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 labor, 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.

The MCA production of asses.masses is in proud partnership with Albany Park Theater Project and Northwestern University’s Wirtz Center.

Content Advisory

There will be loud sounds, music, and flashing sections as you play the game. asses.masses contains coarse language, representations of donkeys mating and humans mating (separately), audience participation, and strong revolutionary rhetoric.