Burning Man is a unique global event bringing up to 60,000 artists and freaks to a dry lakebed in the Nevada desert to create a city of radical self expression for one week each year.

Christopher Fülling has been involved since 1996, when it was much smaller, and began directing four of the giant opera rituals that had been inspired by Pepe Ozan’s massive sculptures. His experiences there caused him to co-create a techno-rock opera Joe Messiah, originally entitled Joe Playa and performed there while moving on an artcar. 

Out of their desire to provide theatre audiences with the inspiring transformation they had experienced at Burning Man, he collaborated with composer Mark Nichols, lyricist Erik Davis, and producer Dana Harrison to create A Burning Opera: How to Survive the Apocalypse. He directed its first two productions in San Francisco and a showcase of it in Las Vegas to coordinate with the massive First Vegas Burn.