ABSTRACT
While many possible interpretations could be argued for Burning Man's principle of Communal Effort, my attention as a Performance Studies scholar and practitioner naturally gravitates toward the notion of spaces for art, collaboration, and cooperation. In the default world, I would refer to this promotion and protection of expression as “holding space” for performance to happen in relative safety. In Black Rock City, it is not just a call to make original art while on the playa, but to find new ways of accessing and participating in meaningful encounters. The case study in this chapter is one in which I directly participated, and plan to continue doing so as a yearly volunteer, with a continual attunement to its volition to keep evolving, “Costco Soulmate Trading Outlet Camp.” It is worth noting that this is considered the earliest continuous theme camp at Burning Man, founded in 1999. Costco Camp holds the space for burners not only to engage in the earnest process of finding a soul-mate, but to experience connections they may find by talking with others who they would not otherwise meet, or under alternate circumstances, might dismiss without a second thought.
