Hello. We are Serafima and Alexander, creators of the Tricktrek project. We have a laboratory where we create wooden toys with mechanisms, details for unusual workshops as well as decorations for puppet shows.
Our project is already five years old and during this time we have reached a certain level in the development of various mechanisms. Our works are in the Belarusian museum. And in the Old Town of Tallinn, on Rüütli Street, you can notice an unusual wheel of fortune in the form of a skeleton. This is the entrance to our magical toy store.
The Tricktrek project grew in 2017 in St. Petersburg from the idea of a wooden mechanical performance based on the book by the English writer R. Dahl "A Huge Crocodile". The performance was shown at the most interesting venues in St. Petersburg.
In many ways, Tricktrek's work is aimed at breaking stereotypes. The project tries to tell about how modern and non-standard a wooden puppet theater can be.
Our achievements:
- 2017-2018 - The founding of Tricktrek. Works on the creation of the play "Crocodile".
- February 2018 - Premiere of the play "Crocodile", St. Petersburg (Russia).
- September 2018 - Participation in the street art festival "Snail", St. Petersburg (Russia).
- December 2018 - Participation in the festival of wooden toys in Moscow (Russia).
- March 2019 - Participation in the festival from the Bolshoi Puppet Theater "A Small and Complex Man", St. Petersburg (Russia).
- April 2019 - Creation of a mechanical Wheel of Fortune for the Epic con festival, St. Petersburg (Russia).
- December 2019 - Creation of mechanical decorations "Gnomes" for the New Year's Market in New Holland, St. Petersburg (Russia).
- July 2020 - Creation of mechanical decorations for the museum "In Search of the Lost" in Vileika (Belarus).
- April 2021 - Tricktrek moves to Tallinn (Estonia).
- Summer 2021 - Tours in Riga (Latvia) and Tartu (Estonia).
- February 2022 - Participation in the SampoFestFinland Festival in Jyvaskyla (Finland).
A few years ago we conceived a new play and now most of it is ready. The play is called "Kuthi".
Kuth is the embodiment of the Raven spirit, a key figure in the creation of the world, the progenitor of mankind, a powerful shaman.
The play "Kuthi" is a synthesis of theater and engineering. "Kuthi" is a performance without words. Communication with the audience takes place through music and movements of wooden mechanisms.
The main decoration is a five–storey wooden castle and the city around it. The castle hides a huge number of secrets. Sliding walls that open various rooms in which the wooden characters of the play move.
There is a feast on one floor of the castle, in honor of the wedding of the king's daughter. Feasting people are sitting at the table, they are banging mugs and wielding forks. On the other floor there is a ball, where wooden figures move in a dance, etc.
Street performances are going on in the city, children are having fun, jesters are juggling, in one of the houses there is a kitchen where cooks run around and a spit turns over the fire. Through all these mechanical plots, the king's daughter moves, unexpectedly revealing to the viewer the moving parts of the castle.
When the Kuthi attack the city, the castle begins to prepare for defense, pushing out of its bowels warriors, catapults, defensive structures previously not visible to the viewer. The culmination of defensive actions will be the walls rising from the ground around the castle. Hidden within these walls are many mechanical secrets and devices that will amaze the audience during the battle.
"Kuthi" is primarily a street performance. Street performances are free from theater spaces, stage size, tickets, seats, age and any other restrictions. We want to create a miracle that can be viewed by absolutely anyone, an ordinary passerby.
But we also plan to play it in the theater. After the main set is finished and we start rehearsals, it will become clear how big of a stage is needed. Now there is a preliminary agreement on the premiere in one of the theaters in Tallinn. The premiere will take place in December 2022.
We have very little time left in order to finish the performance. 4 months of work. And this means 4 months of renting a workshop and buying a certain amount of plywood, which has increased significantly in price over the past few months. And accessories, motors and a smoke machine. We also need to sew costumes and rent a vehicle to transport the structures.
The first goal is 3000 euros. This money will help us rent a workshop for four months, buy the missing plywood and accessories.
The second goal is 1700 euros. This money will help us make costumes for the performance and organize a small tour. We do not have a car for transporting structures and therefore we will have to rent a vehicle for screenings.
Support us and in December we will be able to enjoy the premiere in Tallinn! We have prepared interesting gifts for you both from us and from our partners: the bookstore Paradknig, Elembeer Breweries and artist Aurora Batyreva. Gift delivery is at our expense (unless otherwise specified).
Thank you in advance for your help!
