Patrick Blenkarn and Milton Lim
asses.masses is a collective, participatory performance experience lasting about 7.5 hours, in which the audience plays together to complete the narrative. Best described as Animal Farm meets Pokémon meets Final Fantasy, this unique work merges gaming and theatre into a new hybrid form. The audience joins a herd of donkeys on their epic journey to reclaim their jobs from the machines. Unfolding across a wide variety of 2D and 3D game genres, the performance features witty dialogue alongside scenes of copulation, reincarnation, and, of course, revolution. Comprising ten episodes with four intermissions, the show includes meals and snacks as part of the ticket. Through collective play, the audience directly shapes the unfolding story, transforming the theatre into both a vast game arena and a forum for discussion. Cheeky, political, and impassioned, asses.masses asks: “Does work define us, or does play set us free?” No previous gaming (or donkey) experience is required—anyone can take part and fully immerse themselves in the performance.
Patrick Blenkarn 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. His projects range in form from video games and card games to stage plays and books, and his work has been featured in film festivals, galleries, and performance festivals across Canada, and recently in Argentina, Mexico, Germany, and the Arctic. Patrick holds a degree in Philosophy, Theatre, and Film from the University of King's College and an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts from Simon Fraser University.
Co-direction Milton LimMilton Lim is a digital media artist, game designer, and performance creator based between Vancouver and Montréal, 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 U.S., Argentina, the U.K., 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 part of the Artistic Leadership Residency at the National Theatre School of Canada (NTS).
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