“The game with prohibitions is important”: an interview with the organizers of a children's camp for adults
Miscellaneous / / April 03, 2023
Do exercises, spend a “candle” and have fun at discos - why do 30-year-olds go to the “Prolongation”.
Our heroes have created a project that helps adults plunge into the camp atmosphere and remember again what it is to go to visit each other after lights out, prepare for the Royal Night and grumblingly get up for the morning charging.
"Prodlyonka" has been in existence for two years. During this time, four shifts were carried out, each of which lasted four days. In total, 400 people visited the camp, the youngest of them is 19 years old, and the oldest is 56. We talked with the organizers about what was behind the creation of the camp for adults, why people come there and with what emotions they leave it.
— Tell us, how did the idea to create a children's camp for adults come about?
Sonya: In 2019, I, Katya and Ilona went to sanatorium in the suburbs to have a good time: hang out, dance, go to the bathhouse. But they faced the Soviet Union in the flesh: no one wanted to work, the DJ left 2 hours before the end of his work shift.
At the same time, we ourselves were not allowed to turn on the music. And when we returned this DJ with a scandal, he deliberately put on some terrible tracks that we could not dance to. Everything seemed to be arranged in such a way as not to let us rest.
One evening we were thinking about teenage age it was easier to go somewhere and guaranteed to get good impressions. Of course, they remembered children's camps. This prompted the question: “Why is there nothing like this for people of our age?” I would like to have the opportunity to go to such a place for at least four days, to have a good time and with someone познакомиться.
So we realized that we need to make a camp for adults. They tried to dissuade us from this idea: “We will have to quit your job and devote all the time to this project, otherwise nothing will work. But we did not listen to anyone, and now we have a case that helped make our dreams come true.
Ilona: I see it a little differently. The girls met at Artek, and it was there that their friendship was born. Then new guys appeared in the company. And the sanatorium and the fantastic idea of organizing a camp for adults is just something that fundamentally connected us all.
Now "Prodlyonka" is a festival of fighters for friendship (this is how we call the company of our friends). And we invite everyone to participate in it. We are open to acquaintances with any people who share our values.
— What elements of the children's camp would you like to include in your project? What did you miss the most?
Kate: When we thought about creating a project, we naturally remembered our experience. They even organized a standup dedicated to our camp stories.
So we realized that playing with taboos was important in childhood: there are a lot of rules and you have to figure out how to get around them in order to hang out cool.
It's now you, an adult, you can easily go buy a beer or stay overnight with anyone. And in childhood, and especially in the camps, there were a lot of prohibitions. An important element of growing up is learning to bypass them.
People of all ages come to us. The youngest was 19, the oldest was 56. And it may be strange for them to hear: “Yes, yesterday you were an adult, you earned money yourself and could afford anything, but today you can’t do anything.”
Therefore, we have a lot of mechanics that immerse you in the atmosphere of the game and childhood. It is supposedly forbidden to drink or smoke on the territory of the camp. But in fact, the point is to hide from us, the organizers. This is my favorite part of the game!
I remember how one evening we were walking through the territory of the camp with checks, and the “children” ran away from us in all directions so that we would not see them after lights out and scold them. The game of prohibition and fantasies around it is very important.
We even have a selection of the coolest excuses why the “child” is not in the ward right now. Among them was: "Oh, I'm a sleepwalker."
But we never cross the line. We scold only like this: “Third detachment! What are you smoking? Minus points! After all, there is still a difference between our childhood experience and the “Prolong”: adults are more conscious.
Sonya: I realized that in the camp it was important for me to feel maximum freedom despite the restrictions. But this is not about the fact that you can do anything: smoke, drink, kiss with anyone. And that you can be anyone.
The camp eliminates the usual roles, removes adult shells. If you want to portray a monkey at a concert - portray, if you want to invite a boy to dance - invite.
This is what people get thanks to our camp. And I am very pleased that all this emanates such Artek freedom and happiness.
Ilona: What I miss so much from my camp experience is gossip. There, far from home, you spend a month listening to made-up stories about what happened, or learning other people's fantasies about what could have happened.
And for the next shift, there is an idea to put a special box into which everyone can throw a piece of paper with the concept of any nonsense. And I, using this material, then I will improvise on the topic “who has what kind of novels with whom”, “who has planned what for the night” and “what thoughts are in the minds of these people”.
