this is the kind of Burning Man experience I had in mind for 2007 and don't know if I have
the abilities or motivation to take it beyond the relatively simple/small/mellow vision that we fleshed out in our first meeting. I surely don't want to rain on anybody's parade here, but I have reservations about the size/scope/$/commitment that this Boogie Universal Camp Version 2.0 seems to demand. For instance, I like lots of time and space for wandering and explorations of the multitudinous wonders of the playa and city, and don't want to be tied down with too many commitments to a big production..... I am also interested in being a part of creating a healing, creative, groovy refuge from the craziness, and not the craziness itself!
What are other peoples thinking? Who is able to meet Wednesday 6-8ish in B'ham?
much love, moontroll
Re: BU on the Esplanade
WORD! My sentiments exactly! I've been pondering the implications of this incredible opportunity since I read the announcement yesterday and I must say that my mind is spinning, yo! I keep hearing the mantra that Scottie, Christian and I coined early on in our Playa planning - "Keep it simple, keep it green." Blowing
up on the Esplanade feels far, far from that. The question that I have now is, how can we make this work?
I'd be willing to come up to the Ham for a pow-wow on Wednesday. Can we make that happen. It seems that there is MUCH to discuss.
In the spirit of creativity and collaboration,
~ Edub
Re: BU on the Esplanade
Wednesday sounds great. I'd love to see the crew get together again and talk about the new opportunity.
I understand and share your concern Christian about wanting to keep it simple, fun, intimate and not over-burdening our experience on the Playa. With the right planning and participation from the Playa at large, I think we can keep things going basically on auto-pilot once our camp is set-up. I don't think that our original idea of a theme camp has been compromised, we'll just get to share it with a lot more people and have a front row seat for all the fun.
I've been scheming up an idea for some Playatech "porch swings." On our Esplanade frontage, I thought it would be could to have a few chill areas where we and passersby can cozily rest their tired feet and enjoy the never ending spectacle that will be at our front door. This helps fill the requirement for 24/7 interactivity. We don't need to be "entertaining" 24/7 as hosts, just have a cool place available all the time. We can do this, no prob.
I'm in Seattle 'till wednesday and look forward to seeing as many of you are available then.
Much love my friends,
Erik
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