The event (Aug. 30-Sept. 7 this year) is supposed to the ultimate in low-tech–there is no electricity, and no money may be exchanged–but fans increasingly have tried to find ways around these strictures.

The situation has given rise to an internet parody, Burning Man–The Musical by Gene Back and Matt Werner. The team says it is trying to raise money to create an actual stage production, but has started with a web video. It's a little bit In the Heights, a whole lot of Rent, with maybe some Godspell and Les Miz thrown in.

You can view the video here:

  Here's how the site describes the plot: "Joe is a young, driven techie in Silicon Valley. He sees Burning Man as his shot to network with Silicon Valley elites who can jumpstart his career and help him achieve his lifelong goal of becoming a multimillionaire by age 30. He crashes a techie plug-and-play camp at Burning Man. Chad and Bill the Billionaire recommend he go on a vision quest by taking mushrooms and going into the deep playa. A dust storm comes when Joe reaches the trash fence, and he nearly dies from dehydration and exposure. Hal the Hippie comes out of the dust storm to rescue him, and like Yoda, he takes Joe under his wing to train him in the ways of Burning Man."

The event takes its name from a giant wooden sculpture that is built at each year's festival and then burned at the conclusion.