- Tell us about the daily routine in the camp.
Vania: I can describe him as a "child". First, the rise, which many people oversleep. Especially if before that there was some party and the "children" found a "secret bar" - it is located on the territory and the organizers allegedly do not know about it.
After that, exercise and breakfast. “Children”, who are actually adults in ordinary life, are not accustomed to being awakened by strangers and sent to warm up.
Then there are various activities. The schedule is usually very tight. After the first shift, we decided: we will draw up a program so that every half an hour there is some kind of event and the “children” do not have time to think about anything other than the “Extension”.
Sasha: These may be activities from our camp past, which we put on a new track. For example, on one of the shifts, we organized a themed fair - an event where the teams competed in hospitality. They organized rooms in which they came up with tasks for each other. Some of the detachment remained in them, and the rest walked around the fair.
And so one company decided that it would be cool to do bdsm-room. In it, one could drink a honey mixture with pepper from a bare back (similar to tequila from the navel) or order a special person to perform some action: pat, stomp.
But the main occupation that amazed everyone was the following. The participant, by agreement, was tied to a chair, his eyes were closed, and the leader began to play with him. Said something like, "I want you to tell me about your deepest desire." And so on. All in all, an unforgettable experience.
But another team - also at the fair - made a room for "restoration virginity». Everyone could sign up for a "doctor" - by the way, in life this is a real profession of a person - and get from him a "special medical procedure" by paying a few yo-coins - internal coins "Extensions". So even those who already had children could leave us as virgins. (laughs)
Vania: Also on the first day of the shift, we make a fire. This is a very important part of getting to know each other. There we play a card game with questions. People unite in random pairs, each in turn pulls out a question from the deck and answers it to a partner. For example, “What are you afraid of?”, “What are you proud of?” and so on. We made up our own questions.
It seems to me that when adults discuss such important but simple things, they slowly become real children who are not afraid to be honest and open. Love begins to pour out of them. The bonfire is one of my favorite parts of the program.
And then, at the end of the day, lights out. It is needed so that people have another game with prohibitions. I remember that during the first shift we had a task - to let among the "children" hearingthat in the evening after lights out there will be a disco about which the organizers allegedly do not know. But on that day, they felt so well all the severity of the girls-"guards" that they were afraid to go against their rules.
As a result, in the organizational chat, we even began to discuss that it was time to walk around the rooms and say: “Guys, let's go out already. Nobody will notice you. Everything is fine". In the end, this is what I did. But some did not dare to go to the disco.
— Please tell us about the audience of the camp.
Sasha: The core is people aged 28-35. Among them are marketers, IT specialists, creators, copywriters. In general, creative fashionistas from Moscow who hang out at Rovesnik, Deep Fried Friends, Raduga or study acting at Gogol‑school.
All of them are united by openness to the new. For example, the oldest person was 56, but he felt comfortable. I think for "Prodlyonka" it is not so important how old you are and what you do. What matters is how open you are to new things.
Kate: And it's great that people of different ages and professions can come across here. I will share my favorite story on this topic. On the same shift, we had a lot of party people, and they staged a wild rave. At some point, an older participant came up to us and said: “Wow, I liked this music so much! My son also listens to the same."
It's cool that, despite their difference, people leave enriched with new experiences. Such dialogues are of great value.
“But the difference between people can also lead to conflicts between them. How do you solve them?
Kate: Yes, conflicts arise, and it is absolutely natural. But to resolve them, we have counselors to whom the "children" can turn.
Sasha: On the winter shift, for example, the following happened. People built snow towns for a while. After Ilona said "Stop", one detachment continued to work - began to attach a paper snowflake. This was noticed by a person from another team and complained that they were cheating. And then he came up and tore this element of decor.
Adults (one 36 years old, the other 34) started calling each other names because of a torn snowflake, as if it was a yearly project that needed to be defended in front of the leadership.
At that moment, both the counselors and we, to be honest, were confused and did not understand what to do. The men walked towards each other. It was a real skirmish.
But the leaders gathered, separated them in different directions and talked alone with both. Calmed them down. As a result, these two guys then became friends. I think they even danced together at the final disco.
Kate: We always offer to speak out - to explain to another how you feel. But in general, it seems to me: when there are so many good things around you, it is impossible to be mean for a long time.
