asses.masses
Presented by The Theatre Centre
by Patrick Blenkarn + Milton Lim
The unemployed donkeys have one demand: the humans must surrender their machines and give all donkeys their jobs back. But revolution is never easy!
asses.masses is a custom-made video game about labour, technophobia and sharing the load of revolution, designed to be played from beginning to end in a live theatre. This is gaming as performance; an immersive, cheeky and highly original work. Brave spectators take turns at the controller to lead the herd through a post-Industrial society, where asses are valued more for their hides than their potential. Confronting automation driven job loss, nostalgia as a barrier to progress, and the role of technology in adaptation, we are encouraged to find space between the work that defines us and the play that frees us.
asses.masses is Animal Farm meets Pokémon meets Final Fantasy: as exciting in form as it is in content.
No previous gaming (or donkey) experience required.
May 24 in English, and May 25 in Spanish, translated by Argentinian artist Marcos Krivocapich, in association with Aluna Theatre.
CORE TEAM
CO-DIRECTION, TEXT, PROGRAMMING, PIXEL ART, 2D
ANIMATION Patrick Blenkarn (Canada)
CO-DIRECTION, TEXT, SOUND DESIGN, VIDEO, SHADERS, 3D VISUAL EFFECTS
Milton Lim (Canada)
DRAMATURGY, TEXT, TOURING PRODUCER Laurel Green (Canada)
ORIGINAL MUSIC, SOUND DESIGN David Mesiha (Canada)
PIXEL ART, 2D ANIMATION Clarissa Picolo (Brazil)
PIXEL ART, 2D ANIMATION William Roth (France)
3D ENVIRONMENTS Ariadne Sage (Germany)
ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING Samuel Reinhart (USA)
SPANISH TRANSLATION Marcos Krivocapich (Argentina)
Created with support from Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, The Theatre Centre, VIVO Media Arts, Embassy of Canada to Argentina and Paraguay.
Developed with the funding support from Creative BC, the British Columbia Arts Council, and Canada Council for the Arts.
Produced in association with the National Arts Centre of Canada’s National Creation Fund.
Presentations at The Theatre Centre are funded in part by
Patrick Blenkarn (he/him) is an artist working at the intersection of performance, game design, and visual art. Often engaging with the politics of participation and interactivity, his recent works feature sustained investigations into the subjects of language, labour, democracy, and the art economy, with projects ranging in form from video games and card games to stage plays and books. His work has been featured in film festivals, galleries, and performance festivals across Canada, and recently in Argentina, Mexico, Germany, and the Arctic. He is the Producer for The Elbow Theatre in Vancouver and one half of Guilty by Association. Patrick has a degree in philosophy, theatre, and film from the University of King’s College and an MFA in interdisciplinary art from Simon Fraser University. He is passionate about languages—speaking English, French, Spanish, and German.
Milton Lim (he/him) is a digital media artist, game designer, and performance creator based in Vancouver, Canada. His research-based practice entwines publicly available data, interactive digital media, and gameful performance to create speculative visions and candid articulations of social capital. This line of inquiry aims to reconsider our repertoires of knowledge aggregation and political intervention in the contemporary context of big data and algorithmic culture. Milton holds a BFA (Hons.) in theatre performance and psychology from Simon Fraser University. His work has been presented across Canada, and internationally in the US, Argentina, the UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia. He is a co-artistic director of Hong Kong Exile, an artistic associate with Theatre Conspiracy, a founding member of Synectic Assembly—an Artificial Intelligence focused art collective, and an Artistic-Leader-in-Residence at the National Theatre School of Canada.
May 24, 2025
to May 25, 2025
Tickets are $30 Regular | *Discounts are available for anyone who may be looking for financial accessibility, including students, seniors, arts workers, and our West Queen West neighbours. Please email or call us at [email protected] / (416) 538-0988 to ask about discounted tickets.
Franco Boni Theatre
This performance is 7 h 30 approx. with 4 intermissions
May 24 – 1pm (English)
May 25 – 1pm (Spanish)
The length of the show is variable, based on how audiences decide to play the game and what choices they make. Food will be provided throughout the experience and served at each intermission. Drinks will be available for purchase.
For the best possible experience, we highly recommend being present for the whole show, from the beginning to the end, in its entirety.
Intermissions take place every two episodes, approximately every 1.5 hours.
The show includes flashing lights and audience participation.
Content warning: Violence, crude language, simulated sex, references to drug use, suicide, and police brutality
August 28, 2024
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