Part video game, part political satire, asses.masses is an epic theatrical experience where the audience takes control. Created by Patrick Blenkarn and Milton Lim, this wild, witty, immersive performance follows a herd of donkeys trying to get their jobs back after automation has made them obsolete. Can they succeed? That’s up to you. Combining live performance and old-school video game aesthetics, asses.masses unfolds over eight hours in a communal gaming experience designed to be played from beginning to end by a live audience, one person at a time, complete with food and drink. Cheeky, political, and best described as Animal Farm meets Pokemon meets Final Fantasy, asses.masses puts the control(ler) in the audience’s hands and asks them to discover the space between the work that defines us and the play that frees us.

Production Details

Production Detailsasses.masses includes flashing lights, audience participation, violence, crude language, sexual scenarios, 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 are a central parts of asses.masses. Join our Herd in any way you can.

This performance is approximately seven hours and 30 minutes with four 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

Patrick Blenkarn and Milton Lim are conceptual artists exploring urgent questions around the social value of art, digital labor, 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. Patrick and Milton are the co-founders of the Canadian national video archive of performance and the co-creators behind a performing arts economy trading card game. Their projects have been presented across Canada, in Argentina, Mexico, Europe, and the UK, in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Catalan.

Accessibility

  • Accessible seating is available first-come first-served and may be selected upon theater entry. Please contact our Visitor Services team at visitorservices@icaboston.org or 617-478-3100 for more information.
  • Assistive listening devices are available for all theater programs at the theater entrance.
  • A link to live captioning will be shared by the day of the event and will be available in the theater.
  • ASL interpretation is available by advance request; please contact our Visitors Services team at 617-478-3100 or visitorservices@icaboston.org to make a request.

Are there other access accommodations that would be useful to help you fully participate in this program? Let us know at accessibility@icaboston.org or learn more about Accessibility at the ICA at icaboston.org/accessibility.

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 and 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.