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NYC PREMIERE
“Could shows like this be the future of theatre? Fingers crossed.”—Broadway World UK
ABOUT THE WORK
Part video game, part political satire, asses.masses is an interactive theater experience where the audience takes control — literally. Created by Patrick Blenkarn and Milton Lim, two of Canada’s most daring performance makers, this wild and witty production follows a herd of unemployed donkeys trying to get their jobs back. Will the donkeys succeed? The choice is yours. Blending live performance with contemporary and retro gaming aesthetics, this playful yet sharp examination of power, resistance, and revolution unfolds over an unforgettable 8-hour communal adventure, complete with food and drink. asses.masses invites you to discover the space between the work that defines us and the play that frees us.
PRODUCTION GUIDANCE
asses.masses flashing lights, audience participation, violence, crude language, simulated donkey sex, simulated human sex, and references to drug use, suicide, and police brutality. We recommend it for audience members ages 14 and up. This is not a performance that is suitable for young audiences.
Participation and active spectatorship is a central part of asses.masses. We invite you to be part of our Herd in any way you can.
All text in asses.masses is visually displayed on the screen. The show will be presented in English.
RUN TIME
This performance is 7 h 30 approx. with 4 intermissions.
The duration of the show varies depending on how the audience engages with the game and the choices they make. To get the most out of the experience, we strongly encourage you to stay for the entire performance, from start to finish.
Food will be served throughout the experience, offered during each intermission. Drinks will be available for purchase. Intermissions occur every two episodes, approximately every 90 minutes.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
asses.masses is created by a team of international artists led by Patrick Blenkarn and Milton Lim.
Patrick Blenkarn and Milton Lim are conceptual artists exploring urgent questions around the social value of art, digital labour, and the political potential of games. Mixing their backgrounds in performance, philosophy, psychology, and digital media, their collaborations have manifested in video games, participatory installations, digital archives, and card games. In addition to asses.masses, Patrick and Milton are also the co-founders of the Canadian national video archive of performance (videocan) and the co-creators behind a performing arts economy trading card game (culturecapital). Their projects have been presented across Canada, as well as in Argentina, Mexico, Europe, and the UK, in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Catalan.
Their next project, dam.nation, follows the true story of twenty Canadian beavers acquired by the Argentinian government in 1946.
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. patrickblenkarn.com
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. miltonlim.com
CREATIVE CREDITS
Patrick Blenkarn (Canada): co-direction, text, programming, pixel art, 2D animation
Milton Lim (Canada): co-direction, text, sound design, video, 3D visual effects
Laurel Green (Canada): dramaturgy, text, touring producer
David Mesiha (Canada): original music, sound design, audio implementation
Clarissa Picolo (Brazil): pixel art, 2D animation
William Roth (France): pixel art, 2D animation
Ariadne Sage (Germany): 3D environments
Samuel Reinhart (USA): additional programming
Patrick Blenkarn, Milton Lim, Laurel Green, David Mesiha, Stéphane Noel: tour operators
Stéphane Noël / Materialise: international districution
SUPPORT
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.
NYU Skirball’s programs are made possible in part with support from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature; and the Howard Gilman Foundation; Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels; Culture Ireland; The Shubert Foundation; Collins Building Services; General Delegation of the Government of Flanders to the USA; Goethe Institut New York; Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; New England Foundation for the Arts; Harkness Foundation for Dance; and Marta Heflin Foundation; as well as our valued donors through memberships, commissioning, and Allies for Arts Access Fund support.