Vania: Also, many conflicts are quickly leveled at the “candle” - this is a general gathering of the detachment at the end of the day, where everyone, holding a candle in his hand, talks about his emotions and impressions during the day.
During this, a person is very liberated. He can say that he didn't like who his offended. I remember once a participant even cried from how upset he was. And the next day he already walked happy, because he managed to express everything and solve the problem.
I also wanted to talk about money. How much revenue do you get from one shift?
Sasha: We had never done anything like this before, so at first it was difficult to predict specific risks.
IN financial terms every shift is different. The first time we went into a small minus, and on the second run we were able to go into a small plus thanks to the bar and received 2,300 rubles each. It was very nice. The third shift was the most successful: each of us earned 100,000 rubles. But there, on the contrary, the bar incurred big costs.
It's already good. But we must understand that we do the shift for about six months. This means that we would receive 20,000 rubles a month if we did not have any other work.
It’s a lot of fun to make an “extension”, but we are not ready to work in the minus. Therefore, if the question arises: “Will we carry out shifts for our own money?”, Then a difficult conversation awaits all of us. But hopefully that won't happen.
Sonya: Yes, it is difficult for us to commercialize the Prodlyonka. But we have a very good audience that is always ready to help.
On this topic, I have a story about a bar. It is led by Vanya and our guys: mine and Nastin. We work with their team on outsourcing. And we have an agreement - separate budget. Because it would be difficult for us to keep track of this source of money.
So, in one of the shifts, where there were about 100 people, the guys brought four bartenders. But by the end of the disco, only one person could stand (at the counter and in principle) - Yura, my boyfriend. True, he began to perform his functions not as well as he had planned.
And in the end, it turned out that the payment terminal had been turned off all night!
People just put their cards on and nothing happened. Money was not written off. Everyone drank for free that night. The next morning the guys said: "It's okay, but it was fun."
Since we had a separate budget, this did not hit the Prodlyonka. Nevertheless, I suggested that Yura write to the shift conversation: “Guys, the payment terminal did not work for us. If someone remembers that he drank, then he can throw off the money. And then we have a shortage of 50,000 rubles.
And they really took off! As a result, thanks to our understanding audience, the bar did not go negative.
Vania: By the way, when we created this “secret bar”, we couldn’t come up with a name for it for a long time. Went through a million options. And then they saw a sign hanging on the door at the entrance: "Caution, slippery floor." And so they named him.
In the first shift, our financial system looked like this. On the counter is a notebook "For conducting work on falling on a slippery floor." When people buy something, they write themselves into it, and then we photograph this list and ask them to transfer the necessary amount of money in the chat.
And after all, the guys really entered themselves into this notebook, and then they paid for everything! Therefore, yes, people who come to our camp are very understanding and truly with us. are friends.
- Does this friendship remain after the "Extension"? How many find friends in the adult camp?
Sonya: Absolutely found! And these relationships continue both individually and in detachments. One company, for example, has a super live chat where they still chat.
For the first month after the end of the shift, they held a “candle” every day, where they shared how each day went.
I can also say about myself: when we traveled around Turkey, we visited the girl who was our counselor. She and I became very good friends and were glad to meet outside Prodlyonka. It's a great feeling to see the community grow and you can lean on it.
Ilona: Vanya generally found his love on the "Extension"!
Vania: Yes, during the existence of the camp we have formed four couples, and mine is among them. But now I want to tell the legendary story about Vissarion and Angelica - let's call them that. They are so strong fell in love into each other in our camp, that now they already have a child - the first child of the Prodlyonka. We believe that they conceived it from us, this is our merit. (laughs )
Sonya: Even sometimes, couples who have already taken place come to us, who then say that it was a cool experience - to live in different rooms, for girls and for boys, and interact in this format. According to the stories, after that their relationship only strengthened. But we do not have the task of bringing someone together. It happens naturally.
Sasha: I can attest to this as a "baby" that I managed to be on the first shift. In our company there was such a wild concentration of love, friendship, mutual understanding and freedom, which just bugged me. After the end of the shift, I cried for a whole week and was sad that it was over.
Sonya: For me, stories about transformation are also especially valuable. When leaving, people often write heartfelt letters to us. For example, about the fact that they came to shift during a depressive episode, and the camp helped them get out of it, survive traumatic events and feel joy again.
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